Who is Chapaev's Anka machine gunner? Executioner

Few people know that the legendary Anka the machine gunner from the movie “Chapaev” had a real prototype - Red Army soldier Maria Popova. True, she was a nurse, and only fired a machine gun once. But it was this one time that went down in history thanks to the legendary film of the Vasilyev brothers...

Maria Andreevna Golovina was born in 1896 in the village of Vyazov Gai, in the Samara province. At the age of 16 she was married to Ivan Popov, so now she became Maria Popova. But she and her husband did not live very long - Ivan died shortly after the wedding. After the death of her husband, Popova got a job as a nurse in a hospital. When the Civil War began, Maria enlisted in the 25th Chapaev Division.

“The next bullet is for you...”

Maria was never a machine gunner. In the division, she initially served in her main profile - as a nurse. She turned out to be a smart, mischievous girl. Maria Andreevna herself told such a case from her sanitary practice.

In the destroyed pharmacy of the small town, where the Chapaevites entered, there were two bags of soda. Nurse Popova loaded them onto a cart and brought them to the division. She cut the paper into strips, poured powder, rolled it up and wrote: “from the head”, “from the stomach” and distributed it to the fighters. It helped some.

After this, the popularity of nurse Maria Popova overshadowed the authority of the division’s chief physician, who did not give such “miraculous” drugs. The Chapaev soldiers complained about the doctor to the division commander - they say he doesn’t treat well. Either way - Mashka Popova...

True, there was one case when a nurse had to fire a machine gun.

During one of the battles, Maria, as usual, brought machine-gun belts to the Maxim crew. The machine gun was hopelessly silent - number two was killed by a direct hit from an enemy shell, and the machine gunner was seriously wounded. Having regained consciousness, the Red Army soldier ordered Maria:

Lie down next to me and press this button, and I will operate the machine gun with my healthy hand.

Are you crazy? “I’m afraid,” Maria refused and tried to leave.

Having fired a revolver, the machine gunner warned the girl:

The next bullet is for you.

There was nothing to do - I had to obey. Maria lay down, closed her eyes and began to pour fire on the White Guards. So Maria Popova temporarily became a machine gunner.

For this fight, Chapaev awarded her a watch. Then the division commander decided that the dashing girl’s place was now in mounted reconnaissance.

Stalin's favorite film

But it just so happened that this particular fight with the participation of Maria Popova was used in creating the script for the film “Chapaev”. Here is how it was. The directors, the Vasilyev brothers (in fact, as you know, they are not brothers, but namesakes) turned to former soldiers of the Chapaev division with a request to send memories of some interesting combat episodes that happened during the service “with Chapai.”

Maria Popova also sent her memories. And it turned out that this is what the directors were missing - the image of a simple Russian woman fighting for the power of the Soviets. Anka the machine gunner was hastily introduced into the film's script (in Furmanov's story, on which the film was based, there is no such character at all).

The name Anka was given to the new character in honor of Anna Steshenko, Furmanov's widow and consultant for the film. Because of this, you can sometimes come across claims that it was Anna Steshenko who served as the prototype for Anka the Machine Gunner. This is not true. They took only the character’s name from the writer’s widow, and borrowed the entire “texture” from the memoirs of Maria Popova.

Thus, the episode with machine gun fire, narrated by Maria Popova, was creatively processed and included in the film in the famous scene of the psychic attack of the Kappelites.

In this form, the finished film was shown to Stalin. The leader was delighted and decided to immediately express his delight to the filmmakers (the entire time the film was shown, the directors were waiting for the verdict in the reception room). Excited directors were invited to the hall. Satisfied Stalin thanked them for their excellent work. Among other things, the leader noted the successfully found image of Anka the machine gunner and the talented performance of the performer, actress Varvara Myasnikova. The film was released into theaters, where it was a resounding success. And Chapaev, Petka, Anka the machine gunner became the heroes of numerous jokes, which is also, as we know, an indicator of success.

By the way, about Petka. The film contains a lyrical line - the love of Anka the machine gunner and Chapaev's orderly Petka. In fact, Maria Popova had no trace of an affair with Pyotr Isaev (that was the name of Chapaev’s assistant). This is a creative invention.

In general, the real Peter Isaev was completely different from the screen Petka. He was an educated junior commander and was in no way the division commander's orderly as shown in the film. Pyotr Isaev was a guarantor for particularly important cases, and later - the head of the communications brigade.

And Maria Popova herself was not such a simpleton as her cinematic incarnation. After the end of the Civil War, Maria Popova studied at Moscow State University at the Faculty of Soviet Law, and in 1931 she was sent to Berlin, appointing her as an assistant in the legal department of the trade mission. From May 1936 to May 1937 she was on a business trip in Stockholm. She persistently mastered the Swedish language. Maria developed almost friendly relations with the USSR Ambassador to Sweden Alexandra Kollontai.

"She's not worthy..."

In May 1937, Popova was informed that her business trip to Stockholm was over. With a heavy heart, Maria Andreevna returned to Moscow - times were difficult. Many of her former acquaintances from the Chapaev division were arrested by the NKVD. But Maria herself was not touched; apparently, they did not want to cast a shadow on the film, which had already become a legend. Many people knew that Maria Popova served as the prototype for Anka the Machine Gunner. The NKVD was also aware. Moreover, the film “Chapaev” was Stalin’s favorite film - he watched it several dozen times! The image of Chapaev's Anka the machine gunner became a saving shield for Maria Popova. They didn’t dare take a swing at her.

