Oleksander Hrekov
Encyclopedia
Oleksander Petrovych Hrekov (4 December 1875 – 2 December 1958) was a general of the Imperial Russian Army
, Ukrainian People's Army
, military professor and one of the most prominent personalities in the History of Ukraine
. He was better known as the commander-in-chief of the army of the West Ukrainian National Republic
during the Polish-Ukrainian War
and architect of the Chortkiv offensive
in which the Ukrainian Galician Army
advanced 120 km (75 mi) against the Polish army.
in Sopychi, Chernigov Governorate
. Today most of the territory belongs to the village of Sopych, Hlukhiv Raion, right on the border with the Russian Federation. His father Petro Havrylovych Hrekov was a lawyer and a big landowner of the Chernigov Governorate
and his mother was Maria Hryhorivna Preobrazhenska. According to family legend, the Hrekov's family were descendants of a Greek who was part of the delegation accompanying Sophia Paleologue
as she moved to Muscovy in 1472 when marrying Ivan III of Russia
, Grand Prince of Moscow. The Hrekov family attained the status of nobility as a reward for their service to Peter the Great.
On the insistence of his father, Hrekov completed the law school of Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1897. Later, after surprising enrollment into the Moscow military school, he graduated it in 1899 and the Nicholas General Staff Academy
in 1905 after three years of study (along with another Ukrainian general Volodymyr Sinclair).
at first (1907) he served at the 3rd Grenadier Division (Moscow) and later (1908) relocated to Saint Petersburg
to the 1st Guard Division. There Hrekov received his first award, the Order of Saint Stanislaus
of III degree, as well as promotion to captain. Along with his military service the future general was giving lectures in the Pavel Infantry School (uchilishche). Since 1910 Hrekov worked at the headquarters of the Petersburg Military District
. In 1910 he also received an assignment of the first adjutant of Guard forces, similar to the chief of Guard intelligence. One of his duties was a close security of the royal family of Nikolai II. In 1911 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
and received his second award, the Order of Saint Anna of III degree. In 1912 Hrekov defended his dissertation on the History of military art, becoming an extra-ordinary professor which today is a candidate of sciences. Hrekov also became a professor of the Military Art Department at Nikolas Academy General Staff
. At the start of the First World War he was appointed as the chief of staff for the 74th Infantry Division which was stationed at the rear. There Hrekov met with another future Ukrainian general Mykola Yunakiv
. After a request to send him to the frontlines, Hrekov was appointed as the chief of staff for the 1st Guard Division. In 1915 he was promoted to colonel
. In April 1917 he distinguished himself in fighting near Tarnopol
and was awarded the Order of St. George
of IV degree. The same year Hrekov was promoted to general.
was a colonel Petro Bolbochan. At one time the Russian prime-minister Vladimir Lenin
was offering 50,000 rubles in silver for the head of colonel Bolbochan. During the same time Hrekov was appointed the chief of the Kiev Military District and was partially involved in the formation of the Sich Riflemen Halych-Bukovyna Kurin
(Battalion) led by Yevhen Konovalets
. The unit became the main supporter of the Central Rada and Mykhailo Hrushevsky
. After the fall of Kiev early in 1918 Hrekov retired from the Ukrainian People's Army. From December 1918 until January 1919 he was assigned to undertake negotiations with French forces occupying Odessa
on behalf of the Directorate of Ukraine
. After a conflict with Petliura and leftist Ukrainian politicians, he was forced to resign his post and on 16 May 1919 assumed command of the Ukrainian Galician Army
offered to him by Yevhen Petrushevych
.
The Galician army faced against the better equipped the Heller's Army was pushed from Lviv
all the way to Husyatyn at Zbruch river. Hrekov's presence there electrified the Galician soldiers, who were on the verge of defeat at the hands of the Poles during their war against them
; many veterans of that war recalled the period under his command as the high point of their war experience. Under Hrekov's command, between 9 June and 5 July the army of the West Ukrainian People's Republic experienced its greatest success during the Chortkiv offensive
, when the Poles were thrown back over 200 km (124 mi). Soon, however, the Polish forces were able to recover half of their yielded territory and stabilize the frontlines. As a result Hrekov became quite popular among the Ukrainians of eastern Galicia. Following a conflict with the leadership of the West Ukrainian National Republic
(it is rumored that the head of the West Ukrainian National Republic was pressured by Petliura to let Hrekov go, because Petliura feared Hrekov's popularity and disliked his opposition to Petliura's socialist policies ) Hrekov and his family left for Romania in July 1919.
