The monument to the legendary Soviet and revolutionary commander of the Red Army was solemnly opened on November 6, 1932 on the Paris Communards Square (today it is Chapaev Square) and timed to coincide with 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 Soviet commander is probably not a completely correct definition, since the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which has sunk into oblivion, was announced in 1922, three years after the death of Vasily Ivanovich in 1919, but he is almost 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, almost all the inhabitants of the USSR were then called comrades. A friend, of course, also a sculptor, Joseph Langbard, worked on the project of the pedestal. At the opening of the monument, the pedestal was plastered and painted black, however, in 1963, the 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 it was no longer Samara) . As a result, we have the opportunity to contemplate 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 figures of the composition, with the exception of the horse, are made one and a half times the height of a person. The figures of the monument were created taking into account the local revolutionary color and have a symbolic meaning (as much and often in Soviet time). Face main figure- the sculptor sculpted Chapaev himself from the son of a divisional commander, who, as expected, looked like his father. Individual figures of the Red Army and Anka - machine gunners had their prototypes from real residents of Samara and the middle Volga region.

The monument is still of interest to residents and visitors of the city. Unfortunately, vandals also show an unhealthy interest in him, who since the collapse of the Roman Empire, thanks to their outrages, have been wandering around Europe, not forgetting Samara. As a result of their unseemly activities, they repeatedly stole a saber from the divisional commander, and from the fighters a machine gun of the Maxim system.

It should be noted that the monument has a duplicate copy in St. Petersburg. In the process of preparing the shipment 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

You need to start apparently with the fact that until the 30s of the 20th century, the name of Vasily Ivanovich sounded and was written through the letter "e" - Chepaev, but thanks to the famous novel by D. Furmanov and the even more famous film "Chapaev" filmed based on the materials of this book in 1934 year we know Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev.

A dashing commander on a dashing horse, this is hardly about Chapaev, this picture was most likely created by cinema for entertainment. The division of Vasily Ivanovich was infantry, rather even motorized infantry, more on that later. He could only ride 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, he also had a shot in his right hand, which apparently interfered with the dashing waving of his saber.

Chapaev, as some sources indicate, was actively interested in technology and used cars quite often. In his division, there were about 50 (!) Armored vehicles and vehicles of various brands. Also in the division was an air squadron of five airplanes, Chapaev often flew to Moscow on an aircraft. In addition, telephone and telegraph communications and messengers on motorcycles were actively used in all parts.

As you can see, the division commander appreciated and enjoyed modern views weapons.

The most emotional and expressive monument of Samara is located on Chapaev Square, in front of the Drama Theatre. The sculptural composition depicts a group of soldiers led by Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev. The monument was erected in November 1932, on the day of the celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of 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 place of twelve Red Guards.

The son of V.I. took part in the creation of the sculpture. Chapaev. Having an outward 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 sword on a horse, a partisan peasant, 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 set 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. So, 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, which for a long time was a symbol of the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara), and today does not cease to amaze tourists with its expressiveness.

It seems to be the scariest Samara monument ... But did everyone look at it in detail? For myself, I learned a lot of new things.

The monument to Chapaev by Matvey Manizer on the square named after the commander has been seen by almost everyone who has been to Samara or Kuibyshev since its opening on November 6, 1932 (then the square was called the Paris Communards).

Chapaev himself has not been associated with a real historical division commander for a long time. By and large, in the minds of him, he is no longer red and not white. His personality traits and exploits are presented through the prism of the 1934 Soviet blockbuster by the Vasilyev brothers and numerous anecdotes that appeared after the film's triumph. Pelevin also succumbed to the commander’s post-modern spark, making this character relevant for modern youth. Now Chapaev is a mustachioed man demonstrating tactical schemes with the help of potatoes; a character howling with Petka for the heart of the machine gunner Anka and a cart with an inscription about the power of the night and the power of the day.
This is probably why this sculptural composition is really loved by the residents of the city.

The monument is no less loved not only by fans of the monumental, but also popular among non-ferrous metal hunters. During the 2000s, a saber was requisitioned from the divisional commander twice, and once even a Maxim machine gun from his retinue.

First of all, I respect this work for two things. Firstly, it clearly demonstrates the ethno-social section of the Volga region. In addition to Russian types, there are Tatars and Bashkirs. And Chapaev himself was half Mordvin-Erzya, half Chuvash. So, almost a complete set. Secondly, the monument is very democratic. If you wish, you can climb to the sculptural composition itself and examine everything thoroughly. What I loved to trade in my childhood and did not fail to take advantage of last fall. As a result - the following photos.

