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Nikolay GrigoryevUkrainian partisan, ataman of the UPR, then commander of the Red Army division
Country:
 Ukraine |
Content:
- Early Life and Career
- Military Service
- World War I:
- Involvement in the Ukrainian Nationalist Movement
- Partisan Warfare:
- Collaboration with the Ukrainian People's Republic
- Independent Actions and Rift with the UPR
- Break with the UPR and Joining the Red Army
- Leadership of the Red Army's 6th Ukrainian Division
Early Life and Career
Contradictory Origins:There is conflicting information about Grigoriev's birth. Soviet sources speculate he was born in either Verblyuzhka or Alexandria, Kherson Governorate, in 1878, 1885, or 1894. Researcher V. A. Savchenko argues that he was born in Dunayevtsy, Podolia Governorate (now Khmelnytskyi Oblast), in 1885 as Nykyfor Oleksandrovych Servetnyk. He later moved to Grigorievo, Kherson Governorate, and adopted the surname Grigoriev.
Military Service
Imperial Russian Army:Grigoriev fought as a cavalryman in the Russo-Japanese War. He was listed as a praporshchik (second lieutenant) in the 60th Infantry Zamosc Regiment in Odessa as Nykyfor Oleksandrovych Grigoriev-Servetnikov.
World War I:
After demobilization, Grigoriev reportedly served as an excise official or a police officer in Proskurov (now Khmelnytskyi). With the outbreak of World War I, he was mobilized to the Southwestern Front and rose to the rank of штабс-капитан (captain). He was awarded the Cross of St. George.
Involvement in the Ukrainian Nationalist Movement
After the February Revolution, Grigoriev became involved in the Ukrainian Nationalist movement. He supported the Ukrainian Central Rada and received the rank of lieutenant colonel for helping form Ukrainized units. After the Rada was overthrown by German occupiers, he backed the coup of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky.
Partisan Warfare:
In summer 1918, Grigoriev turned against Skoropadsky and the German occupiers. He gathered a force of 200 men and launched a partisan war against them in the Elizavetgrad region. His early successes included attacking German police officers and an Austrian military train. His force grew to 1,500 by October 1918.
Collaboration with the Ukrainian People's Republic
With the rise of an anti-Hetman movement led by V. K. Vynnychenko and Symon Petliura, Grigoriev joined forces with them. He captured Verblyuzhka, Alexandria, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Ochakiv, and Aleshkiv. However, he was later expelled from Mykolaiv and Kherson by Allied interventionists.
Independent Actions and Rift with the UPR
Grigoriev proclaimed himself "Ataman of the Insurgent Forces of Kherson, Zaporizhia, and Taurida." He pursued an independent policy, clashing with Petliura's forces and the anarchist Makhnovtsy. He also aligned with the Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionaries (Borotbists).
Break with the UPR and Joining the Red Army
In January 1919, Grigoriev broke with the UPR after refusing to follow orders from its army headquarters. He was appointed military commissar of the UPR's Aleksandriya district.
Leadership of the Red Army's 6th Ukrainian Division
In April 1919, Grigoriev became commander of the 6th Ukrainian Soviet Division in the Ukrainian Soviet Army. However, he remained dissatisfied with the Bolsheviks and led an anti-Bolshevik rebellion in June 1919.
