Magdeburg Law as a Factor in the Formation of Democratic Principles in the Ukrainian Political Tradition

Abstract

Magdeburg law, which began to be introduced in the Ukrainian lands in the fifteenth century, became one of the important tools for the formation of local government and the legal system in the future. In this aspect, it was not an absolute novelty for the local population, but was a logical continuation of the political tradition of the viche system that existed in the times of Kievan Rus and in the democratic policy of the Lithuanian princes who consolidated their power in Ukraine in the fourteenth century. Based on the collected materials, the origin, implementation and functioning of the Magdeburg Law in Ukraine, substantiates the similarity of democratic principles in the European and Ukrainian political mentality, and demonstrates the integration of the national political tradition into pan-European processes are analyzed. A comparative analysis with the Muscovy, where such innovations did not take root, shows how different the cultural and political traditions of Ukrainians and Russians are, which is one of a number of factors that debunk the myth of the so-called “brotherly peoples”.