WORKS ON THE HISTORY OF GALICIA AND VOLHYNIA ARE NOT LOST

Abstract

The article presents the Ukrainian translation of two manuscripts «Galizien von der Anschluẞan Oesterreich» and «Galizien unter Deutsch-Oesterreichisches Verwaltung» by Ukrainian historian S. Tomashivsky (1875–1930) on the political history of Galicia and Volhynia in several historical periods: from the beginning of political life and during its independent existence until the mid-fourteenth century, from that time until the last quarter of the eighteenth century as part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, from 1772 until the First World War. The preface to the publication analyses the author's main historiographical theses. Describing each historical period, the historian primarily focused on the political component of development: the legal and political statuses, political circumstances – interstate alliances and confrontations, how they influenced this situation, which of them contributed to the political and cultural development of Ukrainians and were along the lines of maintaining national identity. The author covered the period of state existence until the mid-14th century in the most detail. The scholar actualised the issues of changing the legal and political situation of Ukrainian ethnic lands in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy (it was about the creation of Ukrainian national and cultural autonomy within the monarchy), which were raised by his predecessors in the nineteenth century. He substantiated this need with historical arguments and made a critical review of the policies of the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian governments towards the political struggles of Ukrainians from the late eighteenth century up to and including the military confrontation with Russia in the early twentieth century. 

The texts of the articles were restored from the author's manuscripts, some pages of which are stored in various archival files of the Central State Historical Archives in Lviv.