The Socio-Economic Aspect of Polish-Ukrainian Relations in Galicia (1867–1918) in Ukrainian Historiography

Abstract

The article is devoted to a historiographical analysis of the socio-economic dimension of Polish-Ukrainian relations in Eastern Galicia during the period of autonomy of the Crown Land of Galicia and Lodomeria within the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918). The author substantiates the thesis that it was precisely socio-economic contradictions, rather than solely political or ideological factors, that served as the main driving force behind the interethnic conflict, which ultimately led to the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918–1919 and further escalation of tensions throughout the 20th century.

The study traces the evolution of historiographical assessments of the issue from the late 19th century to the present day (2006–2025). At the initial stage (the last third of the 19th – early 20th century), Ukrainian scholars (I. Franko, M. Hrushevsky, Yu. Bachynskyi, V. Budzynovskyi, T. Voinaovskyi, D. Zhuravel, and others) emphasized the economic oppression of the Ukrainian peasantry by Polish landowners, the necessity of parcelling estates, state credits, and the elimination of feudal remnants.

During the interwar period (1919–1939) Ukrainians or portraying them as a “branch of the Polish people.” Ukrainian researchers (K. Levytskyi, M. Holubets) focused primarily on political history, although some works retained attention to the cooperative movement and economic discrimination.

Soviet historiography (K. Kakovskyi, M. Herasymenko, V. Osechynskyi, P. Svezhynskyi, I. Kolomiiets, V. Kulchytskyi, S. Makarchuk), under ideological pressure, emphasized class struggle while downplaying the national dimension; nevertheless, it was during this period that substantial studies of agrarian relations, the strike movement, and the anti-peasant policy of the Galician Sejm appeared.

After 1991, Ukrainian historical scholarship (Ya. Hrytsak, L. Zashkilniak, M. Mudryi, O. Arkusha, I. Chornovol, B. Hud, O. Sukhyi, M. Kuhutiak, B. Savchuk, and others) definitively moved away from political determinism, returning to a comprehensive analysis of socio-economic factors. Contemporary researchers demonstrate that the conflict emerged at the intersection of “Polish manor – Ukrainian village,” intensified by the lack of a clear concept among the Polish Galician elite for resolving the Ukrainian question, the Austrian administration’s “divide and rule” policy, and the failure of compromise attempts (“new era” of 1890–1894, the 1914 agreement).

Special attention is given to the contribution of diaspora historians (I. Lysiak-Rudnytskyi, M. Demkovych-Dobrianskyi), who, despite differing assessments, confirm the existence of profound property and social disparities between the two peoples.

The author concludes that, despite considerable progress in studying the political history of Polish-Ukrainian relations, the socio-economic dimension remains insufficiently systematized. Traditional historiography often reduced the conflict to political or cultural causes, ignoring the fact that economic inequality (landlessness of Ukrainians, the Polish nobility’s monopoly on large estates, discrimination in lending and taxation) was the primary generator of interethnic tension. Overcoming this political determinism and returning to the analysis of socio-economic root causes opens new perspectives for an objective understanding of Galicia’s history and contemporary Polish-Ukrainian relations.