On February 9, 1887, Vasily Chapaev, the most famous red commander of times, was born Civil War. Although during his lifetime he was not very famous and did not particularly stand out among other commanders, after his death he unexpectedly became one of the main heroes of the war. The cult of Chapaev reached such a scale in the Soviet Union that it seemed as if he was the most successful and outstanding commander of that war. The feature film released in the 30s finally cemented the legend about Chapaev, and its characters became so popular that they are still the protagonists of many jokes. Petka, Anka and Vasily Ivanovich firmly entered into Soviet folklore, and the legend about them obscured their real personalities. Life found out the true story of Chapaev and his associates.

Chepaev

Vasily's real name was Chepaev. He was born with this last name, this is how he signed his name, and this last name appears in all documents of that time. However, after the death of the red commander, they began to call him Chapaev. This is exactly what it is called in the book of Commissar Furmanov, on the basis of which the famous Soviet film was later filmed. It is difficult to say what caused this change of name; perhaps it was a mistake or carelessness of Furmanov, who wrote the book, or a deliberate distortion. One way or another, he went down in history under the name Chapaev.

Unlike many Red commanders who were engaged in illegal underground work even before the revolution, Chapaev was a completely trustworthy person. Coming from a peasant family, he moved to the provincial town of Melekess (now renamed Dimitrovgrad), where he worked as a carpenter. He was not involved in revolutionary activities, and after being called up to the front at the beginning of the First World War, he was in very good standing with his superiors. This is clearly evidenced by three (according to other sources, four) soldiers' St. George Crosses for bravery and the rank of sergeant major. In fact, this was the maximum that could be achieved with only a rural parochial school behind him - to become an officer, one had to study further.

During the First World War, Chapaev served in the 326th Belgorai Infantry Regiment under the command of Colonel Nikolai Chizhevsky. After the revolution, Chapaev also did not immediately join the turbulent political life, remaining on the sidelines for a long time. Only a few weeks before October revolution he decided to join the Bolsheviks, thanks to which he was chosen by activists to be the commander of a reserve infantry regiment stationed in Nikolaevsk. Soon after the revolution, the Bolsheviks, who were experiencing an acute shortage of loyal personnel, appointed him military commissar of the Nikolaev district. His task was to create the first detachments of the future Red Army in his region.

On the civil fronts

In the spring of 1918, an uprising against Soviet power broke out in several villages of the Nikolaev district. Chapaev was involved in its suppression. It happened like this: an armed detachment led by a formidable leader came to the village and an indemnity was imposed on the village in money and bread. In order to win the sympathy of the poorest residents of the village, they avoided paying indemnities; in addition, they were actively encouraged to join the detachment. Thus, from several disparate detachments that arose spontaneously (actually autonomous, under the command of local batek-atamans), collected in local villages, two regiments appeared, consolidated into the Pugachev brigade led by Chapaev. It was named in honor of Emelyan Pugachev.

Due to its small size, the brigade mainly acted using guerrilla methods. In the summer of 1918, the white units retreated in an orderly manner, leaving Nikolaevsk, which was occupied by Chapaev’s brigade practically without resistance and was immediately renamed for this occasion to Pugachev.

After this, on the basis of the brigade, the 2nd Nikolaev Division was formed, into which mobilized local residents were brought together. Chapaev was appointed commander, but after two months he was recalled to Moscow to the General Staff Academy for advanced training.

Chapaev did not like studying; he repeatedly wrote letters asking to be released from the academy. In the end, he simply left it in February 1919, having spent about 4 months studying. In the summer of that year, he finally received the main appointment that made him famous: he headed the 25th Infantry Division, later named after him.

It is worth noting that with the emergence Soviet legend There is a tendency to somewhat exaggerate his achievements about Chapaev. The cult of Chapaev grew to such an extent that it could seem as if he, almost single-handedly with his division, defeated the White troops on the Eastern Front. This is, of course, not true. In particular, the capture of Ufa is attributed almost solely to the Chapaevites. In fact, in addition to Chapaev’s, three more Soviet divisions and one cavalry brigade took part in the assault on the city. However, the Chapaevites really distinguished themselves - they were one of two divisions that managed to cross the river and occupy a bridgehead.

Soon the Chapaevites took Lbischensk, a small town not far from Uralsk. It was there that Chapaev would die two months later.

Chapaevites

The 25th Rifle Division, commanded by Chapaev, had a very bloated staff: it numbered more than 20 thousand people. At the same time, no more than 10 thousand were actually combat-ready. The remaining half consisted of rear and auxiliary units that did not participate in the battles.

A little-known fact: some of the Chapaevites, some time after the death of the commander, participated in a rebellion against Soviet power. After the death of Chapaev, part of the soldiers of the 25th division was transferred to the 9th cavalry division under the command of Sapozhkov. Almost all of them were peasants and were acutely worried about the food appropriation system that had begun, when special detachments completely requisitioned grain from the peasants, and not from the richest, but from everyone in a row, dooming many to starvation.

The surplus appropriation system had a significant impact on the rank and file of the Red Army, especially on the natives of the most grain-producing regions, where it was most cruel. Dissatisfaction with the policies of the Bolsheviks caused a number of spontaneous protests. In one of them, known as the Sapozhkov uprising, some former Chapaevites took part. The uprising was quickly suppressed, several hundred active participants were shot.

Death of Chapaev

After occupying Lbischensk, the division dispersed to surrounding settlements, and the headquarters was located in the town itself. The main combat forces were located several tens of kilometers from the headquarters, and the retreating white units could not counterattack due to the significant superiority of the red ones. Then they planned a deep raid on Lbischensk, having found out that the division’s practically unguarded headquarters was located there.

A detachment of 1,200 Cossacks was formed to participate in the raid. They had to travel 150 kilometers across the steppe at night (airplanes patrolled the area during the day), pass all the main combat units of the division and unexpectedly attack the headquarters. The detachment was headed by Colonel Sladkov and his deputy, Colonel Borodin.

For almost a week, the detachment secretly reached Lbischensk. In the vicinity of the city they captured a red convoy, thanks to which it became known exact location Chapaev's headquarters. A special detachment was formed to capture him.

In the early morning of September 5, 1919, the Cossacks broke into the city. The confused soldiers from the divisional school guarding the headquarters did not really offer any resistance, and the detachment moved forward at a rapid pace. The Reds began to retreat to the Ural River, hoping to escape from the Cossacks. Meanwhile, Chapaev managed to escape from the platoon sent to capture him: the Cossacks confused Chapaev with another Red Army soldier, and the division commander, firing back, was able to leave the trap, although he was wounded in the arm.

Chapaev managed to organize a defense, stopping some of the fleeing soldiers. About a hundred people with several machine guns recaptured the headquarters from the Cossack platoon that had occupied it, but by this time the main forces of the detachment had arrived at the headquarters, receiving captured artillery. It was impossible to defend the headquarters under artillery fire; in addition, in the shootout, Chapaev was seriously wounded in the stomach. Command was assumed by the division chief of staff Novikov, who covered a group of Hungarians who were transporting the wounded Chapaev across the river, for which they built a kind of raft from boards.

The division commander was able to be transported to the other side, but on the way he died from blood loss. The Hungarians buried it right on the shore. In any case, Chapaev’s relatives adhered to this version, which they knew directly from the Hungarians themselves. But since then, the river has changed its course several times, and, most likely, the burial is already hidden under water.

However, one of the few surviving witnesses to the events, Chief of Staff Novikov, who managed to hide under the floor in the bathhouse and wait for the Reds to arrive, claimed that the White detachment had completely surrounded the headquarters and cut off all escape routes, so Chapaev’s body must be looked for in the city. However, among dead Chapaev never found.

Well, according to the official version, canonized in literature and cinema, Chapaev drowned in the Ural River. This explains the fact that his body was not found...

Chapaev and his team

Thanks to the film and book about Chapaev, orderly Petka, Anka the machine gunner and Commissar Furmanov became integral companions of Chapaev the legend. During his lifetime, Chapaev did not stand out too much, and even a book about him, although it did not go unnoticed, still did not cause a sensation. Chapaev became a real legend after the release of a film about him in the mid-30s. By this time, through the efforts of Stalin, a kind of cult of dead heroes of the Civil War had been created. Although in those days there were plenty of living participants in the war, many of whom played a big role in it, in the conditions of the struggle for power it was unwise to create an additional halo of glory for them, therefore, as a kind of counterbalance to them, the names of the fallen commanders began to be promoted: Chapaev, Shchors, Lazo .

The film about Chapaev was created under the personal patronage of Stalin, who even supervised the writing of the script. So, at his insistence, the romantic line between Petka and Anka the machine gunner was introduced into the film. The leader liked the movie, and the film was expected to have the widest possible release; it was shown in cinemas for several years, and there was, perhaps, not a single Soviet person who did not watch the film at least once. The film is replete with historical inconsistencies: for example, Kappel’s officer regiment (which never had one), dressed in the uniform of the Markov division (which fought on a completely different front), goes into a psychic attack.

Nevertheless, it was he who cemented the myth about Chapaev for many years. Chapaev, dashing on horseback with a sword drawn, was reproduced on millions of postcards, posters and cards. But the real Chapaev, due to a hand injury, could not ride a horse and traveled everywhere by car.

The relationship between Chapaev and Commissioner Furmanov was also far from ideal. They often quarreled, Chapaev complained about the “commissar power,” and Furmanov was dissatisfied with the fact that the division commander had his eyes on his wife and had absolutely no respect for the political work of the party in the army. Both repeatedly wrote complaints against each other to their superiors; their relationship can hardly be characterized as anything other than hostile. Furmanov was indignant: “I was disgusted by your dirty courtship of my wife. I know everything, I have documents in my hands where you pour out your love and boorish tenderness.”

