Nikifor Grigoriev

Nikifor Grigoriev
Montage-photo of Servetnyk (1919) Antonov-Ovseyenko (to the right) is cut-out
Nickname(s)	Otaman Grigoriev
Born	1885 near Dunaivtsi, Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine)
Died	July 27, 1919 (aged 33–34) village of Sentove, Ukraine
Allegiance	UNR, Ukrainian left SRs (borotbisty), Makhno.
Years of service	1904–1919
Rank	Staff Captain (Russian Army) Otaman (Ukrainian Army) Division Commander (Red Army)
Commands held	Ukrainian Kherson Division 1st Trans-Dnipro Brigade (Ukraine) 1st Trans-Dnepr Brigade (Red Army) 6th Ukrainian Rifle Division (Red Army)
Battles/wars	Russo-Japanese War World War I Ukrainian Civil War The Entente Intervention Odessa, 1919
Awards	Cross of St. George

Nikifor Grigoriev (Russian: Николай Алекса́ндрович Григо́рьев; c. 1885 – July 27, 1919), born Nychypir Servetnyk (Ukrainian: Ничипір Серветник) in a small village of Zastavlia (now in the Nova Ushytsia Raion, Ukraine), was a paramilitary leader noted for numerous switching of sides during the civil war in Ukraine. He was commonly known as "Otaman Grigoriev", as "Matviy Hryhoriyiv", "Matvey Grigoriev", or "Mykola Grigoriev".

He is sometimes misrepresented as the Otaman of the "Green Army". His association with the term "Green Army" is due to collaboration with the army of Otaman Zeleny (Green in Russian and Ukrainian) which fought against the UNR Directory, Bolsheviks, and Denikin's Army. Although he cooperated with Zeleny, this was marginal.

The Otaman or "warlord" was born Nychypir Servetnyk in a small village of Zastavlia (still stands today) of Novo-Ushytsia uyezd in Podolia Governorate. Servetnyk served in the cavalry of the Russian Imperial Army in the region of Kherson and participated in Russo-Japanese War in the Russian Far East serving in the Trans-Baikal Host. After his discharge he served as a gendarme in the town of Proskuriv, Podolia Governorate.

Servetnyk volunteered to the army with the outbreak of the First World War and was enlisted as a Praporshchik (see Rank structure) to the 56th Infantry Regiment in 1914. In course of war he was awarded the Cross of St. George for bravery. Servetnyk eventually rose to the rank of staff captain (Russian: Штабс-капитан) in the 58th Prague Infantry Regiment (1917) and changed his surname to Grigoriev. During this period he became a member of Eser (Socialist-Revolutionary) Party. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 (February Revolution and October Revolution), he supported the socialist-oriented Ukrainian Central Rada of the UNR Ukrainian National Republic. He served in the reorganized National Army of Ukraine and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.