The socio-political activity of Oleksa Kossak in Galicia in the interwar period and in the first years of the Second World War (1922–42)

The aim of the article is to analyze the features of socio-political activities of Ukrainian lawyers in the county towns of Eastern Galicia in the period between the First and Second World Wars on the example of private lawyers in Kolomyia, including lawyer Oleksa Kossak. A set of methods was used to ensure the study of the main aspects of the research topic. In particular, methods of analysis and synthesis, deduction and comparison. Sources for the study are publications in Ukrainian periodicals of the 1920s and 1940s, memoirs of Ukrainian lawyers published in Ukrainian diaspora publications in the United States and Canada, and documents from archives and museum collections. The article analyzes some aspects of the professional and socio-political activity of the lawyer, Doctor of Law Oleksa Kossak in Eastern Galicia during the Polish, Soviet and German occupations. The work of O. Kossak in the governing bodies of the educational society "Ridna Shkola" and the sports society "Sokil", the supervisory boards of cooperative institutions, as well as his charitable activities are described and analyzed. An analysis of his political activities in the Ukrainian National Democratic Union (UNDO), in particular regarding the legal support of the participation of Ukrainian organizations in local elections in Galicia. His possible participation in the Ukrainian Military Organization (UMO) and his role in defending Ukrainian politicians and public figures in the courts were analyzed. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the features and circumstances of the professional and socio-political activities of Ukrainian lawyers in Eastern Galicia in the interwar period. Based on the researched facts, the author comes to the conclusion about the importance of the contribution of Ukrainian lawyers and, in particular, O. Kossak in the cause of Ukrainian national-cultural and state revival