As a result, this is what saved Furmanov’s life. A month before the death of the headquarters in Lbischensk, he was transferred to Turkestan after another complaint, and Pavel Baturin, who died along with everyone else on September 5, 1919, became the new commissar of the division.

Furmanov served next to Chapaev for only four months, but this did not stop him from writing an entire book in which the real Chapaev was turned into a powerful mythological image of a commander “from the plow”, who did not graduate from universities, but would defeat any educated general.

By the way, Furmanov himself was not such a convinced Bolshevik: before the revolution, he sided with the anarchists and defected to the Bolsheviks only in mid-1918, when they began to persecute the anarchists, and he oriented himself in time to the political situation and changed camps. It is also worth noting that Furmanov not only turned Chepaev into Chapaev, but also changed his last name (during the war years he bore the last name Furman, which is what he is called in all documents of that time). Having taken up writing, he Russified his last name.

Furmanov died of meningitis three years after the book was published and never saw Chapaev’s triumphant march through the Soviet Union.

Petka also had a very real prototype - Pyotr Isaev, a former senior non-commissioned officer of the musical team of the imperial army. In reality, Petka was not a simple orderly, but the commander of a communications battalion. At that time, signalmen were in a special position and were a kind of elite due to the fact that the level of their knowledge was inaccessible to illiterate infantrymen.

There is also no clarity with his death: according to one version, he shot himself on the day of the death of the headquarters in order not to be captured, according to another, he died in battle, according to the third, he committed suicide a year after Chapaev’s death, at his funeral. The most likely version is the second.

Anka the machine gunner is a completely fictional character. There was never such a girl in the Chapaev division, and she is also absent from Furmanov’s original novel. She appeared in the film at the insistence of Stalin, who demanded that the heroic role of women in the Civil War be reflected, and in addition, add a romantic line. Anna Steshenko, the wife of Commissar Furmanov, is sometimes cited as the prototype of the heroine, but she worked in the cultural education of the division and never took part in hostilities. Also sometimes mentioned is a certain nurse, Maria Sidorova, who brought cartridges to the machine gunners, and allegedly even fired from a machine gun, but this is also doubtful.

Posthumous fame

A decade and a half after his death, Chapaev gained such fame that in terms of the number of objects named in his honor, he stood on a par with the highest-ranking party figures. In 1941, the popular Soviet hero was resurrected for the sake of propaganda, filming a short video about how Chapaev swam to the shore and called on everyone to the front to beat the Germans. To this day, he remains the most recognizable character of the Civil War, even despite the collapse of the USSR.

130 years ago, on January 28 (February 9, new style), 1887, a hero of the Civil War was born. There is probably no more unique person in Russian history than Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev. His real life was short - he died at the age of 32, but his posthumous fame surpassed all imaginable and inconceivable boundaries.

Among the real historical figures of the past, you cannot find another one who would become an integral part of Russian folklore. What can we talk about if one of the varieties of checkers games is called “Chapaevka”.

Chapai's childhood

When on January 28 (February 9), 1887, in the village of Budaika, Cheboksary district, Kazan province, in the family of a Russian peasant Ivan Chapaeva the sixth child was born, neither mother nor father could even think about the glory that awaited their son.

Rather, they were thinking about the upcoming funeral - the baby, named Vasenka, was born at seven months old, was very weak and, it seemed, could not survive.

However, the will to live turned out to be stronger than death - the boy survived and began to grow up to the delight of his parents.

Vasya Chapaev did not even think about any military career - in poor Budaika there was a problem of everyday survival, there was no time for heavenly pretzels.

The origin of the family surname is interesting. Chapaev's grandfather, Stepan Gavrilovich, was engaged in unloading timber rafted along the Volga and other heavy cargo at the Cheboksary pier. And he often shouted “chap”, “chap”, “chap”, that is, “catch” or “catch”. Over time, the word “chepai” stuck with him as a street nickname, and then became his official surname.

It is curious that the Red commander himself subsequently wrote his last name exactly as “Chepaev”, and not “Chapaev”.

The poverty of the Chapaev family drove them in search of a better life to the Samara province, to the village of Balakovo. Father Vasily lived here cousin, who acted as a patron of the parish school. The boy was assigned to study, hoping that over time he would become a priest.

War gives birth to heroes

In 1908, Vasily Chapaev was drafted into the army, but a year later he was discharged due to illness. Even before joining the army, Vasily started a family, marrying the 16-year-old daughter of a priest Pelageya Metlina. Returning from the army, Chapaev began to engage in purely peaceful carpentry. In 1912, while continuing to work as a carpenter, Vasily and his family moved to Melekess. Before 1914, three children were born into the family of Pelageya and Vasily - two sons and a daughter.

Vasily Chapaev with his wife. 1915 Photo: RIA News

The whole life of Chapaev and his family was turned upside down by the First World War. Called up in September 1914, Vasily went to the front in January 1915. He fought in Volhynia in Galicia and proved himself to be a skilled warrior. Chapaev ended the First World War with the rank of sergeant major, being awarded the soldiers' St. George medals crosses of three degrees and the St. George Medal.

In the fall of 1917, the brave soldier Chapaev joined the Bolsheviks and unexpectedly showed himself to be a brilliant organizer. In the Nikolaev district of the Saratov province, he created 14 detachments of the Red Guard, which took part in the campaign against the troops of General Kaledin. On the basis of these detachments, the Pugachev brigade was created in May 1918 under the command of Chapaev. Together with this brigade, the self-taught commander recaptured the city of Nikolaevsk from the Czechoslovaks.

The fame and popularity of the young commander grew before our eyes. In September 1918, Chapaev led the 2nd Nikolaev Division, which instilled fear in the enemy. Nevertheless, Chapaev’s tough temperament and his inability to obey unquestioningly led to the fact that the command considered it best to send him from the front to study at the General Staff Academy.

Already in the 1970s, another legendary Red commander Semyon Budyonny, listening to jokes about Chapaev, shook his head: “I told Vaska: study, fool, otherwise they will laugh at you! Well, I didn’t listen!”

The Ural, the Ural River, its grave is deep...

Chapaev really did not stay long at the academy, once again going to the front. In the summer of 1919, he headed the 25th Infantry Division, which quickly became legendary, as part of which he carried out brilliant operations against the troops Kolchak. On June 9, 1919, the Chapaevites liberated Ufa, and on July 11, Uralsk.

During the summer of 1919, Divisional Commander Chapaev managed to surprise the career white generals with his leadership talent. Both comrades and enemies saw in him a real military nugget. Alas, Chapaev did not have time to truly open up.

The tragedy, which is called Chapaev’s only military mistake, occurred on September 5, 1919. Chapaev's division was rapidly advancing, breaking away from the rear. Units of the division stopped to rest, and the headquarters was located in the village of Lbischensk.

On September 5, the Whites numbered up to 2,000 bayonets under the command of General Borodin, having carried out a raid, they suddenly attacked the headquarters of the 25th division. The main forces of the Chapaevites were 40 km from Lbischensk and could not come to the rescue.

The real forces that could resist the Whites were 600 bayonets, and they entered into a battle that lasted six hours. Chapaev himself was hunted by a special detachment, which, however, was not successful. Vasily Ivanovich managed to get out of the house where he was quartered, gather about a hundred fighters who were retreating in disarray, and organize a defense.

Vasily Chapaev (in the center, sitting) with military commanders. 1918 Photo: RIA Novosti

There was conflicting information about the circumstances of Chapaev’s death for a long time, until in 1962 the division commander’s daughter Claudia did not receive a letter from Hungary, in which two Chapaev veterans, Hungarian by nationality, who were personally present at last minutes life of the division commander, told what really happened.

During the battle with the Whites, Chapaev was wounded in the head and stomach, after which four Red Army soldiers, having built a raft from boards, managed to transport the commander to the other side of the Urals. However, Chapaev died from his wounds during the crossing.

The Red Army soldiers, fearing that their enemies would mock his body, buried Chapaev in the coastal sand, throwing branches over the place.

There were no active searches for the division commander's grave immediately after the Civil War, because the version set forth by the commissar of the 25th division became canonical Dmitry Furmanov in his book “Chapaev” it is as if the wounded divisional commander drowned while trying to swim across the river.

In the 1960s, Chapaev’s daughter tried to search for her father’s grave, but it turned out that this was impossible - the course of the Urals changed its course, and the river bottom became the final resting place of the red hero.

Birth of a legend

Not everyone believed in Chapaev’s death. Historians who studied the biography of Chapaev noted that there was a story among Chapaev veterans that their Chapai swam out, was rescued by the Kazakhs, suffered from typhoid fever, lost his memory and now works as a carpenter in Kazakhstan, remembering nothing about his heroic past.

Fans of the white movement like to attach great importance to the Lbishchensky raid, calling it a major victory, but this is not so. Even the destruction of the headquarters of the 25th division and the death of its commander did not affect the general course of the war - the Chapaev division continued to successfully destroy enemy units.

Not everyone knows that the Chapaevites avenged their commander on the same day, September 5th. The general who commanded the white raid Borodin, triumphantly driving through Lbischensk after the defeat of Chapaev’s headquarters, was shot by a Red Army soldier Volkov.

Historians still cannot agree on what Chapaev’s role as a commander in the Civil War actually was. Some believe that he actually played a significant role, others believe that his image has been exaggerated by art.

Painting by P. Vasiliev “V. I. Chapaev in battle." Photo: reproduction

Indeed, the book written by the former commissar of the 25th division brought Chapaev wide popularity Dmitry Furmanov.

During their lifetime, the relationship between Chapaev and Furmanov could not be called simple, which, by the way, is best reflected later in anecdotes. Chapaev's affair with Furmanov's wife Anna Steshenko led to the fact that the commissioner had to leave the division. However, Furmanov's writing talent smoothed out personal contradictions.

