Oleksander Petrovych Hrekov (4 December 1875-2 December 1958) was the commander-in-chief of the West Ukrainian People's Republic during the time of the Polish-Ukrainian War.
Biography[]
Oleksander Petrovych Hrekov was born on 4 December 1875 in Glukhov Uyezd in the Russian Empire (present-day Hlukhiv, Sumy, Ukraine) to a family of distant Greek descent. He completed law at Lomonosov Moscow State University and enrolled at the Nicholas General Staff Academy in 1905, and at the start of World War I he became the commander of the Russia 74th Infantry Division. By April 1917 he was a Major-General, and Hrekov had fought near Tarnopil (Ternopil) against the Germans. In December 1917 Hrekov joined the army of the newly-independent West Ukrainian People's Republic and he led the Kiev Military District at the time of the Russian Civil War.
After arguments with Ukrainian independence leader Szymon Petlyura, Hrekov joined the Ukrainian Galician Army of Yevhen Petrushevych. Hrekov fought against Poland during the Polish-Ukrainian War, and he succeeded in the Chortkiv Offensive, although the Polish line soon stabilized and the offensive halted. Hrekov became a favorite of the people of Galicia, but a conflict with the leadership of the WUPR led to his exile to Romania. In 1920, he moved to Vienna in Austria and died there in 1958.