A bit of history: Matvey Manizer worked on the monument in Leningrad. There, prototypes of sculptural figures were posed for him. Before sending the monument to the banks of the Volga, it was examined by Kirov, who was very impressed. The monument turned out great. In addition, it was the first multi-figure composition made under the Soviet regime. Kirov desired the same miracle for Leningrad. A copy was cast just before the start of the war, and installed at the Military Communications Academy already during the blockade.
For the monument, Manizer received the title of Honored Artist.
The architect of the Kuibyshev pedestal is Iosif Langbard, who became famous primarily for his constructivist buildings in the Byelorussian SSR.
The former fighters of the Chapaev division and the Samara proletariat paid for the manufacture of the monument.

Leningrad copy of the monument. Photo from here.

Specifications: the weight of the monument is 12 tons. Material - bronze. Height - 10 meters. The base of the pedestal is 17 x 22 meters. Figures one and a half times human height.

And now let's look at the monument:

General form. Here you can see all the characters with the exception of the sailor weaving in the rearguard. Pay attention to the state of the pedestal. And these are, by the way, cultural monuments of federal significance.

The same, but on the reverse side.

Vasily Ivanovich himself. Capturing him is not easy, because he hangs over the general crowd on his dashing horse. The sculptor created the image of Chapaev's son Alexander, who, as they say, had a striking resemblance to his father.

The commissar rushes ahead of the divisional dad into battle.

Behind the commissar is a figure rising from the ground of a Bashkir fighter.

The prototype was the Bashkir poet Gaysy Yusupov, who died during the Great Patriotic War.

Tatar fighter. Social origin - Volga loader. Purely Samara Tatar type. After all, as you know, the business of loaders in Samara was firmly held by the Tatars who lived on Alexei Tolstoy Street. In the past - Kazan, which is typical.
The face of a Tatar can be seen, perhaps, by birds. But the nipple is visible to everyone.

Peasant partisan. Symbolizes Russian roots.

First five. Pull tickets. .

The only lady. By the way, I thought that in terms of gender, the composition of the monument corresponds to the main characters of the fairy tale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".
The model was generated in the image of a former weaver with the surname Tkacheva, which is typical for this profession. Later E.V. Tkacheva became deputy chairman of the Samara city executive committee, and even later was accused of right-wing Trotskyite activities.

The last two figures, closing the composition, symbolize the regular units of the Red Army emerging from hordes of armed ragamuffins:

Fighter. This guy is constantly unlucky. For some reason, when listing the figures of a sculptural composition, they constantly forget about him.

But the sailor who closes the composition is often the center of attention. Especially after stealing a machine gun from his gun carriage. Notice how gracefully he arches his back when viewed from this angle.

If you look at the sailor from the other side, he does not look so coquettish.

Of course, the proximity of the university, even if it is the Academy of Arts and Culture, cannot but affect the horse's genitals. The genitals of bronze horses never give rest to the students of our country.

In general, the state of the monument of federal significance can be assessed as a solid "four". Worst of all is the situation with belts from rifles. I already wrote about problems with the pedestal.

Monument in the square complex:

In my opinion, the monument fits very well among the low buildings surrounding it. Fortunately, when it was being built, the Soviet authorities had not yet developed such a strong attraction to cyclopism. And, all the more, it is joyful that this is not the Tseriteli format.

It looks very impressive against the background of the Volga sunsets.

It should be noted that for a long time the Regional Party Committee was located on the square. And the monument is located in such a way that Chapai seems to be leading his brigade to storm it. This served as an occasion for numerous jokes of the townsfolk.

Few people remember this, but there are graves under the monument. Here, in December 1917, those who died at the hands of "counter-revolutionaries" were buried. Previously, this tablet hung on the pedestal of the monument, but now it has been moved to the wall of one of the nearby houses.

Bonus track: you can see a 3D panorama of Chapaev Square along with the monument.

One of the expressive and beautiful monuments of Samara is the monument legendary commander division, hero civil war Vasily Chapaev. This sculptural composition was opened in November 1932 in honor of the 15th anniversary of the October Revolution on the square in front of the building of the Samara Academic Drama Theater. Gorky. Before the erection of the monument, the square was called Paris Commune, a sculpture dedicated to the III International was installed on it. However, they decided to rename the square, as a result of which it began to bear the name Chapaev Square.

By its size, the sculptural composition was one of the largest in the country - the height of the monument itself is 10 meters, the base is 17x22 meters. The entire sculptural composition is cast in bronze, it took about 12 tons. The pedestal consists of two platforms. On the first one you can climb the stairs from two sides, on the second one the sculptural composition itself is installed.

Historical reference

The authors of the sculptural composition dedicated to the Chapayevites led by the division commander are the architect I. Langbard and the sculptor M. Manizer, who was also the author of the sculptures of V.I. Lenin and V.V. Kuibyshev. Chapaev's son Alexander posed for the sculptor, who outwardly looked like his father. This complex sculptural composition was made in Leningrad. Before sending it was collected to evaluate the work done. The sculpture made a great impression on S.M. Kirov and he proposed to cast an exact copy and leave it in Leningrad. This is how the twin of the monument appeared, which can be found on the square in front of the building of the Military Academy of Communications named after Budyonny in St. Petersburg.