“Pravova derzhava”. Issue 37 (2026), pages 259–279.

DOI: 10.33663/0869-2491-2026-37-259-279

Usenko Igor
Professor Arnold Christer – scientist and tireless organizer of legal science at the VUAN

ISSN online: 2617-9776 print: 0869-2491

Introduction. Professor Arnold Krister was a prominent representative of the Kyiv academic school of legal historians and an active participant in the scholarly work of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. As head of the Commission for the Study of Ukraine’s Customary Law and the Commission of Soviet Law, as well as a professor at the Kyiv Institute of National Economy, he made a significant contribution to the development of legal scholarship in Ukraine. His research focused primarily on the study of customary law and the history of Ukrainian legal institutions. However, his life and academic career were tragically interrupted during the Stalinist repressions. Today, restoring the scholarly legacy of such researchers is an important task for the history of Ukrainian legal science.

Purpose of the Article. The purpose of the article is to reconstruct the life and scholarly activity of Arnold Krister and to analyze his contribution to the development of legal studies within the institutions of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Particular attention is paid to his role in organizing legal research and to the main directions of his academic work.

Results. The study reconstructs the key stages of Arnold Krister’s biography and academic career. It analyzes his participation in the work of legal commissions of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, his scholarly interests, and his contribution to the study of customary law and the history of Ukrainian law. The article also examines the intellectual environment in which he worked and highlights the institutional context of legal scholarship in the 1920s–1930s. Special attention is given to the circumstances of the repression that interrupted his scientific activity.

Conclusion. Arnold Krister should be regarded as an important figure of the Kyiv academic school of legal historians and a significant organizer of legal research in the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. His scholarly activity contributed to the development of historical and legal studies in Ukraine. At the same time, many aspects of his biography and academic heritage still require further research, particularly with regard to his unpublished works and archival materials.

Keywords: history of legal science, history of Ukrainian law, All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Commission for the Study of Ukraine’s Customary Law, Commission of Soviet Law, Krister Arnold Edmundovich, legal biographical studies, political repressions.

References

1. Babiy B. M. Ocherk razvitiya pravovykh issledovaniy v Ukrainskoy SSR 1919–1984 gg. Kiev : Naukova dumka, 1984. 195 s.

2. Polonska-Vasylenko N. D. Ukrainska Akademiia nauk: narys istorii. Chastyna 2 (1931–1941). Miunkhen : Instytut dlia vyvchennia SSSR, 1958. S. 69, 192, 202, 203.

3. Kryster Arnold. Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva. Slovnykova chastyna. T. 3. / Hol. red. V. Kubiiovych; Naukove tovarystvo im. Shevchenka. Paryzh, Niu-Iork, 1959. S. 1190.

4. Kryster, Arnold. Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine. URL: https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CK%5CR%5CKrysterArn old.htm (дата звернення: 08.02.2026).

5. Mykola Prokopovych Vasylenko / V. Voronenko, L. Kisterska, L. Matveieva, I. Usenko. Kyiv: Naukova dumka, 1991. P. 202–236.

6. Usenko I. B. Rozvytok pravovykh doslidzhen v ustanovakh Vseukrainskoi Akademii nauk (1918–1941) [Development of Legal Research in the Institutions of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences]. In: Yurydychna nauka i osvita na Ukraini. Kyiv: Naukova dumka, 1992. P. 37–76.

7. Akademichna yurydychna dumka [Academic Legal Thought] / Comp. I. B. Usenko, T. I. Bondaruk; ed. Yu. S. Shemshuchenko. Kyiv: In Yure, 1998. 503 p.

8. Usenko I. B. Kryster Arnold Edmundovych. Yurydychna entsyklopediia. Vol. 3 (K–M). Kyiv: Ukrainska entsyklopediia, 2001. P. 417–418.

9. Usenko I. B. Kryster Arnold Edmundovych. Entsyklopediia istorii Ukrainy. T. 5 : Kon–Kiu. K. : Naukova dumka, 2008. S. 395- 396.

10. Usenko I. B. Krister Arnold Edmundovych. Entsyklopediia suchasnoi Ukrainy : [Elektronnyi resurs] / redkol.: I. M. Dziuba, A. I. Zhukovskyi, M. H. Zhelezniak [ta in.] ; NAN Ukrainy, NTSh. Kyiv : Instytut entsyklopedychnykh doslidzhen NAN Ukrainy.  URL:  https://esu.com.ua/article-1608 (data  zvernennia:  08.02.2026).