But the real, boundless glory of Chapaev, Furmanov, and others now folk heroes overtook in 1934, when the Vasiliev brothers made the film “Chapaev,” which was based on Furmanov’s book and the memories of the Chapaevites.

Furmanov himself was no longer alive by that time - he died suddenly in 1926 from meningitis. And the author of the film’s script was Anna Furmanova, the commissar’s wife and the division commander’s mistress.

It is to her that we owe the appearance of Anka the Machine Gunner in the history of Chapaev. The fact is that in reality there was no such character. Its prototype was the nurse of the 25th division Maria Popova. In one of the battles, a nurse crawled up to a wounded elderly machine gunner and wanted to bandage him, but the soldier, heated by the battle, pointed a revolver at the nurse and literally forced Maria to take a place behind the machine gun.

The directors, having learned about this story and having an assignment from Stalin to show the image of a woman in the Civil War in the film, they came up with a machine gunner. But she insisted that her name would be Anka Anna Furmanova.

After the release of the film, Chapaev, Furmanov, Anka the machine gunner, and orderly Petka (in real life - Peter Isaev, who actually died in the same battle with Chapaev) went into the people forever, becoming an integral part of it.

Chapaev is everywhere

The life of Chapaev’s children turned out interesting. The marriage of Vasily and Pelageya actually broke up with the beginning of the First World War, and in 1917 Chapaev took the children from his wife and raised them himself, as far as the life of a military man allowed.

Chapaev's eldest son, Alexander Vasilievich, followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a professional military man. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, 30-year-old Captain Chapaev was the commander of a battery of cadets at the Podolsk Artillery School. From there he went to the front. Chapaev fought in a family style, without disgracing the honor of his famous father. He fought near Moscow, near Rzhev, near Voronezh, and was wounded. In 1943, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, Alexander Chapaev took part in the famous battle of Prokhorovka.

Alexander Chapaev completed his military service with the rank of major general, holding the position of deputy chief of artillery of the Moscow Military District.

Children of V.I. Chapaev: Alexander, Arkady and Claudia

Younger son, Arkady Chapaev, became a test pilot, worked with himself Valery Chkalov. In 1939, 25-year-old Arkady Chapaev died while testing a new fighter.

Chapaev's daughter Claudia, made a party career and was engaged in historical research dedicated to her father. True story Chapaev's life became known largely thanks to her.

Studying the life of Chapaev, you are surprised to discover how closely the legendary hero is connected with other historical figures.

For example, a fighter in the Chapaev division was writer Jaroslav Hasek- author of “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik.”

The head of the trophy team of the Chapaev division was Sidor Artemyevich Kovpak. During the Great Patriotic War, one name of this partisan commander would terrify the Nazis.

Major General Ivan Panfilov, whose division's resilience helped defend Moscow in 1941, began his military career as a platoon commander of an infantry company in the Chapaev Division.

And one last thing. Water is fatally connected not only with the fate of division commander Chapaev, but also with the fate of the division.

The 25th Rifle Division existed in the ranks of the Red Army until the Great Patriotic War and took part in the defense of Sevastopol. It was the fighters of the 25th Chapaev Division who stood to the last in the most tragic, last days of the city’s defense. The division was completely destroyed, and so that its banners would not fall to the enemy, the last surviving soldiers drowned them in the Black Sea.

Academy Student

Chapaev's education, contrary to popular opinion, was not limited to two years of parish school. In 1918, he was enrolled in the military academy of the Red Army, where many soldiers were “herded” to improve their general literacy and learn strategy. According to the recollections of his classmate, the peaceful student life weighed on Chapaev: “The hell with it! I'll leave! To come up with such an absurdity - fighting people at their desks! Two months later, he submitted a report asking to be released from this “prison” to the front. Several stories have been preserved about Vasily Ivanovich’s stay at the academy. The first says that during a geography exam, in response to an old general’s question about the significance of the Neman River, Chapaev asked the professor if he knew about the significance of the Solyanka River, where he fought with the Cossacks. According to the second, in a discussion of the Battle of Cannes, he called the Romans “blind kittens,” telling the teacher, the prominent military theorist Sechenov: “We have already shown generals like you how to fight!”

Motorist

We all imagine Chapaev as a courageous fighter with a fluffy mustache, a naked sword and galloping on a dashing horse. This image was created by the national actor Boris Babochkin. In life, Vasily Ivanovich preferred cars to horses. Back on the fronts of the First World War, he was seriously wounded in the thigh, so riding became a problem. So Chapaev became one of the first Red commanders to use a car. He chose his iron horses very meticulously. The first, the American Stever, was rejected due to strong shaking; the red Packard that replaced it also had to be abandoned - it was not suitable for military operations in the steppe. But the red commander liked the Ford, which pushed 70 miles off-road. Chapaev also selected the best drivers. One of them, Nikolai Ivanov, was practically taken by force to Moscow and made the personal driver of Lenin’s sister, Anna Ulyanova-Elizarova.

PySy: an interesting addition from urator

"...It is curious that the Red commander himself subsequently wrote his last name exactly as “Chepaev”, and not “Chapaev”

I wonder how he should have written his last name if he was Chepaev? Chapaev was made by Furmanov and the Vasilyev brothers. Before the release of the film on the screens of the country, on the monument to the division commander in Samara it was written - Chepaev, the street was called Chepaevskaya, the city of Trotsk - Chepaevsk, and even the Mocha River was renamed Chepaevka. In order not to bring confusion into the minds of Soviet citizens, in all these toponyms “CHE” was changed to “CHA”

And photos:

photo of Arkady Vasilyevich Chapaev with his nephew Arthur.

Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev. Hero of the civil war and Soviet mythology. He was a terror for the white generals and a headache for the red commanders. Self-taught commander. The hero of numerous jokes that have nothing to do with real life, and a cult film on which more than one generation of boys grew up.

Biography and activities of Vasily Chapaev

He was born on February 9, 1887 in the village of Budaika, Cheboksary district, Kazan province, into a large peasant family. Of the nine children, four died at an early age. Two more died as adults. Of their three remaining brothers, Vasily was middle-aged and studied at a parochial school. His cousin was in charge of the parish.

Vasily had a wonderful voice. He was destined for a career as a singer or priest. However, the violent temper resisted. The boy ran home. Nevertheless, religiosity remained in him, and it was then surprisingly combined with the position of a red commander, who, it seems, was obliged to be an ardent atheist.

His formation as a military man began in the years. He went from private to sergeant major. Chapaev was awarded three St. George's crosses and one St. George medal. In 1917, Chapaev joined the ranks of the Bolshevik Party. In October of the same year, he was appointed commander of the Nikolaev Red Guard detachment.

Without a professional military education, Chapaev quickly rose to the forefront of a new generation of military leaders. His natural intelligence, intelligence, cunning, and organizational talent helped him in this. The mere presence of Chapaev at the front contributed to the fact that the White Guards began to pull additional units to the front. They either loved him or hated him.

Chapaev on a horse or with a saber, on a cart is a stable image of Soviet mythology. In fact, due to his serious injury, he simply physically could not move on horseback. He rode a motorcycle or a carriage. He repeatedly made requests to the leadership to allocate several vehicles for the needs of the entire army. Chapaev often had to act at his own peril and risk, over the head of the command. Often the Chapaevites did not receive reinforcements and provisions, were surrounded and broke out of it with bloody battles.

Chapaev was sent to take a crash course at the General Staff Academy. From there, he rushed back to the front with all his might, not seeing any benefit for himself in the subjects taught. After staying at the Academy for only 2-3 months, Vasily Ivanovich returned to the Fourth Army. He receives an appointment to the Alexander-Gaev group on the Eastern Front. Frunze favored him. Chapaev is determined to be the commander of the 25th division, with which he traveled the remaining roads of the civil war until his death in September 1919.

The recognized and almost the only biographer of Chapaev is the writer D. Furmanov, sent to the Chapaev division by the commissar. Exactly from Furmanov's novel Soviet schoolchildren we learned both about Chapaev himself and about his role in the civil war. However, the main creator of Chapaev’s legend was still Stalin personally, who gave the order to shoot the now famous film.

In fact, the personal relationship between Chapaev and Furmanov did not work out initially. Chapaev was dissatisfied that the commissar brought his wife with him, and, perhaps, also had certain feelings for her. Furmanov's complaint to army headquarters about Chapaev's tyranny remained without progress - the headquarters supported Chapaev. The Commissioner received another appointment.

Chapaev’s personal life is a different story. Pelageya's first wife left him with three children and ran away with her conductor lover. The second was also called Pelageya, she was the widow of Chapaev’s late friend. She subsequently also left Chapaev. Chapaev died in the battles for the village of Lbischenskaya. The White Guards failed to take him alive. He was transported to the other side of the Urals already dead. He was buried in the coastal sand.

• The surname of the legendary division commander was written in the first syllable through the letter “e” - “Chepaev” and was later transformed into “a”.

Name: Vasiliy Chapaev

Age: 32 years

Place of Birth: Budaika village, Chuvashia

A place of death: Lbischensk, Ural region

Activity: Chief of the Red Army

Family status: Was married

Vasily Chapaev - biography

September 5 marks the 97th anniversary of his death Vasily Chapaeva- the most famous and at the same time the most unknown hero of the civil war. His true identity is hidden under a layer of legends created both by official propaganda and the popular imagination.

Legends begin with the very birth of the future division commander. Everywhere they write that he was born on January 28 (old style) 1887 in the family of a Russian peasant Ivan Chapaev. However, his surname does not seem Russian, especially in the “Chepaev” version, as Vasily Ivanovich himself wrote it. In his native village of Budaika, the majority of Chuvash people lived, and today the residents of Chuvashia confidently consider Chapaev-Chepaev as one of their own. True, neighbors argue with them, finding Mordovian or Mari roots in the surname. The hero’s descendants have a different version - his grandfather, while working on a timber rafting site, kept shouting to his comrades “chapay”, that is, “catch on” in the local dialect.

