The Spread of the System of State Power of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Galicia

Galicia became a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the first partition of the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth and remained within its borders for almost a century and a half. The new territory, which was densely populated by representatives of the Ukrainian and Polish peoples, formed a single administrative-territorial unit. The economic situation of the region and the status of the population, primarily peasants, could not be considered satisfactory, although it slightly improved during the period of enlightened absolutism. After the revolution, the state apparatus of the empire was modernized, the secret council and the court chancellery were abolished. The central government was further formed by ministries. Later, the country embarked on the path of constitutional development, a basic law of the state was adopted, censorship and serfdom were abolished. The development of the Austrian state from absolute monarchy to a monarchy with certain elements of constitutionalism occurred gradually. Each stage was characterized by partial changes in legislation, the political course of the country, and changes in the state apparatus of the country. All these changes to some extent influenced the situation of the Ukrainian population of Galicia. This time coincided with the European «Springtime of Nations.» The coincidence of historical circumstances allowed a part of the Ukrainian people, under relatively comfortable conditions (compared to the part of the Ukrainian people living in the territories that were part of the Russian Empire), to raise not only social, economic, and political issues but also national issues in the conditions of the revolutionary movement. Austria, remaining an absolute monarchy, carried out a series of liberal reforms, including the abolition of personal dependence of peasants from landlords (end of the 18th century) and later serfdom (mid-19th century), and guaranteed certain basic freedoms to citizens: personal (such as personal inviolability), political (voting rights), and so on. The method of building management bodies, the model of resolving social conflicts in the Austro- Hungarian monarchy influenced the development of the Ukrainian idea in Galicia, contributed to the education of a national elite, which actively participated in the development of a modern Ukrainian state and rights at the beginning of the 20th century.