Oleksander Hrekov

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Oleksander Hrekov (Ukrainian: Олександер Греков) (b. December 4, 1875 - d. December 2, 1958) was the commander-in-chief of the army of the West Ukrainian People's Republic during the Polish-Ukrainian War. Hrekov graduated from the General Staff Academy in St. Petersburg in 1905, and in 1915 became a general in the Russian army during the First World War. In 1917 he became the chief of staff of the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic, and between June 9 and July 5 commanded the forces of the West Ukrainian People's Republic during their war against the Poles. Under his command, the army of the West Ukrainian People's Republic experienced its greatest success during the Chortkiv offensive, when the Poles were thrown back 120 km; as a result Hrekov became quite popular among the Ukrainians of eastern Galicia. In 1920 he moved to Vienna. Arrested by the Soviet occupation authorities in 1948, he was exiled to Siberia before being released in 1956, whereupon he returned to Vienna.