In memory of historian, writer, and Azov member Mykola Kravchenko (call sign "Kruk").

“Everything I do is for the future. This is how I am building a future for my children and those who will share their fate,” wrote Mykola.

Mykola Kravchenko, known by his call sign “Kruk,” was a military officer, an ideologist of the “Azov” movement, the chief of staff of the partisan unit “Chornyi Korpus,” a participant in the Revolution of Dignity, a veteran of the “Azov” regiment, the deputy head of the “National Corps” party, a co-founder of the “Orijentyr” publishing house, and an active participant in the battles for Kyiv during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war.

Mykola was born on May 20, 1983, in Lyubotyn, Kharkiv Oblast. After studying at a law lyceum, he enrolled in the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, graduating in 2005 with higher legal and economic education. In 2009, he completed his master’s degree at the Kharkiv Regional Institute of the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, and in 2013, he finished his postgraduate studies at the Institute of Ukrainian Archeography and Source Studies named after M. Hrushevsky of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

In 2017, Mykola earned a Ph.D. in historical sciences, defending his dissertation on the topic “Activities of Ukrainian Nationalist Political Movements of the Late 1980s to Early 2000s in Memoir Sources.”

He took an active civic stance in the 2000s, engaging in historical reenactments. In 2005, Mykola became a member of the Kharkiv Regional Public Organization “Patriot of Ukraine,” one of its co-founders. It was within this organization that he received his call sign – “Kruk.”

His wife, Olga, believes that their meeting in 2004 was fate: “We met at the historical reenactment festival ‘Scandinavia-2004.’ I happened to be there by chance and can boldly say that under any other circumstances, we would not have crossed paths, as we lived in different regions, and the festival took place in another location.”

During Yanukovych’s presidency, Mykola spent two years underground due to being placed on a nationwide wanted list.

In the winter of 2013-2014, he participated in the Revolution of Dignity. From late February 2014, he returned to Kharkiv, participating in the storming of the “Oplot” club, which served as the main headquarters for pro-Russian separatists in the city, defending the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, and leading the local branch of the “Right Sector.” With the legalization of “Chornyi Korpus” and its transformation into the volunteer battalion “Azov,” “Kruk” became the head of the battalion’s personnel service.

At the onset of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), Mykola participated in combat operations in the East. During that time, his call sign “Kruk” took on special meanings, as he was entrusted with the difficult mission of notifying families of the fallen about their loss... Thus, the call sign was not coincidental.

In 2015, veterans of the “Azov” battalion – Mykola Kravchenko and Marko Melnyk – founded the publishing house “Orijentyr.” Here, they were the first in Ukraine to systematically collect and publish the memoirs of volunteers from the Russian-Ukrainian war. Mykola wrote himself: from revolutionary leaflets to historical research. He authored works of fiction, children’s fairy tales, poems, and translations. He dreamed of publishing a collection of his fairy tales illustrated by his wife. He also wrote a doctoral dissertation that he did not have time to defend...

Following that, Mykola Kravchenko's name became associated with the expansion of “Azov.” Kruk became one of the founders of the Civil Corps “Azov,” and from 2016 to 2018, he was the head of the Youth Corps of the same name. He was also a co-founder of the “National Corps” – a political party established on the basis of the Civil Corps “Azov,” serving as deputy to Andriy Biletsky, the party leader. These were also years of civic-political work, during which Mykola contributed to the development of the draft law “On Collaborationism.”

Since the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion, “Kruk” was involved in organizing Kyiv’s territorial defense. As an officer of the Separate Special Purpose Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Azov,” he frequently went to the front line in the suburbs of Kyiv, sometimes multiple times a day.

On March 14, 2022, Mykola, along with his colleague and comrade Serhiy Mashovets, accompanied foreign journalists from “Fox News” to the village of Horenka in the Bucha district of Kyiv Oblast. Their vehicle was shelled by Russian Grad missiles. From the second half of the day, they lost contact... And two weeks prior, during the bombing of Kharkiv, Mykola's father, Serhiy Kravchenko, was killed.

“At first, everyone hoped they had entered an area where Russian electronic warfare was disrupting communications, as it had happened before that soldiers would disappear for 1-3 days in encircled or gray zones and then return to their units. But later, Mykola Kravchenko's body was identified in the morgue... And while it was still possible to identify ‘Kruk,’ Serhiy Mashovets’ body was almost completely burned,” said the director of the “Orijentyr” publishing house, a soldier of the Special Operations Forces “Azov,” Danilo Koval.

“March 14, 2022. My teacher, ideological comrade, and great friend has passed into another world. … Personally, and for many hundreds of my acquaintances, I miss him immensely. It is hard to express in words how much,” wrote Azov member Oleksiy Reins (“Konsul”).

A year later, on March 14, 2023, on Volunteer Day, Kruk's remains were laid to rest at the Lukyanivske Cemetery in Kyiv, attended by his comrades, close friends, and relatives. Not everyone could be there, as many “Azov” members were still on the front lines then and now.

“I knew Kruk for almost 20 years. His entire life was a struggle for a Great Ukraine. And he died in battles for Kyiv region,” said the first commander of the “Azov” regiment, Andriy Biletsky.

“He was an extraordinarily caring and loving father. He told his daughters about everything in the world, taught them geography, biology, introduced them to faith, and wrote fairy tales for them. We always went out or traveled together,” recalls his wife, Olga. “It was hard to believe that this could happen, as he had so many plans for the future that are impossible to comprehend. His work was scheduled for many years, perhaps even decades in advance.”

In the Azov movement, an informal patch featuring the black silhouette of a crow is still in use. It was created in memory of Mykola Kravchenko. The “Kruk Patch” exists in two variations – “field” for the front line and “gray” for the rear. In honor of Mykola Kravchenko, his comrades created a digital memorial for Kruk.

In honor of Mykola Kravchenko, streets in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Izyum have been named after him.

Respect and honor to the Hero!

Photo: ArmyInform, Orijentyr, BYKVU, Digital Memorial for Kruk, from open sources