The article is devoted to the modern comprehension of the historical heritage of the prominent political and public figure of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, lawyer, lawmaker, ideologist of the Ukrainian Constitution ‘Independent Ukraine’ and apostle of Ukrainian statehood – Mykola Ivanovych Mikhnovskyi. It is established that Mikhnovskyi boldly declared progressive views on the need to create an independent Ukrainian state based on the principles of self-sufficiency, justice and the rule of law. He was a consistent advocate of basic democratic values such as the inviolability of the person and home, freedom of conscience and speech, separation of church and state, free divorce, the right to education, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and many other rights and freedoms. Mikhnovskyi’s dominant ideology was the division of state power into legislative (with an elected bicameral parliament), executive (headed by the president) and judicial (with public and democratic courts). The ideas of Mykola Ivanovych Mikhnovskyi are more relevant than ever today and should be taken into account in the formation of the ideas of Ukraine’s national statehood.

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Mirchuk P, Mykola Mikhnovskyy. Apostol ukrayinskoyi derzhavnosty (Filadelfiya 1960) (in Ukrainian).

2. Tkachuk A, Tkachuk O, Shcho take demokratiya? Znaty, rozumity, zastosovuvaty: posibnyk (Yuston 2020) (in Ukrainian).

Edited books

3. Natsionalne pytannya v Ukrayini XX – pochatku XXI st.: istorychni narysy: monohrafiya (Smoliy V red, Nika-Tsentr 2012) (in Ukrainian).

4. Mikhnovskyy Mykola. Samostiyna Ukrayina (Koval R, uporyadnyk, Nash Format 2023) (in Ukrainian).

5. Osnovnyy zakon “Samostiynoyi Ukrayiny” Mykoly Mikhnovskoho: khrestomatiyne vydannya (Nikiforenko V, ukladach, Vydavnytstvo NADPSU 2025) (in Ukrainian).

Journal articles

6. Kaplina O, Krytska I, Tumanyants A, ‘Pravo na svobodu ta osobystu nedotorkanist: problemy spivmirnosti pravoobmezhen v umovakh ekzystentsiynykh zahroz’ [2024] 31(1) Visnyk Natsionalnoyi akademiyi pravovykh nauk Ukrayiny 284–302 (in Ukrainian).

7. Komzyuk L, ‘Porivnyalnyy analiz konstytutsiyno-pravovykh kontseptsiy samostiynosti Ukrayiny Drahomanova i Mikhnovskoho’ [2010] 83 Visnyk Kyyivskoho natsionalnoho universytetu imeni Tarasa Shevchenka. Seriya: Yurydychni nauky 13–18 (in Ukrainian).

8. Kormych A, ‘Sutnist derzhavnytsko-pravovykh kontseptsiy Ukrayiny XIX st. ta yikh vplyv na suchasnyy derzhavotvorchyy protses’ [2012] 44 Aktualni problemy polityky 66–75 (in Ukrainian).

9. Pankratova V, ‘Pravo na petytsiyu: istoryko-pravovyy aspekt’ [2023] 1(78) Naukovyy visnyk Uzhhorodskoho universytetu. Seriya: Pravo 116–121 (in Ukrainian).

10. Shamray V, ‘Hromadyanstvo ta vyborche pravo hromadyan za Konstytutsiyeyu M. Mikhnovskoho’ [2010] 85 Visnyk Kyyivskoho natsionalnoho universytetu imeni Tarasa Shevchenka Seriya: Yurydychni nauky 63–66 (in Ukrainian).

11. Shypilov L, ‘Pravo ukrayinskoyi natsiyi na samovyznachennya v ideyniy spadshchyni M. I. Mikhnovskoho’ [2010] 1 Forum prava 422–427 (in Ukrainian).

12. Sunyehin S, ‘Osnovopolozhni pryntsypy prava: zahalna kharakterystyka ta deyaki aspekty realizatsiyi’ [2012] 3 Almanakh prava 275–279 (in Ukrainian).

13. Turchenko F, ‘Mykhaylo Hrushevskyy vs. Mykola Mikhnovskyy (dyskusiya suchasnykiv: pohlyad kriz storichchya)’ [2013] 2 Ukrayinskyy istorychnyy zhurnal 74–94 (in Ukrainian).

Theses

14. Shamray V, ‘Derzhavno-pravovi pohlyady Mykoly Mikhnovskoho’ (dys kand yuryd nauk, 2010) (in Ukrainian).

15. Stetsyuk N, ‘Konstytutsionalizm v ukrayinskiy politychniy ta pravoviy dumtsi (seredyna XIX st. – kinets 80-kh rokiv XX st.)’ (dys kand yuryd nauk, 2003) (in Ukrainian).

 Encyclopaedias

16. Mala entsyklopediya etnoderzhavoznavstva (Yu Rymarenko red, Heneza, Dovira 1996) (in Ukrainian).

Websites

17. Osnovnyi Zakon “Samostiinoi Ukrainy” Spilky narodu ukrainskoho [1905] 1 Samostiina Ukraina (Lviv, Drukarnia Narodovoi Manietskykh) <https://www.infolab.ho.ua/Politic/ Constytutsija%20Ukrajinsqkoji%20spilky.html> (accessed 27.03.2025) (in Ukrainian).

18. Programa Ukrainskoi Narodnoi Partii (1906) <https://bucovinensia.chnu.edu.ua/ documents/visu/212> (accessed 27.03.2025) (in Ukrainian).