Petro Bolbochan

Petro Fedorovych Bolbochan ( – 28 June 1919) was a Ukrainian military figure of Moldovan descent who was a colonel of the Ukrainian People's Army. Recognized as a good organizer and masterful strategist,

Early life and career Petro Fedorovych Bolbochan was born on 5 October 1883 in the village of Yarivka , in the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in the Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine) in the family of a Moldovan Orthodox priest, Fedir Oleksiyovych Bolbochan. Fedir, also from the family of a priest, was born in the village of Lipnik, in the Bessarabia Governorate (now Lipnic, Moldova). His name came from the Romanian word Bulboacă.

In 1905, he graduated from the Chișinău Theological Seminary. In 1909, he graduated from the Chuhuiv Infantry Junker School. In the same year he married Yelisavetgrad-born Maria Popescu. During the First World War, he was an officer of in Imperial Russian Army's 38th Tobolsk Regiment.

Ukrainian People's Army After the Russian Revolution, Bolbochan actively began organizing Ukrainian military units and helped form the 1st Bohdan Khmelnytsky Ukrainian Regiment from Russian army units. From November 1918 to January 1919, Bolbochan headed the defense of Northeastern Ukraine.

Following the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces to Right-bank Ukraine, Bolbochan was relieved from all command posts. During that time he started criticizing the inconsistent policies of the Ukrainian People's Republic's government. On 9 June 1919 Bolbochan made an unsanctioned attempt to take command over troops of Zaporozhian Corps stationed in Proskuriv, but failed. As a result, he was convicted by a court-martial and shot near the railway station of Balyn in Podillia. At the time of his death, he was 35 years old.

Legacy A street in Pechersk District of Kyiv was named after Bolbochan in 2015.

A bust in his memory was unveiled in Petro Bolbochan Square at 86 Sichovykh Striltsiv Street in Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi District on 5 October 2020. At the time it was the first monumental sculpture in his honor in Ukraine and the world.

The 3rd Operational Brigade (Ukraine) is named in honor of Bolbochan.