11. Mikhnevych L. V. Rozvytok iurydychnoi nauky i osvity v Kyivskomu komertsiinomu instytuti — Kyivskomu instytuti narodnoho hospodarstva, 1906–1930 rr. / Za zah. red. I. B. Usenka. Kyiv : KNEU, 2011. 286 s.

12. Mikhnevych L. V. Kryminalno-pravovi problemy u naukovo-pedahohichnii diialnosti pravoznavtsiv Kyivskoho komertsiinoho instytutu/ Kyivskoho instytutu narodnoho hospodarstva. In Problemy protydii zlochynnosti: istoryko-pravovyi aspekt. Materialy KhVIII mizhnarodnoi istoryko-pravovoi konferentsii, 13–17 veresnia 2007 r., s. Sterehusche / Redkol.: O. V. Tymoschuk (holova), D. V. Velihodskyi (vidpov. sekretar), O. N. Iarmysh ta in. Simferopol: DOLIa, 2008. S. 13-17.

13. Hubar K. A. Z istorii pravnychoi osvity v Ukraini: iurydychne viddilennia Kyivskykh vyschykh zhinochykh kursiv. Chasopys Kyivskoho universytetu prava. 2011. № 3. S. 320–326. URL: https://kup.edu.ua/doc/chasopis/chasopis_2011_3.pdf (data zvernennia: 08.02.2026).

14. Loboda Iu. P. Pohliady Ie. Erlikha ta A. Krystera na zvychaieve pravo iak pravovu realnist: porivnialnyi analiz. Aktualni problemy derzhavy i prava: zbirnyk naukovykh prats. Odesa, 2009. Vyp. 49. S. 456–462 URL: http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/apdp_2009_49_76 ; Hrymych M. Instytut vlasnosti u zvychaievo-pravovii kulturi ukraintsiv KhIKh — pochatku KhKh stolittia. K., 2004. S. 37–44.

15. Usenko I. B. Represovane pravoznavstvo: trahichni storinky istorii VUAN. Pravova derzhava. Schorichnyk naukovykh prats. Vyp. 9. Kyiv, 1998. S. 290–317.

16. Filimonikhin V. Kyivski advokaty ta pravnyky — zhertvy velykoho teroru (Bykivnianskyi martyroloh). Visnyk Natsionalnoi asotsiatsii advokativ Ukrainy. 2019. № 6 (54) (cherven). S. 61–64. URL: https://unba.org.ua/assets/uploads/news/ visnyky/2019-06-13-v-snik-naau_5d0271ad5a657.pdf (data zvernennia: 08.02.2026); Filimonikhin V. Kyivski pravnyky, pokhovani v Bykivni (za materialamy arkhivno-kryminalnoi spravy Arnolda Hermanovycha Kristera). Bykivnianska trahediia v konteksti zlochyniv totalitarnoho rezhymu (do 15-richchia stvorennia Natsionalnoho istoryko-memorialnoho zapovidnyka «Bykivnianski mohyly») : zb. st. za materialamy nauk.-prakt. konf. (m. Kyiv, 8 hrudnia 2016 r.) / uporiad.: B. B. Biliashivskyi, T. L. Sheptytska. Kyiv, 2017. S. 313–321.

17. Nikolaieva N. Represovanyi vykladach Kyivskoho derzhavnoho universytetu — iuryst Krister Arnold Edmundovych. Naukovi zapysky Ternopilskoho natsionalnoho pedahohichnoho universytetu imeni Volodymyra Hnatiuka. Seriia: Istoriia. 2014. Vyp. 2. Ch. 2. S. 96–101. URL: https://journals.tnpu.ternopil.ua/index.php/history/article/view/2356 (data zvernennia: 08.02.2026).

18. Skus O. Kriz pryzmu teroru. Bykivnianskyi martyroloh: pravnyk Arnold Hermanovych Kryster. Starozhytnosti Lukomoria. 2022. № 2. S. 75– 82. DOI: 10.33782/2708-4116.2022.2.148. URL: https://www.irbis-nbuv.gov.ua (data zvernennia: 08.02.2026).

19. Liashenko V. O. Istoriia rodyny Krister. Kyiv : 7BTs, 2022. 807 s.

Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 26.02.2026
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 03.03.2026
Дата публікації: 24.03.2026