. While there, he edited the journal "Ukraina" but adopted a pro-Polish orientation that discredited him in the eyes of much of the Ukrainian émigré community. In the 1930s he became close to a circle of Russian émigrés but at the end of that decade returned to the Ukrainian community, where he tried in vain to create an organization of "Ukrainian cossacks." Arrested by the Soviet occupation authorities in 1948, he was exiled to Siberia before being released in 1956, whereupon he returned to Vienna.
Currently a street in Lviv
is named after Hrekov.
of the Higher Court, secret adviser, and senator. His wife family was of the Hungarian descent. He had a son Oleh (1914–1942) and a daughter Yelyzaveta (1906-?).
Hrekov had two sisters Anna and Yulia as well as three brothers: Kostiantyn - attorney, Hryhoriy - military officer, and Mykola - engineer-railway specialist.
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
, Ukrainian People's Army
Ukrainian People's Army
The Ukrainian People's Army , also known as the Ukrainian National Army were often quickly reorganized units of the former Russian Imperial Army or newly formed volunteer detachments that later joined the national armed forces. The army for a long period lacked a certain degree of uniformity,...
, military professor and one of the most prominent personalities in the History of Ukraine
History of Ukraine
The territory of Ukraine was a key center of East Slavic culture in the Middle Ages, before being divided between a variety of powers. However, the history of Ukraine dates back many thousands of years. The territory has been settled continuously since at least 5000 BC, and is also a candidate site...
. He was better known as the commander-in-chief of the army of the West Ukrainian National Republic
West Ukrainian National Republic
The West Ukrainian People's Republic was a short-lived republic that existed in late 1918 and early 1919 in eastern Galicia, that claimed parts of Bukovina and Carpathian Ruthenia and included the cities of Lviv , Przemyśl , Kolomyia , and Stanislaviv...
during the Polish-Ukrainian War
Polish-Ukrainian War
The Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of the Second Polish Republic and West Ukrainian People's Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.-Background:...
and architect of the Chortkiv offensive
Chortkiv offensive
The Chortkiv offensive , sometimes also referred to as the June Offensive, was a surprise military operation by the Ukrainian Galician Army in the Polish-Ukrainian War for Eastern Galicia....
in which the Ukrainian Galician Army
Ukrainian Galician Army
Ukrainian Galician Army , was the Ukrainian military of the West Ukrainian National Republic during and after the Polish-Ukrainian War. -Military equipment:...
advanced 120 km (75 mi) against the Polish army.
Background
Hrekov was born into a cossack family whose estate was near GlukhovHlukhiv
Hlukhiv or Glukhov is a historic town in Sumy region of Ukraine, just south from the Russian border . As of 2001, the city's population is 35,800...
in Sopychi, Chernigov Governorate
Chernigov Governorate
The Chernigov Governorate , also known as the Government of Chernigov, was a guberniya in the historical Left-bank Ukraine region of the Russian Empire, which was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Malorossiya Governorate with an administrative centre of Chernigov...
. Today most of the territory belongs to the village of Sopych, Hlukhiv Raion, right on the border with the Russian Federation. His father Petro Havrylovych Hrekov was a lawyer and a big landowner of the Chernigov Governorate
Chernigov Governorate
The Chernigov Governorate , also known as the Government of Chernigov, was a guberniya in the historical Left-bank Ukraine region of the Russian Empire, which was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Malorossiya Governorate with an administrative centre of Chernigov...
and his mother was Maria Hryhorivna Preobrazhenska. According to family legend, the Hrekov's family were descendants of a Greek who was part of the delegation accompanying Sophia Paleologue
Sophia Paleologue
Zoe Palaiologina , later changed her name to Sophia Palaiologina , Grand Duchess of Moscow, was a niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI and second wife of Ivan III of Russia. She was also the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible.- Biography :...
as she moved to Muscovy in 1472 when marrying Ivan III of Russia
Ivan III of Russia
Ivan III Vasilyevich , also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and "Grand Prince of all Rus"...
, Grand Prince of Moscow. The Hrekov family attained the status of nobility as a reward for their service to Peter the Great.