But no matter who Chapaev’s ancestors were, by the time of his birth they had long been Russified, and his uncle even served as a priest. They wanted to direct young Vasya to the spiritual path - he was small in stature, weak and unsuitable for hard peasant labor. Church service gave at least some opportunity to escape from the poverty in which the family lived. Although Ivan Stepanovich was a skilled carpenter, his loved ones constantly subsisted on bread and kvass; out of six children, only three survived.

When Vasya was eight years old, the family moved to the village - now the city - Balakovo, where his father found work in a carpentry artel. An uncle-priest also lived there, to whom Vasya was sent to study. Their relationship did not work out - the nephew did not want to study and, moreover, was not obedient. One winter, in severe frost, his uncle locked him in a cold barn for the night for some other offense. To avoid freezing, the boy somehow got out of the barn and ran home. This is where his spiritual biography ended before it even began.

Chapaev recalled the early years of his biography without any nostalgia: “My childhood was gloomy and difficult. I had to humiliate myself and starve a lot. From an early age I hung around strangers.” He helped his father do carpentry, worked as a sex worker in a tavern, and even walked around with a barrel organ, like Seryozha from Kuprin’s “White Poodle.” Although this may be fiction - Vasily Ivanovich loved to invent all sorts of stories about himself.

For example, he once joked that it stems from a passionate romance between a gypsy tramp and the daughter of the Kazan governor. And since there is little reliable information about Chapaev’s life before the Red Army - he did not have time to tell his children anything, there were no other relatives left, this fiction ended up in his biography, written by Chapaev’s commissar Dmitry Furmanov.

At the age of twenty, Vasily fell in love with the beautiful Pelageya Metlina. By that time, the Chapaev family had gotten out of poverty, Vasya dressed up and easily charmed the girl, who had just turned sixteen. The wedding had barely taken place when, in the fall of 1908, the newlywed joined the army. He liked military science, but he didn’t like marching in formation and punching officers. Chapaev, with his proud and independent disposition, did not wait until the end of his service and was demobilized due to illness. Peace began family life- he worked as a carpenter, and his wife gave birth to children one after another: Alexander, Claudia, Arkady.

As soon as the last one was born in 1914, Vasily Ivanovich was again recruited as a soldier - the world war began. During two years of fighting in Galicia, he rose from private to sergeant major and was awarded the St. George Medal and four soldiers' Crosses of St. George, which spoke of extreme courage. By the way, he served in the infantry, he was never a dashing rider - unlike Chapaev from the film of the same name - and after being wounded he could not ride a horse at all. In Galicia, Chapaev was wounded three times, the last time so seriously that after long treatment he was sent to serve in the rear, in his native Volga region.

The return home was not joyful. While Chapaev was fighting, Pelageya got along with the conductor and left with him, leaving her husband and three children. According to legend, Vasily ran for a long time after her cart, begged to stay, even cried, but the beauty firmly decided that an important railway rank suited her more than the heroic, but poor and also wounded Chapaev. Pelageya, however, did not live long with her new husband - she died of typhus. And Vasily Ivanovich married again, keeping his word to his fallen comrade Pyotr Kameshkertsev. His widow, also Pelageya, but middle-aged and ugly, became the hero’s new companion and took his children into the house in addition to her three.

After the revolution of 1917 in the city of Nikolaevsk, where Chapaev was transferred to serve, the soldiers of the 138th reserve regiment chose him as regimental commander. Thanks to his efforts, the regiment did not go home, like many others, but almost in full force joined the Red Army.

The Chapaevsky regiment found a job in May 1918, when civil war broke out in Russia. The rebel Czechoslovaks, in alliance with local White Guards, captured the entire east of the country and sought to cut the Volga artery, through which grain was delivered to the center. In the cities of the Volga region, the whites staged riots: one of them took the life of Chapaev’s brother, Grigory, the Balakovo military commissar. Chapaev took all the money from another brother, Mikhail, who owned a shop and accumulated considerable capital, using it to equip his regiment.

Having distinguished himself in heavy battles with the Ural Cossacks, who sided with the whites, Chapaev was chosen by the fighters as commander of the Nikolaev division. By that time, such elections were prohibited in the Red Army, and an angry telegram was sent down from above: Chapaev could not command the division because “he does not have the appropriate training, is infected with a delusion of autocracy, and does not carry out military orders exactly.”

However, the removal of a popular commander could turn into a riot. And then the staff strategists sent Chapaev with his division against the three times superior forces of the Samara “constituent” - it seemed to certain death. However, the division commander came up with a cunning plan to lure the enemy into a trap, and completely defeated him. Samara was soon taken, and the Whites retreated to the steppes between the Volga and the Urals, where Chapaev chased them until November.

This month, the capable commander was sent to study in Moscow, at the General Staff Academy. Upon admission, he filled out the following form:

“Are you an active party member? What was your activity like?

I belong. Formed 7 regiments of the Red Army.

What awards do you have?

Knight of St. George 4 degrees. The watch was handed over.

Which general education got?

Self-Taught."

Having recognized Chapaev as “almost illiterate,” he was nevertheless accepted as “having revolutionary combat experience.” The questionnaire data is supplemented by an anonymous description of the division commander, preserved in the Cheboksary Memorial Museum: “He was not brought up and did not have self-control in dealing with people. He was often rude and cruel... He was a weak politician, but he was a real revolutionary, an excellent communard in life and a noble, selfless fighter for communism... There were times when he could seem frivolous...”

Basically. Chapaev was the same partisan commander as Father Makhno, and he was uncomfortable at the academy. When some military expert in a military history class sarcastically asked if he knew the Rhine River. Chapaev, who fought in Europe during the German War, nevertheless answered boldly: “Why the hell do I need your Rhine? It’s on Solyanka that I have to know every bump, because we’re fighting the Cossacks there.”

After several similar skirmishes, Vasily Ivanovich asked to be sent back to the front. The army authorities complied with the request, but in a strange way - Chapaev had to create a new division literally from scratch. In a dispatch to Trotsky, he was indignant: “I bring to your attention, I am exhausted... You appointed me head of the division, but instead of the division you gave me a disheveled brigade with only 1000 bayonets... They don’t give me rifles, there are no overcoats, people are undressed " And yet, in a short time, he managed to create a division of 14 thousand bayonets and inflict a heavy defeat on Kolchak’s army, defeating its most combat-ready units, consisting of Izhevsk workers.

It was at this time, in March 1919, that a new commissar appeared in the 25th Chapaev Division - Dmitry Furmanov. This dropout student was four years younger than Chapaev and dreamed of a literary career. This is how he describes their meeting:

"March early morning, at about 5-6 o'clock, they knocked on my door. I go out:

I am Chapaev, hello!

In front of me stood an ordinary man, lean, of average height, apparently of little strength, with thin, almost feminine hands. Thin dark brown hair stuck to his forehead; a short nervous thin nose, thin eyebrows in a chain, thin lips, shiny clean teeth, a shaved chin, a lush sergeant-major mustache. Eyes... light blue, almost green. The face is matte-clean and fresh.”

In the novel “Chapaev,” which Furmanov published in 1923, Chapaev generally appears at first as an unattractive character and, moreover, a real savage in the ideological sense - he spoke “for the Bolsheviks, but against the communists.” However, under the influence of Furmanov, by the end of the novel he becomes a convinced party member. In reality, the division commander never joined the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), not trusting the party leadership too much, and it seems that these feelings were mutual - the same Trotsky saw in Chapaev a stubborn supporter of the “partisanism” he hated and, if necessary, could well have shot him, as commander of the Second Cavalry Army of Mironov.

Chapaev’s relationship with Furmanov was also not as warm as the latter tried to show. The reason for this is the lyrical story at the headquarters of the 25th, which became known from Furman’s diaries, which were recently declassified. It turned out that the division commander began to quite openly court the commissar’s wife, Anna Steshenko, a young and pretty failed actress. By that time, Vasily Chapaev’s second wife had also left him: she cheated on the division commander with a supply officer. Having once arrived home on leave, Vasily Ivanovich found the lovers in bed and, according to one version, drove them both under the bed with shots over their heads.

On the other hand, he simply turned around and went back to the front. After this, he flatly refused to see the traitor, although later she came to his regiment to make peace, taking with her Chapaev’s youngest son, Arkady. I thought I would pacify my husband’s anger with this - he adored children, during a short rest he played tag with them and made toys. As a result, Chapaev took the children, giving them to be raised by some widow, and divorced his treacherous wife. Later, a rumor spread that she was the culprit in Chapaev’s death, since she had betrayed him to the Cossacks. Under the weight of suspicion, Pelageya Kameshkertseva went crazy and died in a hospital.

Having become a bachelor, Chapaev turned his feelings to Furmanov’s wife. Having seen his letters with the signature “Chapaev, who loves you,” the commissioner, in turn, wrote an angry letter to the division commander, in which he called him “a dirty, depraved little man”: “There is nothing to be jealous of a low person, and I, of course, was not jealous of her, but I was I am deeply outraged by the impudent courtship and constant pestering that Anna Nikitichna repeatedly told me about.”

Chapaev’s reaction is unknown, but soon Furmanov sent a complaint to the front commander Frunze about the “offensive actions” of the division commander, “reaching assault.” As a result, Frunze allowed him and his wife to leave the division, which saved Furmanov’s life - a month later Chapaev, along with his entire staff and the new commissar Baturin, died.

