Having lived all my life in St. Petersburg literally three kilometers from this monument, I saw it for the first time... in Kuibyshev, that is, now Samara, in 1979.

I had to experience several surprises. Firstly, I learned about the St. Petersburg monument, secondly, I learned that it was just a copy and, thirdly, that it was installed near the Academy of Communications in the hungry year of 1943. And we imagined that the city was slowly dying... No, monuments were erected in the besieged city!

I also learned that Vasily Ivanovich’s son, who looked like him, posed for the sculptor.
And V.I. Chapaev’s associate I.S. Kutyakov, who was subsequently repressed.

As always in the post-revolutionary years, such a monument could not have been built without the intervention of party officials. This is what is written in one of the books:
On August 18, 1931, the chosen best sculptural work by the famous Soviet sculptor M.G. Manizer, amendments are made by the Small Presidium of the Middle Volga Regional Executive Committee of the Samara Soviets. The approval of the project with the decision to strengthen the leading role of Chapaev in the composition ultimately led to the replacement of the image of the boy in the foreground with a sculptural image of the commissar. This adjustment was made for a reason. The leading role of the party is obvious - the figure running ahead leads a detachment of Red Army soldiers, including the legendary division commander himself.

Chapaev was not only the hero of jokes and Furmanov’s novel, but also authentic hero.
In 1914, Chapaev was called up for military service, he graduated from the training team, and rose to the rank of non-commissioned officer. During the First World War, Vasily Chapaev was awarded the St. George medal and three St. George's crosses.
No laughing, he was a hero.

This face is the cutest in the group, but it reminds me of some actor of those years. I'm suffering...

For the curious, here's a reference from the encyclopedia.
In 1932, a monument to V.I. was erected in Kuibyshev. Chapaev, created by sculptor M.G. Manizer. In 1933-1934. the author made a copy of the sculptural group. Casting in bronze was made in Leningrad, in Manizer’s workshop on Pesochnaya Street. The cast copy may have been intended for installation in the Central Park of Culture and Culture named after. CM. Kirov.
It is known that in 1935-1940. the sculpture, which did not have a pedestal, is transported to the site of its intended installation on Elagin Island, in the Maslyanoy Meadow area. But no work was carried out to install the sculpture. To the beginning of the Great Patriotic War The sculpture was placed in the courtyard of house No. 34 on Krestovsky Prospekt. During the autumn-winter of 1943, by order of the head of the rifle and machine gun courses for junior lieutenants of the Leningrad Front, P.V. Borisov, the sculpture was transported by cadets from Krestovsky Prospect to a protected area, to the courtyard of the Academy of Communications, where, mounted on a temporary pedestal made of logs, it stood until the 1960s
In the post-war years, the question of returning the sculpture to urban, publicly accessible territory was repeatedly raised. In 1965-1968 State Museum city ​​sculpture, according to the design of the architect N.F. Brovkin, transferred the sculpture to a new location, in front of the Academy building, where it was installed on a new granite pedestal.

The height of the sculpture group is 3 m, the height of the pedestal is 1.3 m.

Address: Tikhoretsky pr., 1, in front of the building of the Military Academy of Communications named after. M.S. Budyonny
Sculptor: Manizer Matvey Genrikhovich (1891-1966)
Architect: Brovkin Nikolay Fedorovich (1916-1986)
Opened November 4, 1968

Materials: bronze - sculptural group, letters; forged granite - pedestal.
Inscriptions: on the pedestal on the right side in applied letters: to Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev

The Academy building itself.


We have such an unusual-ordinary monument in the city.

The monument to the legendary Soviet and revolutionary commander of the Red Army was inaugurated on November 6, 1932 on the Place des Communards de Paris (nowadays Chapaev Square) and dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the October Revolution. The monument has a height of about 10 meters, and the base is 17 by 22 meters and at the time of its creation it was one of the largest in the country. The definition of a Soviet commander is probably not entirely correct, since the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was announced in 1922, three years after the death of Vasily Ivanovich in 1919, but he is perhaps the most famous fighter for the power of those very councils.
The monument was created in Leningrad in 1932, at that time not yet St. Petersburg, by comrade Matvey Genrikhovich Manizer, of course a sculptor, yes, yes, then almost all residents of the USSR were called comrades. A friend, obviously also a sculptor, Joseph Langbard, worked on the pedestal project. When the monument was opened, the pedestal was plastered and painted black, but in 1963, Kuibyshev architect Vagan Gaikovich Karkaryan created a project for facing the monument with granite, in some sources with labradorite, which was brought to life (Kuibyshev - at that time not yet Samara) . As a result, we have the opportunity to see the results of the work of three architects, embodied in a wonderful monument to the legendary revolutionary Vasily Ivanovich and his revolutionary army.

