Socio-economic Situation of the Inhabitants of Eastern Galicia During the Russian Occupation During the First World War (1914-1917)

The urgency of the research topic is due to the need for historical reconstruction of events that took place in Eastern Galicia during the Russian occupation during the First World War and which for a long time for ideological and conjunctural reasons did not receive proper coverage in historical science. The purpose of this article is to highlight the socio-economic situation of the population of Eastern Galicia under Russian occupation in 1914-1917. In the process of research we used comparative-historical, structural-system methods of analysis, generalization and synthesis of the same type of factual data and problem-chronological way of presenting the material. Results. The article highlights some aspects of the life of the inhabitants of Eastern Galicia during the First World War. It is established that the occupation of the western Ukrainian lands by Russian troops led to the destruction of their social infrastructure and caused significant material damage to the inhabitants of the region. Infectious diseases, which have caused high mortality, have been found to be widespread in the region due to the unsatisfactory sanitary and hygienic living conditions of the civilian population in the region. It is proved that the economic devastation, which affected the agricultural sector of the economy of the eastern Galician lands, caused mass famine among the inhabitants of the occupied territories, intensified migration processes, caused a rapid rise in prices for food and basic necessities. Measures of the Russian occupation administration aimed at stabilizing the socio-economic life of the region are described. They consisted of setting up a network of county food committees to help the war-torn people of the region, setting up food outlets where Galicians could get food for free, and setting fixed food prices. However, the charitable activities of the occupying authorities were scanty and did not go beyond securing the rear of the Russian army.

Source: Kuchera I., Hainal T., Danyliak R. (2022). Socio-economic Situation of the Inhabitants of Eastern Galicia During the Russian Occupation During the First World War (1914-1917). Scientific and Theoretical Almanac Grani. 24(12): 5-14

Source web-site: https://grani.org.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/1723/1694