Alexander Vasilyevich Galitsky was born on February 21, 1863, in the village of Russkiye Krai in the Yaran district, into the family of a hereditary village priest, Vasily Petrovich Galitsky. From 1884 to 1889, he studied at the medical faculty of Kazan University, and then worked as a doctor for almost thirty years in the Kazan, Vyatka, and Saratov provinces.

In 1886, Galitsky began composing chess problems and participated for the first time in a competition organized by the magazine "Raduga." Throughout his rich creative life, he published 1860 problems, with over a thousand remaining unpublished. Although Galitsky did not seek to participate in competitions, 30 of his works were awarded prizes, including 10 first prizes.

Galitsky's main goal was to popularize chess composition and seek truth in its emerging history. His publications on the theory of chess composition remain relevant today.

Galitsky's articles, such as "On the Theory of Problem Composition," "On the Different Expressions of the Same Ideas in Chess Problems," and "On the Complication of Ideas in Chess Problems," as well as his speeches and discussion notes, impress with their brightness and modernity. They inspire action and resonate with his ideas and arguments, encouraging creativity. In the article "Fundamental Principles of the Art of Chess Problems," Galitsky wrote that a problem should contain a witty idea expressed in an artistic form to have predominant significance.

Based on Galitsky's works, a textbook can be created reflecting the history of the development of chess problems. Each of his problems contains an original idea expressed in an ideal form.

The famous Swedish composer Ros called Alexander Galitsky the "chess Heine," and this is agreed upon by all chess composers around the world.