September 5: In memory of Vasily Chapaev, a division commander who died near Lbischensk
On September 5, 1919, 32-year-old Vasily Chapayev died in the Ural region (now part of Kazakhstan). He was a legendary Red Army division commander, a hero of the Civil War, and a hero of Soviet jokes.
We will beat the enemy not as he wants, but as we want
(from Chapaev's combat order)
A carpenter from near Cheboksary
Born in 1887 near Cheboksary, into a rural carpenter's family, he dropped out of parochial school after three years and worked as a carpenter with his father and older brothers.
During World War I, he was called up to the front. He participated in the famous Brusilov Offensive and was wounded several times, but always returned to duty. One of the reasons for this was family turmoil—his wife's departure made him seem like he was seeking death in battle.
By the end of the war, he had three St. George's Crosses and a St. George's Medal. In the summer of 1917, he joined the Bolshevik Party. The crosses on his chest helped promote the party's ideas among the soldiers, and his career rapidly advanced.
The division commander was eager to fight
After the October Revolution, he fought in the cities of the Volga region, battling the Ural Cossacks and the rebellious White Czechs. He suppressed the anti-Soviet rebellions that erupted after the forced mobilization of the Red Army in the spring of 1918. After a month of study at the Red Army General Staff Academy, he dropped out, eager to fight.
Teaching at the Academy doesn't bring me any benefit... I've only had practical training. And I don't agree with languishing in vain within its walls; it seems like a prison to me.
(Chapaev's letter to the chief of staff)
By the summer of 1919, he had risen to commander of a rifle division fighting Kolchak. He distinguished himself during the capture of Ufa and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
Quiet! Chapaev will think!
The death of Vasily Chapaev near Lbischensk
He was the Ural Cossacks' bitterest enemy, managing to escape their clutches twice. He failed to escape a third time, even though the objective during the assault on Lbischensk, where his headquarters were located, was to capture Chapaev alive.
He died from a wound to the stomach (according to another version, to the head) after a sudden attack by the Cossacks.
Book, film and crossed out names
He gained widespread popularity posthumously. In 1923, the novel "Chapayev" by Dmitry Furmanov, a former commissar in his division (the division commander himself spelled his name with an "e"), was published.
You have to believe, guys, that things will go well, that's the most important thing. And if you don't believe you'll win, then don't go.
The first print runs of the book were destroyed in 1938, following the execution of one of the novel's key characters, Ivan Kutyakov (Chapay's right-hand man). In the reprinted version of the novel, his name was changed, thus eliminating the names of other executed military leaders.
In 1934, the Vasiliev brothers' film "Chapayev" was released in the USSR. A year later, it won the 1st Moscow Film Festival. It became one of Stalin and Putin's favorite films.
Three versions of death and not a single grave
In both the book and the film, the wounded Chapaev drowned while being ferried across the Ural River. According to another version (supported by documents), the divisional commander died of blood loss on the other side of the river while being ferried across by Red Guards. A third version (based on local residents and Cossack archives) claims the Whites found Chapaev seriously wounded, interrogated him, and hacked him to death with sabers. In any case, his grave does not exist—his body was never found.
Petka, Anka and the Soviet myth
In the USSR, villages and cities, streets, ships, and, during the Great Patriotic War, even partisan detachments were named after Chapaev.
But the most popular jokes were about Chapaev. Also popular were those about his orderly Petka (a composite of three real-life comrades) and the machine gunner Anka (based on the nurse Maria Popova, who replaced a wounded machine gunner).
- Vasily Ivanovich, look - they're white!
- Leave me alone, Petka, I don’t have time for mushrooms now!
“Criticism,” Chapaev teaches, “is when you, Petka, a private soldier, can say anything you want to my face.”
- And nothing will happen to me for this?
- Nothing, Petka! No new horse, no saber, no overcoat.
Many modern historians believe that Chapayev's role in the Civil War has been greatly exaggerated: he was merely one of many talented commanders. But his image perfectly fit the Soviet myth of the hero from the lowest ranks. His death before the end of the war transformed him into a martyr of the Revolution: he had no time to participate in the internal party struggle and, unlike many of his colleagues, was not subject to Stalin's purges.