On the insistence of his father, Hrekov completed the law school of Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1897. Later, after surprising enrollment into the Moscow military school, he graduated it in 1899 and the Nicholas General Staff Academy
General Staff Academy (Imperial Russia)
The General Staff Academy was a Russian military academy, established in 1832 in St.Petersburg. It was first known as the Imperial Military Academy , then in 1855 it was renamed Nicholas General Staff Academy and in 1909 - Imperial Nicholas Military Academy The General Staff Academy was a...
in 1905 after three years of study (along with another Ukrainian general Volodymyr Sinclair).
Career in the Russian Army
Since 1905 Hrekov served in the Leib-Guard Egersky Regiment. From 1908 taught political and military history at the military academy. Prior to World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
at first (1907) he served at the 3rd Grenadier Division (Moscow) and later (1908) relocated to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
to the 1st Guard Division. There Hrekov received his first award, the Order of Saint Stanislaus
Order of Saint Stanislaus
The Order of Saint Stanislaus , also spelled Stanislas, was an Order in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Kingdom of Poland between 1765 and 1831 and of Russian Empire from 1831 to 1917.-History of the Order of Saint Stanislaus:Stanisław August Poniatowski, King of Poland, established the...
of III degree, as well as promotion to captain. Along with his military service the future general was giving lectures in the Pavel Infantry School (uchilishche). Since 1910 Hrekov worked at the headquarters of the Petersburg Military District
Petersburg Military District (Russian Empire)
The Petersburg Military District was a Military District of the Russian Empire originally created in August 1864 following Order B-228 of Dmitry Milyutin, the Minister of War of the Russian Empire...
. In 1910 he also received an assignment of the first adjutant of Guard forces, similar to the chief of Guard intelligence. One of his duties was a close security of the royal family of Nikolai II. In 1911 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
and received his second award, the Order of Saint Anna of III degree. In 1912 Hrekov defended his dissertation on the History of military art, becoming an extra-ordinary professor which today is a candidate of sciences. Hrekov also became a professor of the Military Art Department at Nikolas Academy General Staff
General Staff Academy (Imperial Russia)
The General Staff Academy was a Russian military academy, established in 1832 in St.Petersburg. It was first known as the Imperial Military Academy , then in 1855 it was renamed Nicholas General Staff Academy and in 1909 - Imperial Nicholas Military Academy The General Staff Academy was a...
. At the start of the First World War he was appointed as the chief of staff for the 74th Infantry Division which was stationed at the rear. There Hrekov met with another future Ukrainian general Mykola Yunakiv
Mykola Yunakiv
Mykola Yunakiv was a Ukrainian general, military pedagogue. He was a general in the army of the Russian Empire and the Ukrainian People's Republic....
. After a request to send him to the frontlines, Hrekov was appointed as the chief of staff for the 1st Guard Division. In 1915 he was promoted to colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. In April 1917 he distinguished himself in fighting near Tarnopol
Ternopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
and was awarded the Order of St. George
Order of St. George
The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
of IV degree. The same year Hrekov was promoted to general.
Career in the Ukrainian Army
In December 1917 he switched to Ukrainian service where his first assignment was the 2nd Serdyuk Division which was only starting to form and at that time consisted out a small officer corps. One of the Hrekov's first remarkable subordinates on the side of the Ukrainian People's ArmyUkrainian People's Army
The Ukrainian People's Army , also known as the Ukrainian National Army were often quickly reorganized units of the former Russian Imperial Army or newly formed volunteer detachments that later joined the national armed forces. The army for a long period lacked a certain degree of uniformity,...
was a colonel Petro Bolbochan. At one time the Russian prime-minister Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
was offering 50,000 rubles in silver for the head of colonel Bolbochan. During the same time Hrekov was appointed the chief of the Kiev Military District and was partially involved in the formation of the Sich Riflemen Halych-Bukovyna Kurin
Sich Riflemen
The Sich Riflemen Halych-Bukovyna Kurin were one of the first regular military units of the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The unit operated from 1917 to 1919 and was formed from Ukrainian soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army, local population and former commanders of the Ukrainian Sich...
(Battalion) led by Yevhen Konovalets
Yevhen Konovalets
Yevhen Konovalets was a military commander of the UNR army and political leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement...
