Mykhailo Krychevsky
Mykhailo Krychevsky or Stanisław Krzyczewski or Krzeczowski (died 3 August 1649) was a Polish noble, military officer and Cossack commander. He fought for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against various Cossack revolts and Crimean Tatar factions. During his time as a Cossack commander, Krychevsky befriended Bohdan Khmelnytsky, who would go on to stage a revolt against the Polish-Lithuanian throne.
After being captured by enemy forces in 1648, Krychevsky was ransomed to Khmelnytsky and was named an acting hetman of Khmelnytsky's rebel forces. Krychevsky was mortally wounded in the battle of Loyew on 31 July 1649 and died in the custody of Polish forces.
Biography
He was born Stanisław Krzeczowski or Krzyczewski (sources vary) to a
Little is known about his early life. Ukrainian historian, Vyacheslav Lypynsky, in his 1912 biography of Krychevsky, speculated that with the rank of
It is much more likely that Krychevsky was present in the
In 1644 he was given the task of gathering information on the
Eventually Krychevsky became a friend and a sympathizer of
According to an account given in
A different account of how Krychevsky joined Khmelnytsky is present in other sources. Taken prisoner by Tatars during the Battle of Zhovti Vody (Yellow Waters) in April/May 1648, where he still fought on the Polish-Lithuanian side against the Cossacks, he was liberated by Khmelnytsky, who convinced him to join his side. Other sources even accuse Krychevsky of joining Khmelnytsky in the midst of the battle, and of meeting (or planning to meet) with him before the battle.[2]
In either case, all accounts agree that Krychevsky converted to Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism, adopting a new name, Mykahilo (Michael).[1]
He was given the title of
In fiction
Krychevsky was a minor character in Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel With Fire and Sword (Ogniem i Mieczem).[1]
Notes
Further reading
- Wacław Lipiński (Vyacheslav Lypynsky), Stanisław Michał Krzyczewski. Z dziejów walki szlachty ukraińskiej w szeregach powstańczych pod wodzą Bohdana Chmielnickiego, Kijów/Kraków 1912; (Ukrainian edition: Viacheslav Lypyns'kyi), Uchast' shliakhty и velykomu ukrains'komu povstanni pid provodom Het'mana Bohdana Khmel'nyts'koho, ed. Lev R. Bilas [Philadelphia, 1980])
External links
- Stanisław Krzeczowski, artistic vision, in a Polish collectible card game Veto!