Semen Goruk

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Vasyliovych and the family name is Goruk.

Semen Goruk
Goruk in 1918
Native name	Семен Васильович Ґорук
Nickname(s)	Sen Goruk
Born	(1873-09-13)13 September 1873 Sniatyn, Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine)
Died	1920 (aged 46–47) Solovki prison camp, Arkhangelsk Governorate, Russian SFSR (now Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia)
Allegiance	Austria-Hungary West Ukrainian People's Republic Ukrainian People's Republic
Service/branch	Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces Ukrainian Galician Army
Years of service	1914–1920
Rank	Otaman
Unit	Ukrainian Sich Riflemen Ukrainian Galician Army
Battles/wars	World War I  (POW) Battle of Makivka Battle of Dniestr and Zolota Lypa Ukrainian War of Independence Polish–Ukrainian War Ukrainian–Soviet War Polish–Soviet War Kiev offensive (1920)
Alma mater	University of Lviv

Semen Vasyliovych Goruk (Ukrainian: Семе́н Васильович Ґору́к; 13 September 1873 – 1920) was a Ukrainian military commander who served as General Bulawa of the Ukrainian Galician Army, a rank equivalent to Chief of the General Staff, from 6 November 1918 to 10 December 1918. He was later captured by the Red Army and sent to Solovki prison camp, where he was executed.

Biography

Semen Vasyliovych Goruk was born on 13 September 1873 in the town of Sniatyn in what was then the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria within Austria-Hungary. He graduated from a gymnasium in Kolomyia, and later from the University of Lviv. Prior to the outbreak of World War I he was a member of Ukrainian nationalist groups, including Young Ukraine and the Christian-Civic Party, and he was one of the main organisers of the Sokol movement in Galicia.

Following the beginning of the First World War, he joined the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces, becoming a kurin commander within the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. He fought at the Battle of Makivka, as well as during battles at Lysonia and Dniestr and Zolota Lypa.

On 30 September 1916, he was captured by the Imperial Russian Army. He would remain a prisoner of war until Russia's withdrawal, at which point he was repatriated to Austria-Hungary. He helped command the 1918 November Uprising that ultimately led to the creation of the West Ukrainian People's Republic, and became the first General Bulawa (chief of staff) of the Ukrainian Galician Army. He was released from his duties as General Bulawa on 10 December 1918, when he moved to the Secretariat of Military Affairs as a personnel officer. He was promoted on 1 January 1919 to an otaman, equivalent to the rank of major.

In April 1920, during the Kiev offensive, Goruk was captured by the Red Army and sent to Solovki prison camp. He was later executed.