Description of the monument to Chapaev

All the figures in the composition, with the exception of the horse, are made the size of one and a half times the height of a person. The figures of the monument were created taking into account the local revolutionary flavor and have a symbolic meaning (as many things often did in Soviet times). The sculptor sculpted the face of the main figure, Chapaev himself, from the division commander’s son, who, as expected, looked like his father. Individual figures of the Red Army soldiers and Anka the machine gunner had their prototypes from real residents of Samara and the middle Volga region.

The monument still arouses interest among residents and guests of the city. Unfortunately, vandals also show an unhealthy interest in it; since the collapse of the Roman Empire, thanks to their outrages, they have been roaming around Europe, not forgetting Samara. As a result of their unseemly activities, they repeatedly stole the division commander’s saber and the soldiers’ Maxim system machine gun.

It should be noted that the monument has a double copy in St. Petersburg. In the process of preparing to be sent to Samara, Comrade Kirov saw him and made a proposal to create the same monument for the city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).

Some perhaps little-known facts about Chapaev

Apparently we need to start with the fact that until the 30s of the 20th century, Vasily Ivanovich’s surname was sounded and written with the letter “e” - Chepaev, however, thanks to the famous novel by D. Furmanov and the even more famous film “Chapaev”, based on the materials of this book in 1934 year, you and I know Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev.

A dashing commander on a dashing horse, this is hardly about Chapaev, this picture was most likely created by the cinema for entertainment. Vasily Ivanovich’s division was infantry, or rather motorized infantry, more on that later. He could only ride a horse on a pacer with a smoother manner of movement due to a serious wound in the thigh received in the battles of the First World War; right hand which apparently interfered with the dashing waving of the saber.

Chapaev, as some sources indicate, was actively interested in technology and quite often used cars. His division had about 50 (!) armored vehicles and vehicles various brands. The division also had an air squadron of five airplanes; Chapaev often flew to Moscow on an aircraft. In addition, all units actively used telephone and telegraph communications and messengers on motorcycles.

As we can see, the division commander appreciated and enjoyed modern types weapons.

The most emotional and expressive monument in Samara is located on Chapaev Square, in front of the drama theater building. Sculptural composition depicts a group of soldiers led by Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev. The monument was erected in November 1932, on the day of the fifteenth anniversary of the October Revolution. The authors of the largest monument in the country (at that time) were the architect I. Langbard and the sculptor M. Manizer. The height of the 12-ton monument is more than ten meters, and the dimensions of the base are 17 by 22 meters. The monument was erected at the burial site of twelve Red Guards.

The son of V.I. took part in the creation of the sculpture. Chapaeva. Having an external resemblance to his father, Alexander Vasilyevich posed for Manizer when creating a sculpture of the commander. The multi-figure composition includes eight people: Chapaev with a saber on horseback, a peasant partisan, a Bashkir fighter, a sailor with a machine gun, a woman with a rifle, a soldier, a Tatar with a torn shirt and a commissar. The entire sculptural group is installed on a high double pedestal with steps.

The sculptural composition was made in Leningrad, where it caught the eye of Sergei Kirov, who asked to make a copy of the monument he liked. Thus, in St. Petersburg, on the square in front of the Military Academy, a copy of the Samara monument appeared.

The monument to V.I. Chapaev has long been a symbol of the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara) and today never ceases to amaze tourists with its expressiveness.

Monument to Chapaev in Samara (Samara, Russia) - description, history, location, reviews, photos and videos.

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The Chapaev monument in Samara can easily be called one of the most emotional and striking in the city. It is located on the square of the same name opposite the Samara Drama Theater. The sculpture was installed in 1932 in honor of the 15th anniversary of the October Revolution. The authors are sculptor Matvey Manizer and architect Joseph Langbard.

For a long time The monument to Chapaev in Samara remained one of the largest in the entire USSR. Its height is 10 meters, the dimensions of the base are 17 by 22 meters.

The monument is a whole sculptural group - a total of 8 people are depicted. This is Vasily Chapaev, a sailor with a machine gun, a commissar, a partisan, a soldier and a woman with rifles and two more soldiers. For a long time, the monument remained one of the largest in the entire USSR. Its height is 10 meters, the dimensions of the base are 17 by 22 meters.

The monument to Chapaev was made in Leningrad and then sent to Samara. One of the first to see the sculpture was the famous statesman and political figure Sergei Kirov. He liked it so much that he asked the authors to make exact copy for installation in Leningrad. Today, a copy of the monument is located in St. Petersburg near the Military Academy of Communications named after. Budyonny.

Interestingly, Samara residents really like the sculpture. Firstly, townspeople often make appointments here, and secondly, every now and then they try to steal Chapaev’s saber.