In June 1919, the Chapaevites took Ufa, and the division commander himself was wounded in the head while crossing the high-water Belaya River. The Kolchak garrison of thousands fled, abandoning ammunition warehouses. The secret of Chapaev’s victories was speed, pressure and “little tricks” people's war. For example, near Ufa, he is said to have driven a herd of cattle towards the enemy, raising clouds of dust.

Deciding that Chapaev had a huge army, the whites began to flee. It is possible, however, that this is a myth - the same as those from time immemorial that have been told about Alexander the Great or. It’s not without reason that even before the popular cult in the Volga region, fairy tales were written about Chapaev - “Chapai flies into battle in a black cloak, they shoot at him, but he doesn’t care. After the battle, he shakes his cloak - and from there all the bullets come out intact.”

Another tale is that Chapaev invented the cart. In fact, this innovation first appeared in the peasant army, from which it was borrowed by the Reds. Vasily Ivanovich quickly realized the advantages of a cart with a machine gun, although he himself preferred cars. Chapaev had a scarlet Stever confiscated from some bourgeois, a blue Packard and a miracle of technology - a yellow high-speed Ford that reached speeds of up to 50 km per hour. Having installed on it the same machine gun as on the cart, the division commander used to almost single-handedly knock out the enemy from captured villages.

After the capture of Ufa, Chapaev's division headed south, trying to break through to the Caspian Sea. The division headquarters with a small garrison (up to 2000 soldiers) remained in the town of Lbischensk; the remaining units went forward. On the night of September 5, 1919, a Cossack detachment under the command of General Borodin quietly crept up to the city and surrounded it. The Cossacks not only knew that the hated Chapai was in Lbischensk, but also had a good idea of ​​the balance of power of the Reds. Moreover, the horse patrols that usually guarded the headquarters were for some reason removed, and the division's airplanes, conducting aerial reconnaissance, turned out to be faulty. This suggests a betrayal that was not the work of the ill-fated Pelageya, but of one of the staff members - former officers.

It seems that Chapaev still did not overcome all his “frivolous” qualities - in a sober state, he and his assistants would hardly have missed the approach of the enemy. Waking up from the shooting, they rushed to the river in their underwear, shooting back as they went. The Cossacks fired after. Chapaev was wounded in the arm (according to another version, in the stomach). Three fighters took him down a sandy cliff to the river. Furmanov briefly described what happened next, according to eyewitness accounts: “All four rushed in and swam. Two were killed at the same moment, as soon as they touched the water. The two were swimming, they were already close to the shore - and at that moment a predatory bullet hit Chapaev in the head. When the companion, who had crawled into the sedge, looked back, there was no one behind: Chapaev drowned in the waves of the Urals...”

But there is another version: in the 60s, Chapaev’s daughter received a letter from Hungarian soldiers who fought in the 25th division. The letter said that the Hungarians transported the wounded Chapaev across the river on a raft, but on the shore he died from loss of blood and was buried there. Attempts to find the grave led nowhere - the Urals had changed its course by that time, and the bank opposite Lbischensk was flooded.

Recently an even more sensational version appeared - Chapaev was captured, went over to the side of the whites and died in exile. There is no confirmation of this version, although the division commander could indeed have been captured. In any case, the newspaper “Krasnoyarsky Rabochiy” reported on March 9, 1926 that “Kolchak’s officer Trofimov-Mirsky was arrested in Penza, who admitted that he killed in 1919 the head of the division, Chapaev, who was captured and enjoyed legendary fame.”

Vasily Ivanovich died at 32 years old. Without a doubt, he could have become one of the prominent commanders of the Red Army - and, most likely, would have died in 1937, like his comrade-in-arms and first biographer Ivan Kutyakov, like many other Chapaevites. But it turned out differently - Chapaev, who fell at the hands of his enemies, took a prominent place in the pantheon Soviet heroes, from where many more significant figures were erased. The heroic legend began with Furmanov's novel. “Chapaev” became the first big work of the commissar who went into literature. It was followed by the novel “Mutiny” about the anti-Soviet uprising in Semirechye - Furmanov also observed it personally. In March 1926, the writer's career was cut short by sudden death from meningitis.

The writer's widow, Anna Steshenko-Furmanova, fulfilled her dream by becoming the director of the theater (in the Chapaev division she headed the cultural and educational part). Out of love either for her husband or for Chapaev, she decided to bring the story of the legendary division commander to life on stage, but in the end the play she conceived turned into a film script, published in 1933 in the magazine “Literary Contemporary”.

Soon, the young filmmakers with the same names, Georgy and Sergey Vasiliev, decided to film a film based on the script. Already at the initial stage of work on the film, Stalin intervened in the process, always keeping film production under his personal control. Through the film bosses, he conveyed a wish to the directors of “Chapaev”: to complement the picture with a love line, introducing into it a young fighter and a girl from the people - “a kind of pretty machine gunner.”

The desired fighter became a glimpse of Petka Furmanov - "Little thin Black Mazik." There was also a “machine gunner” - Maria Popova, who actually served as a nurse in the Chapaev division. In one of the battles, a wounded machine gunner forced her to lie down behind the Maxim trigger: “Press it, otherwise I’ll shoot you!” The lines stopped the Whites' attack, and after the battle the girl received a gold watch from the division commander's hands. True, Maria’s combat experience was limited to this. Anna Furmanova didn’t have this either, but she gave the heroine of the film her name - and that’s how Anka the Machine Gunner appeared.

This saved Anna Nikitichna in 1937, when her second husband, the red commander Lajos Gavro, the “Hungarian Chapaev,” was shot. Maria Popova was also lucky - after seeing Anka in the cinema, a pleased Stalin helped her prototype make a career. Maria Andreevna became a diplomat, worked in Europe for a long time, and along the way wrote a famous song:

Chapaev the hero was walking around the Urals.

He was eager to fight with his enemies like a falcon...

Go ahead, comrades, don’t dare retreat.

Chapaevites bravely got used to dying!

They say that shortly before Maria Popova's death in 1981, a whole delegation of nurses came to her hospital to ask if she loved Petka. “Of course,” she answered, although in reality it was unlikely that anything connected her with Pyotr Isaev. After all, he was not a boy-guarantor, but a regiment commander, an employee of the Chapaev headquarters. And he died, as they say, not while crossing the Urals with his commander, but a year later. They say that on the anniversary of Chapaev’s death, he got drunk half to death, wandered to the shore of the Urals, and exclaimed: “I didn’t save Chapai!” - and shot himself in the temple. Of course, this is also a legend - it seems that literally everything that surrounded Vasily Ivanovich became legendary.

In the film, Petka was played by Leonid Kmit, who remained “an actor of one role,” like Boris Blinov - Furmanov. And Boris Babochkin, who played a lot in the theater, was first and foremost Chapaev for everyone. Participants in the Civil War, including Vasily Ivanovich’s friends, noted his 100% fit into the image. By the way, at first Vasily Vanin was appointed to the role of Chapaev, and 30-year-old Babochkin was to play Petka. They say that it was the same Anna Furmanova who insisted on the “castling”, who decided that Babochkin was more like her hero.

The directors agreed and generally hedged their bets as best they could. In case of accusations of excessive tragedy, there was another, optimistic ending - in a beautiful apple orchard, Anka plays with the children, Petka, already the division commander, approaches them. Chapaev’s voice is heard behind the scenes: “Get married, you’ll work together. The war will end, life will be wonderful. Do you know what life will be like? There’s no need to die!”

As a result, this suspense was avoided, and the film by the Vasilyev brothers, released in November 1934, became the first Soviet blockbuster - huge queues lined up at the Udarnik cinema, where it was shown. Entire factories marched there in columns, carrying the slogans “We are going to see Chapaev.” The film received high awards not only at the First Moscow Film Festival in 1935, but also in Paris and New York. The directors and Babochkin received the Stalin Prize, the actress Varvara Myasnikova, who played Anna, received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

Stalin himself watched the film thirty times, not much different from the boys of the 30s - they entered the cinema halls over and over again, hoping that someday Chapai would emerge. Interestingly, this is what ultimately happened - in 1941, in one of the propaganda film collections, Boris Babochkin, famous for his role as Chapaev, emerged unharmed from the waves of the Urals and set off, calling soldiers behind him, to beat the Nazis. Few people saw this movie, but the rumor about the miraculous resurrection finally cemented the myth about the hero.

Chapaev's popularity was great even before the film, but after it it turned into a real cult. A city in the Samara region, dozens of collective farms, and hundreds of streets were named after the division commander. His memorial museums appeared in Pugachev (formerly Nikolaevsk). Lbischensk, the village of Krasny Yar, and later in Cheboksary, within the city limits of which was the village of Budaika. As for the 25th division, it received the name Chapaev immediately after the death of its commander and still bears it.

The nationwide popularity also affected Chapaev’s children. His senior commander, Alexander, became an artillery officer, went through the war, and rose to the rank of major general. The younger one, Arkady, went into aviation, was a friend of Chkalov and, like him, died before the war while testing a new fighter. The faithful keeper of her father’s memory was her daughter Claudia, who, after the death of her parents, almost died of hunger and wandered around orphanages, but the title of daughter of a hero helped her make a party career. By the way, neither Klavdia Vasilievna nor her descendants tried to fight the anecdotes about Chapaev that passed from mouth to mouth (and now published many times). And this is understandable: in most jokes Chapai appears as a rude, simple-minded, but very likeable person. The same as the hero of the novel, film and all official myth.

Vasily Ivanovich

Battles and victories

A legendary figure of the Russian Civil War, a people's commander, a self-taught man who rose to high command positions due to his own abilities in the absence of special military education.

It is difficult to classify Chapaev as a traditional commander. This is, rather, a partisan leader, a kind of “red chieftain.”

