 Hrekov was born into a Russian family whose estate was near Glukhov in Sopychi, Chernigov Governorate.Today most of the territory belongs to the village of Sopych, Hlukhiv Raion, on the border with the Russian Federation.His father Petro Havrylovych Hrekov was a lawyer and a large landowner of the Chernigov Governorate and his mother was Maria Hryhorivna Preobrazhenska.