The Fourth Universal of the Ukrainian Central Council of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, as a Result of One of the Stages of the Ukrainian Revolution
Authors: LYSA MARIJA 
Published: September 2022

The article is devoted to the analysis of the historical and legal conditions of the Central Council and its activities through the prism of the adoption of the Fourth Universal, as a result of the peak of rule-making of the Ukrainian Central Council. The urgency of this issue is conditioned upon the main developments of the Ukrainian Central Council, which maneuvered between the responsibilities of Russian officials and the national consciousness of Ukrainian patriots and the victory of the “spirit of Ukrainianness” of Ukrainian state interest, based on the turbulent events of the Ukrainian Revolution. The aim of the article is to analyse the historical and legal basis for the adoption of the Fourth Universal of the Ukrainian Central Council as a legal statement of the desire of Ukrainians for independence at the initial stage of struggle and independence. The methodological basis of the study was a set of methods and approaches, including: dialectical method allowed studying the nature of historical and legal conditions of the Central Council and its activities through the prism of the Fourth Universal, historical and legal research method conditioned upon the need for historical approach in general and scientific methods, such as descriptive-chronological, which allowed forming the historical background of the study, comparative-historical, which provided an opportunity to compare the development of the studied institutions with similar institutions of this period, formed in other societies; formal-legal method allowed studying the subject of research in terms of purely regulatory regulation; institutional approach is used to comprehensively understand the role of the studied institutions in society, their impact on the legal system. The state policy is analysed through the principles and the main content of the legislation in the direction and support of the national movement and the development of the first elements of Ukrainian statehood. The activity of the Ukrainian intelligentsia was studied through the study of empirical material, namely, M. Hrushevsky – a great historian and strategist, permanent Chairman of the Ukrainian Central Council, which allowed to understand the worldview and political beliefs, namely the ideas of populism and federalism. The position of the belated, adopted under the pressure of external and internal factors, the Fourth Universal, which proclaimed independence and renunciation of autonomy, and became a shining example of the state position of the Ukrainian intelligentsia of the early twentieth century. The purpose of the Ukrainian Central Council in the context of state building after centuries of statelessness is analysed, because since the eighteenth century there was no pro-Ukrainian state development, despite the public demand that prevailed in society. The general principles of each universal are highlighted, which gave an opportunity to understand the phased development of the Ukrainian Central Council and give a historical and legal assessment