On December 15, 1952, Bolshaya Vul'fova Street was renamed Chapaev Street, in honor of the legendary hero of the Civil War, Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev (1887–1919). For his bravery during the First World War, Chapaev was awarded the St. George Medal and the soldier’s St. George Crosses of all four classes. In September 1917, he joined the Bolshevik Party, and in 1918 he studied at the General Staff Academy. In January 1918, he was appointed Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Nikolaevsky Uyezd of the Samara Governorate. From May 1918, he was a brigade commander, and from September, commander of the 2nd Nikolaev Rifle Division.
In January 1919, Chapaev was appointed commander of the Special Alexandrov-Gayskaya Brigade, and in April, commander of the 25th Rifle Division, which took part in the Bugulminskaya and Belebeevskaya operations against Admiral Kolchak’s army. Under Chapaev’s leadership, this division captured Ufa on June 9, 1919, and Uralsk on July 11.
Chapaev died on September 5, 1919, near the town of Lbishchensk (now Chapaevsk in the West Kazakhstan region) during a sudden night raid by Cossacks on the poorly guarded division headquarters. The circumstances of the commander’s death are not entirely clear, which later gave rise to many conflicting versions. According to the investigation conducted immediately after the event, the wounded Chapaev drowned while trying to swim across the Ural River. This version was accepted as official.
This version lacks clear archival confirmation. Moreover, it is doubtful that his comrades would not have arranged for the commander’s reburial with honors. This version cannot be verified because the section of the riverbank where Chapaev might have been buried is now flooded.
In 1934, the film "Chapaev" was made at the Lenfilm studio. It was created by the Vasilyev brothers. In it, actor Boris Babochkin so brilliantly played the role of the legendary division commander that jokes about Chapaev, his orderly Petka, the machine gunner Anna, and Commissar Furmanov began to circulate among the people. Dmitry Furmanov was the author of the novel "Chapaev," published in 1923, which later became the basis for the screenplay of the famous film. The author of the novel was very close to his hero.
An additional interesting toponymic story is connected with the Vasilyev brothers. In 1964, on the 30th anniversary of the release of the film "Chapaev," Malaya Posadskaya Street in the Petrogradsky District was renamed in their honor. Symbolically, it begins at the Lenfilm studio and ends at Chapaev Street. In 1989, the Vasilyev Brothers Street reverted to Malaya Posadskaya. In my opinion, this is somewhat of a cultural injustice because the Vasilyev brothers did nothing bad for our people. They simply made excellent films that were watched by the entire country.
Source:
SERGEY ILCHENKO, Professor at Saint Petersburg State University
