Information on the thesis

Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Historical Sciences, specialty 07.00.01 –
History of Ukraine. – Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, 2015.
The  thesis  investigated  the  complex  process  of  origin,  formation  and
development of the cooperative movement in Volyn in the second half of the XIX –
early  XX  century.  Considered  the  ideological  and  theoretical  principles  of  the
cooperative movement, analyzed the social, economic and political, legal conditions
for the functioning of the Volyn cooperation in the Russian Empire and the Second
Polish Republic.
The  study  found  that  the  emergence  and  establishment  of  cooperation  in  the
Volyn region was due to the capitalization of the economy caused by the reforms in
the  Russian  Empire,  and  a  major  factor  in  the  successful  development  of  the
cooperative movement in Volyn in Second Polish Republic became effective due to
economic policy of the Polish government. In addition, it is proved that the political
and legal framework of functioning cooperation in Volyn was much more favorable
in  the  Polish  state  than  under  the  tsarist  regime.  Contributing  to  the  economic
development of cooperatives, the Government of the Russian empire at the same time
considered the activity of cooperatives politically harmful and hinder the creation of
unions  of  cooperatives.  In  Poland,  until  the  30-ies  of  the  XX  century  Volyn
cooperation developed in a liberal, democratic legislation, but in the future also felt
government interference in their activities.
The  thesis  states  that  in the  Volyn  region  cooperation  as  a  form  of  economic
activity appeared in the 60s of the XIX century. Historically, the first to appear were
the consumer societies. They provided a significant portion of turnover in the region,
successfully competed with private trade institutions, contributed to the adaptation of
the population to the market economy, as well as to a significant constraint on the
prices  of  goods  and  services.  At  the  same  time  Volyn  consumer  societies  in  pre-
revolutionary  period  were  unable  to  form  a  complete  structured  system.  Credit
cooperation of Volyn province stood high performance and affordability in lending.
Its  characteristic  feature  was  the  fact  that  it  was  able,  with  the  support  of  the
government and zemstvos quickly and efficiently to meet the urgent needs of the poor
and  middle  peasants  masses  in  the  villages  of  Volyn  in  credits.  The  number  of
agricultural and industrial cooperatives was insignificant and could not significantly
affect  the  economic  life  of  the  region.  Cultural  and  educational  sphere  in  Volyn
province  cooperative  system  was  not  implemented in  full.  In general,  co-operation
became an important element of economic and social life of Volyn province, showed
its effectiveness in all key sectors of the regional economy: trade, credit and financial
support, and the production of material goods.
In  the  context  of  the  Second  Polish  Republic  economic  and  socio-cultural
activities of Volyn cooperative institutions acquired a new quality. A feature of the
development  of  consumer  cooperatives,  compared  with  the  previous  pre-
revolutionary period, was its unification with the transformation of the agricultural
co-operatives in procurement and supply  chains. Activities of rural purchasing and
marketing  cooperation  became  an  important  factor  in  the  development  of  the
agricultural  sector  in  Volyn.  Credit  cooperation    of    Volyn  province  by  mid-30s
reached the greatest success: a network formed by a variety of national, regional and
other features of credit unions and audit organizations. Dairy cooperatives of Volyn
province reached the quantitative and qualitative growth in the second half of the 30s.
Revision associations of cooperatives implemented the latest technology, developed
processing and marketing of dairy products and sales abroad. One of the priorities of
all the cooperative organizations of Volyn during the interwar period was the cultural
and educational work, which reached a high enough level and became a key to the
successful dissemination of the cooperative form of management.
The  paper  thoroughly  analyzed  and  recreated  quantitative  and  qualitative
dynamics of different types of cooperative organizations of Volyn. It was concluded
that  the  cooperative  movement  in  Volyn  was  a  synthesis  of  national  and  foreign
traditions  and  experience.  This  movement  promoted  economic, social, cultural  and
spiritual  development  of  the  population.  Volyn  cooperation  activities  –  it  is  pretty
much the emergence of its own economic system, development of Ukrainian culture,
the history of the revival of the Ukrainian people.
Keywords:  cooperative  movement,  cooperation,  cooperative,  cooperative
society,  savings  and  loan  companies,  credit  society,  agricultural  society,  industrial
society, Volyn.