History of Łuniniec local government (1842–1939)

Abstract

A local government is an association of persons of public law, based on community of interests of residents of a territory determined as units of the administrative and territorial division. It is regulated and administered by organs chosen by residents on their own territory, under control of suitable government organs within the framework of authorizations determined in state law. It acts in its own name, on its own territory and on its own responsibility. It possesses assets and budget, earnings and expenses. The author of the elaboration set the task of examining of the formation and functioning of local government structures on the example of one region and the city of today’s Belarus – Łuniniec. The territorial range which is the subjcet of considered issues covers the territory of the contemporary Łuninice region of Brzesko district on Belarus, as well the area of the Łuniniec administrative district from times of Poleskie province of the Second Polish Republic. Ideas of the local government, though in a limited meaning, were already put into pratice on the area of Łuniniec in the second half of the XIXth century – czar Alexander II’s reforms: enfranchisement (1861), municipal (1864) and urban (1870), and also in the first half of the XXth century. The work, in the initial conception, was thought as a classical monograph devoted to the formation of Łuniniec local government covering the period of almost a hundred years (1842–1939). It was the time when the contemporary Łuniniec region was, at first, a part of the Russian Empire. Then the region became a part of Poleskie province of the Second Polish Republic.

Due to needs of the periodicals the whole material was divided into four readable, in terms of content, compact and separate parts. In the first part the administrative division, territorial and the demographic structure of Łuniniecki territory, history of the local government in the first half of the XIXth century
were presented, and also the influence of Russian State reforms that took place in the second half of the XIXth century on its functioning. The activity of the local government within a period of 1917–1919 was also mentioned. The second part presented history of the formation of the local government within the period of the Second Polish Republic, when Łuniniec became a capital of a newly formed Polish territorial unit – Łuniniec province. Issues such as: the administrative territorial division and population of Łuniniec area within a period of the Seconf Polish Republic, creation and organization of the local government in Poleskie province in years 1919–1926, the demographic structure and functioning of the authorities in years 1919–1926 were mentioned. In the next part legal bases on the baisis of which Łuniniec local government functioned in years 1927–1932 were presented as well as its activity in 1926–1933; recordings of law from 23 June, 1933 presenting the partial change of structure of the local government were taken into account. The last part presents refers to problems of legal bases concerning activities of Polish local governments in the 30’s of the XXth century. In this part the author described history of the local government of Łuniniec province in 1934–1939. The fourth part is closed by the summary that refers to the whole material presented in all separated fragments of the monograph of the local government of Łuniniec province in 1842–1939. Maps and illustrations
enriching the content and making it easier to understand easier were added to each part, and also the bibliography refering to all contents of four elements of the elaboration.