Krichevskii, Mikhail

Year of birth unknown, born near Brest; died July 31, 1649, near Loev. A leader of the war for the liberation of the Ukrainian and Byelorussian people of 1648–54.

In the 1640’s, Krichevskii was the PereiaslavP (according to other sources, Chigirin) colonel of the registered cossacks. At that time he was also Bogdan Khmel’nitskii’s closest friend. In 1647, KhmePnitskii, who had started preparations for an uprising, was arrested by the Polish authorities, but Krichevskii freed him. Sent at the head of troops to suppress the rebels, Krichevskii went over to their side with part of the troops on May 3, 1648. In 1648–49 he participated in KhmePnitskii’s campaigns. In July 1649 he was sent at the head of a detachment of 15,000 men to Byelorussia. Wounded in a battle at Loev with Prince Radziwiłł’s troops, Krichevskii was captured on July 31 and died in captivity.