Chapaev was born in the village of Budaika, Cheboksary district, Kazan province, into a peasant family. Chapaev's grandfather was a serf. The father worked as a carpenter to support his nine children. Vasily spent his childhood in the city of Balakovo, Samara province. Due to the difficult financial situation of the family, Chapaev graduated from only two classes of parochial school. Chapaev worked from the age of 12 for a merchant, then as a floor worker in a tea shop, as an organ grinder's assistant, and helped his father in carpentry. After serving his military service, Chapaev returned home. By this time, he managed to get married, and by the beginning of the First World War he was already the father of a family - three children. During the war, Chapaev rose to the rank of sergeant major, participated in the famous Brusilov breakthrough, was wounded and shell-shocked several times, his military work and personal bravery were awarded three St. George Crosses and the St. George Medal.

Due to his injury, Chapaev was sent to the rear of Saratov, the garrison of which was subjected to revolutionary disintegration in 1917. Chapaev, who initially joined, according to the testimony of his comrade in arms, I.S., also took part in the soldiers’ unrest. Kutyakov, to the anarchists and ended up being the chairman of the company committee and a member of the regimental committee. Finally, on September 28, 1917, Chapaev joined the Bolshevik Party. Already in October 1917, he became the military leader of the Nikolaev Red Guard detachment.

Chapaev turned out to be one of the military professionals on whom the Bolsheviks of the Nikolaev district of the Samara province relied in the fight against the uprisings of peasants and Cossacks. He took the post of district military commissar. At the beginning of 1918, Chapaev formed and led the 1st and 2nd Nikolaev regiments, which became part of the Red Army of the Saratov Soviet. In June, both regiments were consolidated into the Nikolaev brigade, which was headed by Chapaev.

In battles with the Cossacks and Czech interventionists, Chapaev showed himself to be a firm leader and an excellent tactician, skillfully assessing the situation and proposing the optimal solution, as well as a personally brave commander who enjoyed the authority and love of the fighters. During this period, Chapaev repeatedly personally led troops into attack. Since the fall of 1918, Chapaev commanded the Nikolaev division, which, due to its small numbers, was sometimes called Chapaev’s detachment.

According to the temporary commander of the 4th Soviet army former General Staff Major General A.A. Baltiysky, in Chapaev, “the lack of general military education affects the technique of command and control and the lack of breadth to cover military affairs. Full of initiative, but uses it unbalancedly due to the lack of military education. However, Comrade Chapaev clearly identifies all the data on the basis of which, with appropriate military education, both technology and a justified military scope will undoubtedly appear. The desire to receive a military education in order to get out of the state of “military darkness”, and then again join the ranks of the battle front. You can be sure that Comrade Chapaev’s natural talents, combined with military education, will give bright results.”

In November 1918, Chapaev was sent to the newly created Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army in Moscow to improve his education.

Shot from the chronicle. September 1918

The following passage will say a lot about his academic success: “I haven’t read about Hannibal before, but I see that he was an experienced commander. But I disagree with his actions in many ways. He made many unnecessary changes in sight of the enemy and thereby revealed his plan to him, was slow in his actions and did not show persistence in order to completely defeat the enemy. I had an incident similar to the situation during the Battle of Cannes. This was in August, on the N. River. We let up to two white regiments with artillery through the bridge to our bank, gave them the opportunity to stretch out along the road, and then opened hurricane artillery fire on the bridge and rushed into the attack from all sides. The stunned enemy did not have time to come to his senses before he was surrounded and almost completely destroyed. His remnants rushed to the destroyed bridge and were forced to rush into the river, where most of them drowned. 6 guns, 40 machine guns and 600 prisoners fell into our hands. We achieved these successes thanks to the swiftness and surprise of our attack.”

Military science turned out to be beyond the capabilities of the people's leader; after studying for several weeks, Chapaev voluntarily left the academy and returned to the front, to do what he knew and was able to do.

Studying at the academy is a good thing and very important, but it’s a shame and a pity that the White Guards are being beaten without us.

Subsequently, Chapaev commanded the Alexandrovo-Gai group, which fought the Ural Cossacks. The opponents were worth each other - Chapaev was opposed by Cossack cavalry formations of a partisan nature.

At the end of March 1919, Chapaev, by order of the commander of the Southern Group of the Eastern Front of the RSFSR M.V. Frunze was appointed head of the 25th Infantry Division. The division acted against the main forces of the Whites and took part in repelling the spring offensive of the armies of Admiral A.V. Kolchak, participated in the Buguruslan, Belebey and Ufa operations, which predetermined the failure of the Kolchak offensive. In these operations, Chapaev's division acted on enemy messages and carried out detours. Maneuver tactics became the calling card of Chapaev and his division. Even the whites singled out Chapaev and noted his organizational skills.

A major success was the crossing of the Belaya River, which led to the capture of Ufa on June 9, 1919 and the further withdrawal of the Whites. Then Chapaev, who was on the front line, was wounded in the head, but remained in the ranks. For military distinctions he was awarded the highest award of Soviet Russia - the Order of the Red Banner, and his division was awarded the honorary revolutionary Red Banners.

Chapaev stood out as an independent commander from the non-commissioned officers of the old army. This environment gave the Red Army many talented military leaders, including such as S.M. Budyonny and G.K. Zhukov. Chapaev loved his fighters, and they paid him the same. His division was considered one of the best on the Eastern Front. In many ways, he was precisely the people's leader, who fought using guerrilla methods, but at the same time possessed a real military instinct, enormous energy and initiative that infected those around him. A commander who strived to constantly learn in practice, directly during battles, a man who was simple-minded and cunning at the same time. Chapaev knew very well the combat area, located on the far-from-center right flank of the Eastern Front. By the way, the fact that Chapaev fought in approximately the same area throughout his entire career is a weighty argument in favor of the partisan nature of his activities.

At the same time, Chapaev managed to fit into the structure of the Red Army, and was fully used by the Bolsheviks in their interests. He was an excellent commander at the divisional level, although not everything in his division was going well, especially in terms of discipline. It is enough to note that as of June 28, 1919, in the 2nd brigade of the division, “limitless drunkenness and outrages with strangers flourished - this does not indicate a commander at all, but a hooligan.” Commanders clashed with commissars, and there were even cases of beatings. The relationship between Chapaev and the commissar of his division D.A. was complicated. Furmanov, who met in March 1919. They were friends, but sometimes quarreled because of the explosive nature of the division commander.

Chapaev - Furmanov. Ufa, June 1919: “Comrade Furman. Please pay attention to my note to you, I am very upset by your departure, that you took my expression personally, of which I inform you that you have not yet managed to bring me any harm, and if I am so frank and a little hot , not at all embarrassed by your presence, and I say everything that is in my thoughts against some individuals, which you were offended by, but so that there are no personal scores between us, I am forced to write a report on my removal from office, rather than be in disagreement with my closest employee , which I am informing you about as a friend. Chapaev

After the Ufa operation, the Chapaev division was again transferred to the front against the Ural Cossacks. It was necessary to operate in the steppe area, far from communications (which made it difficult to supply the division with ammunition), in hot conditions with the superiority of the Cossacks in the cavalry. This situation constantly threatened the flanks and rear. The struggle here was accompanied by mutual bitterness, atrocities against prisoners, and uncompromising confrontation. As a result of a mounted Cossack raid into the Soviet rear, the headquarters of the Chapaev division in Lbischensk, located at a distance from the main forces, was surrounded and destroyed. On September 5, 1919, Chapaev died: according to some sources, while swimming across the Urals, according to others, he died from wounds during a shootout. Chapaev's death, which occurred as a result of carelessness, was a direct consequence of his impetuous and reckless character, expressing the unbridled element of the people.

Chapaev's division subsequently participated in the defeat of the Ural Separate Army, which led to the destruction of this army of Ural Cossacks and the death of thousands of officers and privates during the retreat through the desert regions of the Eastern Caspian region. These events fully characterize the cruel fratricidal essence of the Civil War, in which there could be no heroes.

in Pugachev, Saratov region

Chapaev lived a short life (died at 32), but bright life. Now it is quite difficult to imagine what he really was like - too many myths and exaggerations surround the image of the legendary division commander. For example, according to one version, in the spring of 1919 the Reds did not surrender Samara to the enemy only because of the firm position of Chapaev and Frunze and contrary to the opinion of military experts. But, apparently, this version has nothing to do with reality. Another later legend is that L.D. fought against Chapaev in every possible way. Trotsky. Unfortunately, even today such propaganda legends have their short-sighted supporters. In fact, on the contrary, it was Trotsky who awarded Chapaev a gold watch, distinguishing him from other commanders. Of course, it is difficult to classify Chapaev as a traditional commander. This is, rather, a partisan leader, a kind of “red chieftain.”

Some legends were created not by official ideology, but by popular consciousness. For example, that Chapaev is the Antichrist. Demonization of the image was a characteristic reaction of the people to the outstanding qualities of this or that figure. It is known that Cossack atamans were demonized in this way. Chapaev, over time, entered folklore in its more modern form - as the hero of many popular jokes. However, the list of Chapaev legends is not exhausted. Consider the popular version that Chapaev fought against the famous General V.O. Kappel. In reality, they most likely did not fight directly against each other. However, in popular understanding a hero like Chapaev could only be defeated by an opponent equal in strength to him, which Kappel was considered to be.

Appeal to the enemy: “I am Chapaev! Drop your weapons!

Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev had no luck with an objective biography. After the publication in 1923 of the book by D.A. Furmanov and, in particular, after the release of the famous film by S.D. in 1934. and G.N. Vasilyev “Chapaev”, who was far from being a figure of the first rank, was once and for all included in the cohort of selected heroes of the Civil War. This group included politically safe (mostly already deceased) Red military leaders (M.V. Frunze, N.A. Shchors, G.I. Kotovsky and others). The activities of such mythologized heroes were covered only in a positive light. However, in the case of Chapaev, not only official myths, but also artistic fiction firmly overshadowed the real historical figure. This situation was reinforced by the fact that many former Chapaevites long time occupied high positions in the Soviet military-administrative hierarchy. At least one and a half dozen generals alone emerged from the ranks of the division (for example, A.V. Belyakov, M.F. Bukshtynovich, S.F. Danilchenko, I.I. Karpezo, V.A. Kindyukhin, M.S. Knyazev, S.A. Kovpak, V.N. Kurdyumov, A.A. Luchinsky, N.M. Mishchenko, I.V. Panfilov, S.I. Petrenko-Petrikovsky, I.E. Petrov, N.M. Khlebnikov) . The Chapaevites, along with the cavalrymen, formed a kind of veteran community in the ranks of the Red Army, kept in touch and helped each other.

Turning to the fates of other people's leaders of the Civil War, such as B.M. Dumenko, F.K. Mironov, N.A. Shchors, it’s hard to imagine Chapaev surviving until the end of the war. The Bolsheviks needed such people only during the period of fighting the enemy, after which they became not only inconvenient, but also dangerous. Those of them who did not die due to their own recklessness were soon eliminated.

Ganin A.V., Ph.D., Institute of Slavic Studies RAS

Literature

Daines V.O. Chapaev. M., 2010

Kutyakov I. Chapaev's combat path. Kuibyshev, 1969

Simonov A. Chapaev's first detachment // Motherland. 2011. No. 2. P. 69-72

Ganin A. Chapai at the Academy // Motherland. 2008. No. 4. P. 93-97

Chapai is too affectionate. From Furmanov’s personal archive / Publ. A.V. Ganina // Motherland. 2011. No. 2. P. 73-75

Internet

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He made a significant contribution to the campaign of 1813 (Dresden and Leipzig).

Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich

Admiral, Hero of the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War, commander of the Black Sea Fleet. One of the leaders of the Defense of Sevastopol in 1941 - 1942, as well as the Crimean operation of 1944. During the Great Patriotic War, Vice Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky was one of the leaders of the heroic defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Being the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, at the same time in 1941-1942 he was the commander of the Sevastopol Defense Region.

Three Orders of Lenin
three Orders of the Red Banner
two Orders of Ushakov, 1st degree
Order of Nakhimov, 1st degree
Order of Suvorov, 2nd degree
Order of the Red Star
medals

Duke of Württemberg Eugene

General of the Infantry, cousin of the Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. In service in the Russian Army since 1797 (enlisted as a colonel in the Life Guards Horse Regiment by Decree of Emperor Paul I). Participated in military campaigns against Napoleon in 1806-1807. For participation in the battle of Pułtusk in 1806 he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious, 4th degree, for the campaign of 1807 he received a golden weapon “For Bravery”, he distinguished himself in the campaign of 1812 (he personally led the 4th Jaeger Regiment into battle in the Battle of Smolensk), for participation in the Battle of Borodino he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious, 3rd degree. Since November 1812, commander of the 2nd Infantry Corps in Kutuzov's army. He took an active part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814; units under his command particularly distinguished themselves in the Battle of Kulm in August 1813, and in the “Battle of the Nations” at Leipzig. For courage at Leipzig, Duke Eugene was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree. Parts of his corps were the first to enter defeated Paris on April 30, 1814, for which Eugene of Württemberg received the rank of infantry general. From 1818 to 1821 was the commander of the 1st Army Infantry Corps. Contemporaries considered Prince Eugene of Württemberg one of the best Russian infantry commanders during the Napoleonic Wars. On December 21, 1825, Nicholas I was appointed chief of the Tauride Grenadier Regiment, which became known as the “Grenadier Regiment of His Royal Highness Prince Eugene of Württemberg.” On August 22, 1826 he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1827-1828. as commander of the 7th Infantry Corps. On October 3, he defeated a large Turkish detachment on the Kamchik River.

Antonov Alexey Innokentievich

He became famous as a talented staff officer. Participated in the development of almost all significant operations Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War since December 1942.
The only one of all Soviet military leaders awarded the Order of Victory with the rank of army general, and the only Soviet holder of the order who was not awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich

Eremenko Andrey Ivanovich

Commander of the Stalingrad and South-Eastern Fronts. The fronts under his command in the summer and autumn of 1942 stopped the advance of the German 6th field and 4th tank armies towards Stalingrad.
In December 1942, the Stalingrad Front of General Eremenko stopped the tank offensive of General G. Hoth's group on Stalingrad, for the relief of the 6th Army of Paulus.

Kappel Vladimir Oskarovich

Perhaps he is the most talented commander of the entire Civil War, even if compared with the commanders of all its sides. A man of powerful military talent, fighting spirit and Christian noble qualities is a true White Knight. Kappel's talent and personal qualities were noticed and respected even by his opponents. Author of many military operations and exploits - including the capture of Kazan, the Great Siberian Ice Campaign, etc. Many of his calculations, not assessed on time and missed through no fault of his own, later turned out to be the most correct, as the course of the Civil War showed.

Rurik Svyatoslav Igorevich

Year of birth 942 date of death 972 Expansion of state borders. 965 conquest of the Khazars, 963 march south to the Kuban region, capture of Tmutarakan, 969 conquest of the Volga Bulgars, 971 conquest of the Bulgarian kingdom, 968 founding of Pereyaslavets on the Danube (the new capital of Rus'), 969 defeat of the Pechenegs in the defense of Kyiv.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

Finnish War.
Strategic retreat in the first half of 1812
European expedition of 1812

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Victory in the Great Patriotic War, saving the entire planet from absolute evil, and our country from extinction.
From the first hours of the war, Stalin controlled the country, front and rear. On land, at sea and in the air.
His merit is not one or even ten battles or campaigns, his merit is Victory, made up of hundreds of battles of the Great Patriotic War: the battle of Moscow, battles in the North Caucasus, Battle of Stalingrad, battles on Kursk Bulge, the battles of Leningrad and many others before the capture of Berlin, success in which was achieved thanks to the monotonous inhuman work of the genius of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

Stalin (Dzhugashvilli) Joseph

Margelov Vasily Filippovich

Author and initiator of the creation of technical means of the Airborne Forces and methods of using units and formations of the Airborne Forces, many of which personify the image of the Airborne Forces of the USSR Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces that currently exists.

General Pavel Fedoseevich Pavlenko:
In the history of the Airborne Forces, and in the Armed Forces of Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, his name will remain forever. He personified an entire era in the development and formation of the Airborne Forces; their authority and popularity are associated with his name not only in our country, but also abroad...

Colonel Nikolai Fedorovich Ivanov:
Under the leadership of Margelov for more than twenty years, the airborne troops became one of the most mobile in the combat structure of the Armed Forces, prestigious for service in them, especially revered by the people... The photograph of Vasily Filippovich in demobilization albums was the most popular among the soldiers high price- for a set of badges. The competition for admission to the Ryazan Airborne School exceeded the numbers of VGIK and GITIS, and applicants who missed out on exams lived for two or three months, before the snow and frost, in the forests near Ryazan in the hope that someone would not withstand the load and it would be possible to take his place .

Shein Mikhail

Hero of the Smolensk Defense of 1609-11.
He led the Smolensk fortress under siege for almost 2 years, it was one of the longest siege campaigns in Russian history, which predetermined the defeat of the Poles during the Time of Troubles

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich

Because he inspires many by personal example.

Gagen Nikolai Alexandrovich

On June 22, trains with units of the 153rd Infantry Division arrived in Vitebsk. Covering the city from the west, Hagen's division (together with the heavy artillery regiment attached to the division) occupied a 40 km long defense line; it was opposed by the 39th German Motorized Corps.

After 7 days of fierce fighting, the division's battle formations were not broken through. The Germans no longer contacted the division, bypassed it and continued the offensive. The division appeared in a German radio message as destroyed. Meanwhile, the 153rd Rifle Division, without ammunition and fuel, began to fight its way out of the ring. Hagen led the division out of encirclement with heavy weapons.

For the demonstrated steadfastness and heroism during the Elninsky operation on September 18, 1941, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 308, the division received the honorary name “Guards”.
From 01/31/1942 to 09/12/1942 and from 10/21/1942 to 04/25/1943 - commander of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps,
from May 1943 to October 1944 - commander of the 57th Army,
from January 1945 - the 26th Army.

Troops under the leadership of N.A. Gagen took part in the Sinyavinsk operation (and the general managed to break out of encirclement for the second time with weapons in hand), the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, battles in the Left Bank and Right Bank Ukraine, in the liberation of Bulgaria, in the Iasi-Kishinev, Belgrade, Budapest, Balaton and Vienna operations. Participant of the Victory Parade.

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

The greatest Russian commander! He has more than 60 victories and not a single defeat. Thanks to his talent for victory, the whole world learned the power of Russian weapons

Ushakov Fedor Fedorovich

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1791, F. F. Ushakov made a serious contribution to the development of sailing fleet tactics. Relying on the entire set of principles for training naval forces and military art, incorporating all the accumulated tactical experience, F. F. Ushakov acted creatively, based on the specific situation and common sense. His actions were distinguished by decisiveness and extraordinary courage. Without hesitation, he reorganized the fleet into battle formation even when approaching the enemy directly, minimizing the time of tactical deployment. Despite the established tactical rule of placing the commander in the middle of the battle formation, Ushakov, implementing the principle of concentration of forces, boldly placed his ship in the forefront and occupied the most dangerous situations, encouraging his commanders with his own courage. He was distinguished by a quick assessment of the situation, an accurate calculation of all success factors and a decisive attack aimed at achieving complete victory over the enemy. In this regard, Admiral F. F. Ushakov can rightfully be considered the founder of the Russian tactical school in naval art.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

The Soviet people, as the most talented, have a large number of outstanding military leaders, but the main one is Stalin. Without him, many of them might not have existed as military men.