. The unit became the main supporter of the Central Rada and Mykhailo Hrushevsky
Mykhailo Hrushevsky
Mykhailo Serhiyovych Hrushevsky was a Ukrainian academician, politician, historian, and statesman, one of the most important figures of the Ukrainian national revival of the early 20th century...
. After the fall of Kiev early in 1918 Hrekov retired from the Ukrainian People's Army. From December 1918 until January 1919 he was assigned to undertake negotiations with French forces occupying Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
on behalf of the Directorate of Ukraine
Directorate of Ukraine
The Directorate, or Directory was a provisional revolutionary state committee of the Ukrainian National Republic, formed in 1918 by the Ukrainian National Union in rebellion against Skoropadsky's regime....
. After a conflict with Petliura and leftist Ukrainian politicians, he was forced to resign his post and on 16 May 1919 assumed command of the Ukrainian Galician Army
Ukrainian Galician Army
Ukrainian Galician Army , was the Ukrainian military of the West Ukrainian National Republic during and after the Polish-Ukrainian War. -Military equipment:...
offered to him by Yevhen Petrushevych
Yevhen Petrushevych
Yevhen Petrushevych was a Ukrainian lawyer, politician, and president of the Western Ukrainian National Republic formed after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918.-Biography:He was born on June 3, 1863, in the town of Busk, of Galicia in the clerical...
.
The Galician army faced against the better equipped the Heller's Army was pushed from Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
all the way to Husyatyn at Zbruch river. Hrekov's presence there electrified the Galician soldiers, who were on the verge of defeat at the hands of the Poles during their war against them
Polish-Ukrainian War
The Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of the Second Polish Republic and West Ukrainian People's Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.-Background:...
; many veterans of that war recalled the period under his command as the high point of their war experience. Under Hrekov's command, between 9 June and 5 July the army of the West Ukrainian People's Republic experienced its greatest success during the Chortkiv offensive
Chortkiv offensive
The Chortkiv offensive , sometimes also referred to as the June Offensive, was a surprise military operation by the Ukrainian Galician Army in the Polish-Ukrainian War for Eastern Galicia....
, when the Poles were thrown back over 200 km (124 mi). Soon, however, the Polish forces were able to recover half of their yielded territory and stabilize the frontlines. As a result Hrekov became quite popular among the Ukrainians of eastern Galicia. Following a conflict with the leadership of the West Ukrainian National Republic
West Ukrainian National Republic
The West Ukrainian People's Republic was a short-lived republic that existed in late 1918 and early 1919 in eastern Galicia, that claimed parts of Bukovina and Carpathian Ruthenia and included the cities of Lviv , Przemyśl , Kolomyia , and Stanislaviv...
(it is rumored that the head of the West Ukrainian National Republic was pressured by Petliura to let Hrekov go, because Petliura feared Hrekov's popularity and disliked his opposition to Petliura's socialist policies ) Hrekov and his family left for Romania in July 1919.
Life in Emigration
In 1920 he moved to ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. While there, he edited the journal "Ukraina" but adopted a pro-Polish orientation that discredited him in the eyes of much of the Ukrainian émigré community. In the 1930s he became close to a circle of Russian émigrés but at the end of that decade returned to the Ukrainian community, where he tried in vain to create an organization of "Ukrainian cossacks." Arrested by the Soviet occupation authorities in 1948, he was exiled to Siberia before being released in 1956, whereupon he returned to Vienna.
Currently a street in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
is named after Hrekov.
Personal life
Oleksander Hrekov was married Natalia Ivanivna Kabat in 1905, a daughter of HofmeisterHofmeister
Hofmeister may refer to:, medieval and early modern court position, drama by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz* Hofmeister Lager, a UK lager brand* Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag, German music publisher, short: Hofmeister...
of the Higher Court, secret adviser, and senator. His wife family was of the Hungarian descent. He had a son Oleh (1914–1942) and a daughter Yelyzaveta (1906-?).
Hrekov had two sisters Anna and Yulia as well as three brothers: Kostiantyn - attorney, Hryhoriy - military officer, and Mykola - engineer-railway specialist.
Honours and awards
- Order of St. VladimirOrder of St. VladimirThe Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
, 3rd and 4th classes - Order of Saint George, 4th class
- Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd and 3rd classes
- Order of St. AnneOrder of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
, 3rd and 4th classes