Kovpak Sidor Artemyevich

Participant of the First World War (served in the 186th Aslanduz Infantry Regiment) and the Civil War. During the First World War, he fought on the Southwestern Front and took part in the Brusilov breakthrough. In April 1915, as part of the guard of honor, he was personally awarded the St. George Cross by Nicholas II. In total, he was awarded the St. George Crosses of III and IV degrees and medals “For Bravery” (“St. George” medals) of III and IV degrees.

During the Civil War, he led a local partisan detachment that fought in Ukraine against the German occupiers together with the detachments of A. Ya. Parkhomenko, then he was a fighter in the 25th Chapaev Division on the Eastern Front, where he was engaged in the disarmament of the Cossacks, and participated in battles with the armies of generals A. I. Denikin and Wrangel on the Southern Front.

In 1941-1942, Kovpak's unit carried out raids behind enemy lines in the Sumy, Kursk, Oryol and Bryansk regions, in 1942-1943 - a raid from the Bryansk forests to Right Bank Ukraine in the Gomel, Pinsk, Volyn, Rivne, Zhitomir and Kiev regions; in 1943 - Carpathian raid. The Sumy partisan unit under the command of Kovpak fought through the rear of the Nazi troops for more than 10 thousand kilometers, defeating enemy garrisons in 39 settlements. Kovpak's raids played a big role in the development of the partisan movement against the German occupiers.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union:
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 18, 1942, for the exemplary performance of combat missions behind enemy lines, the courage and heroism shown during their implementation, Kovpak Sidor Artemyevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 708)
The second Gold Star medal (No.) was awarded to Major General Sidor Artemyevich Kovpak by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated January 4, 1944 for the successful conduct of the Carpathian raid
four Orders of Lenin (18.5.1942, 4.1.1944, 23.1.1948, 25.5.1967)
Order of the Red Banner (12/24/1942)
Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, 1st degree. (7.8.1944)
Order of Suvorov, 1st degree (2.5.1945)
medals
foreign orders and medals (Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia)

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

A prominent military figure, scientist, traveler and discoverer. Admiral of the Russian Fleet, whose talent was highly appreciated by Emperor Nicholas II. The Supreme Ruler of Russia during the Civil War, a true Patriot of his Fatherland, a man of a tragic, interesting fate. One of those military men who tried to save Russia during the years of turmoil, in the most difficult conditions, being in very difficult international diplomatic conditions.

Platov Matvey Ivanovich

Military Ataman of the Don Cossack Army. He began active military service at the age of 13. A participant in several military campaigns, he is best known as the commander of Cossack troops during the Patriotic War of 1812 and during the subsequent Foreign Campaign of the Russian Army. Thanks to the successful actions of the Cossacks under his command, Napoleon’s saying went down in history:
- Happy is the commander who has Cossacks. If I had an army of only Cossacks, I would conquer all of Europe.

Skopin-Shuisky Mikhail Vasilievich

In the conditions of the disintegration of the Russian state during the Time of Troubles, with minimal material and personnel resources, he created an army that defeated the Polish-Lithuanian interventionists and liberated most of the Russian state.

Romanov Pyotr Alekseevich

During the endless discussions about Peter I as a politician and reformer, it is unfairly forgotten that he was greatest commander of its time. He was not only an excellent organizer of the rear. In the two most important battles of the Northern War (the battles of Lesnaya and Poltava), he not only developed battle plans himself, but also personally led the troops, being in the most important, responsible directions.
The only commander I know of who was equally talented in both land and sea battles.
The main thing is that Peter I created a domestic military school. If all the great commanders of Russia are the heirs of Suvorov, then Suvorov himself is the heir of Peter.
The Battle of Poltava was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) victory in Russian history. In all other great aggressive invasions of Russia, the general battle did not have a decisive outcome, and the struggle dragged on, leading to exhaustion. It was only in the Northern War that the general battle radically changed the state of affairs, and from the attacking side the Swedes became the defending side, decisively losing the initiative.
I believe that Peter I deserves to be in the top three on the list of the best commanders of Russia.

Romodanovsky Grigory Grigorievich

There are no outstanding military figures on the project from the period from the Time of Troubles to the Northern War, although there were some. An example of this is G.G. Romodanovsky.
He came from a family of Starodub princes.
Participant of the sovereign's campaign against Smolensk in 1654. In September 1655, together with the Ukrainian Cossacks, he defeated the Poles near Gorodok (near Lvov), and in November of the same year he fought in the battle of Ozernaya. In 1656 he received the rank of okolnichy and headed the Belgorod rank. In 1658 and 1659 participated in hostilities against the traitor Hetman Vyhovsky and the Crimean Tatars, besieged Varva and fought near Konotop (Romodanovsky’s troops withstood a heavy battle at the crossing of the Kukolka River). In 1664 he played decisive role in repelling the invasion of 70 thousand army of the Polish king on Left Bank Ukraine, inflicted a number of sensitive blows on it. In 1665 he was made a boyar. In 1670 he acted against the Razins - he defeated the detachment of the chieftain's brother, Frol. The crowning achievement of Romodanovsky's military activity was the war with the Ottoman Empire. In 1677 and 1678 troops under his leadership inflicted heavy defeats on the Ottomans. An interesting point: both main figures in the Battle of Vienna in 1683 were defeated by G.G. Romodanovsky: Sobieski with his king in 1664 and Kara Mustafa in 1678
The prince died on May 15, 1682 during the Streltsy uprising in Moscow.

Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich

Hero of the Russian-Persian War of 1804-1813.
"Meteor General" and "Caucasian Suvorov".
He fought not with numbers, but with skill - first, 450 Russian soldiers attacked 1,200 Persian Sardars in the Migri fortress and took it, then 500 of our soldiers and Cossacks attacked 5,000 askers at the crossing of the Araks. They destroyed more than 700 enemies; only 2,500 Persian soldiers managed to escape from ours.
In both cases, our losses were less than 50 killed and up to 100 wounded.
Further, in the war against the Turks, with a swift attack, 1,000 Russian soldiers defeated the 2,000-strong garrison of the Akhalkalaki fortress.
Then again, in the Persian direction, he cleared Karabakh of the enemy, and then, with 2,200 soldiers, he defeated Abbas Mirza with a 30,000-strong army at Aslanduz, a village near the Araks River. In two battles, he destroyed more than 10,000 enemies, including English advisers and artillerymen.
As usual, Russian losses amounted to 30 killed and 100 wounded.
Kotlyarevsky won most of his victories in night assaults on fortresses and enemy camps, not allowing the enemies to come to their senses.
The last campaign - 2000 Russians against 7000 Persians to the Lenkoran fortress, where Kotlyarevsky almost died during the assault, lost consciousness at times from loss of blood and pain from wounds, but still commanded the troops until the final victory, as soon as he regained consciousness, and then was forced take a long time to heal and retire from military affairs.
His exploits for the glory of Russia are much greater than the “300 Spartans” - for our commanders and warriors more than once defeated an enemy 10 times superior, and suffered minimal losses, saving Russian lives.

Denikin Anton Ivanovich

The commander, under whose command the white army, with smaller forces, won victories over the red army for 1.5 years and captured the North Caucasus, Crimea, Novorossia, Donbass, Ukraine, Don, part of the Volga region and the central black earth provinces of Russia. He retained the dignity of his Russian name during the Second World War, refusing to cooperate with the Nazis, despite his irreconcilably anti-Soviet position

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

He is a great commander who did not lose a single (!) battle, the founder of Russian military affairs, and fought battles with genius, regardless of their conditions.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

Russian admiral who gave his life for the liberation of the Fatherland.
Oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers late XIX- early 20th centuries, military and political figure, naval commander, full member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, leader of the White movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.

Dzhugashvili Joseph Vissarionovich

Assembled and coordinated the actions of a team of talented military leaders

Spiridov Grigory Andreevich

He became a sailor under Peter I, participated as an officer in the Russian-Turkish War (1735-1739), and ended the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) as a rear admiral. His naval and diplomatic talent reached its peak during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. In 1769 he led the first passage of the Russian fleet from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the difficulties of the transition (the admiral's son was among those who died from illness - his grave was recently found on the island of Menorca), he quickly established control over the Greek archipelago. The Battle of Chesme in June 1770 remained unsurpassed in terms of loss ratio: 11 Russians - 11 thousand Turks! On the island of Paros, the naval base of Auza was equipped with coastal batteries and its own Admiralty.
The Russian fleet left the Mediterranean Sea after the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace in July 1774. The Greek islands and lands of the Levant, including Beirut, were returned to Turkey in exchange for territories in the Black Sea region. However, the activities of the Russian fleet in the Archipelago were not in vain and played a significant role in world naval history. Russia, having made a strategic maneuver with its fleet from one theater to another and achieved a number of high-profile victories over the enemy, for the first time made people talk about itself as a strong maritime power and an important player in European politics.

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

If anyone has not heard, there is no point in writing

Slashchev-Krymsky Yakov Alexandrovich

Defense of Crimea in 1919-20. “The Reds are my enemies, but they did the main thing - my job: they revived great Russia!” (General Slashchev-Krymsky).

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

Alexander Vasilievich Kolchak (November 4 (November 16) 1874, St. Petersburg - February 7, 1920, Irkutsk) - Russian oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, military and political figure, naval commander, active member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1906), admiral (1918), leader of the White movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.

Participant of the Russian-Japanese War, Defense of Port Arthur. During the First World War, he commanded the mine division of the Baltic Fleet (1915-1916), the Black Sea Fleet (1916-1917). Knight of St. George.
The leader of the White movement both on a nationwide scale and directly in the East of Russia. As the Supreme Ruler of Russia (1918-1920), he was recognized by all the leaders of the White movement, “de jure” by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, “de facto” by the Entente states.