But, having survived the icy times of Stalin, Maria Popova unexpectedly came under attack during the Khrushchev Thaw. In 1959, Popova was summoned to the party Central Committee. It turned out that several old Chapaevites wrote a letter to the Party Control Committee of the CPSU Central Committee, in which they reported that Maria Popova was in fact the daughter of kulaks, that at first she fought on the side of the whites. And only when the Reds began to take the advantage, she came to the Chapaev division. The main thing that Popova was accused of: “She is not worthy to be considered the prototype of Anka the Machine Gunner.” It is unclear what prompted this undignified libel. Either with ordinary envy, or with some personal scores. Clouds gathered over Mary's head.

But the Chapaevsk nurse was not afraid. She told all authorities that she was never the prototype of Anka the machine gunner, that this was a collective image. Maria Andreevna listed the names of her fighting friends who were worthy of no less glory. And in general, the fact that from all the memories of the female fighters of the Chapaev division, the Vasilyev brothers chose her story and based on it they created the image of Anka - it is not her fault, especially since this choice was approved by Stalin. Then ask them - as the witty woman would hint. Opponents were confused.

And just then the results of the party audit, undertaken after receiving the denunciation, arrived. The certificate submitted to the Central Committee stated:

“Popova Maria Andreevna, native of the village of Vyazov Gai, Samara province. Her maiden name was Golovina. Popova's father, poor peasant Andrei Romanovich Golovin, died when his daughter Maria Popova was 4 years old. Maria Popova's mother died when the girl was 8 years old. From this age, Maria Andreevna worked as a laborer for wealthy fellow villagers. In 1917 she joined the Red Guard and took part in battles on the Dutov Front. As part of the Chapaev division since June 1918. She served in cavalry reconnaissance and at the same time performed the duties of a medical assistant. She was wounded and shell-shocked. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Battle."

It was a complete victory. The honest name of Maria Popova was completely restored.

Maria Andreevna died in the winter of 1981. She was buried in Moscow at the Kuntsevo cemetery...

To save her own life, she began to serve as an executioner for the German occupiers. For one execution she received real money. She shot almost 1,500 people. And all this in a year and a half. During the war she was nicknamed the Thin Machine Gunner. For the next three decades, she was an exemplary Soviet woman. She is Antonina Makarova-Ginzburg, Tonka the Machine Gunner, a biography, the real story of which will be told in the article.

Makarova's ideal was Anka the machine gunner

Antonina Makarova was born in 1920 in one of the villages of the Smolensk province. However, according to some other information, she was born in the capital in 1923.

In the metric, her last name was indicated as Parfenova. The fact is that when she started studying at school, due to an oversight, the teacher mixed up not only her middle name, but also her last name. In the class journal, she wrote her down as Makarova. It was because of this that in all subsequent official documents Tonya was listed under that last name. This absurd accident subsequently helped her escape justice for three decades.

Tonka the machine gunner, biography, whose family was unremarkable, did not have a happy childhood. The family of the future punisher lived quite poorly. Her mother had to work hard to raise her children. My small garden helped in this regard. But they also needed to be constantly engaged. Accordingly, combining household chores with raising a daughter was very difficult. She didn't have enough time for everything. And young Tonya, in her dreams, like any girl, hoped that her mother would buy her a beautiful dress and new shoes with the goal of appearing in this attire on the local dance floor...

In addition to such hobbies, she also had her own ideal - Anka the machine gunner. As you know, this movie character also had a prototype. We are talking about Maria Popova. During the Civil War, in one of the battles, she replaced a deceased machine gunner. Ahead of events, let's say one thing: inspired by the image of M. Popova, Antonina also received a machine gun. Only now the character and prototype of the book and film “Chapaev” fought with enemies, and Makarova shot the condemned...

At school, young Tonya studied very diligently. True, she did not show much zeal for the exact sciences. She preferred subjects such as geography and history.

For eight years, Tonka the Machine Gunner, whose biography was not rosy, studied at a village school. In high school, she already studied at a Moscow school. The whole family moved there.

Having received a matriculation certificate, she entered college, then a technical school. She planned to become a doctor.

"Vyazemsky Cauldron" and retreat

When the war began, she went to the front, becoming a medical instructor. The German army was then advancing on the Soviet capital.

As a result, Makarova and her units found themselves completely surrounded, in the so-called. "Vyazma Cauldron" At some point, while retreating, she fell into the hands of the Germans. After some time, she managed to escape. Moreover, she escaped not alone, but together with soldier Nikolai Fedchuk.

Together they wandered through the forests, sometimes stealing to feed themselves. At the same time, they did not look for an opportunity to find partisans or break through to units of the Red Army.

In the process of this wandering, Fedchuk stopped standing on ceremony with the fairer sex and made her his “camp wife.” True, the involuntary “wife”, in fact, did not particularly resist.

At the beginning of 1942, the encirclement found themselves in the village where Fedchuk lived before the war. It was there that he admitted to Tonya that he was married and his family lived nearby. In a word, Makarova was left completely alone.

For several days, Antonina went home. At first, the villagers did not kick her out, but since they had enough worries of their own without her, they did not dare to keep the unknown woman for a long time. She tried to have an affair with one of the villagers. But in the end, she was able to turn almost all the local residents against her. She had to leave the village.

They say that Fedchuk’s betrayal and lack of physical and moral strength at that time finished her off. They say she has truly lost her mind. But it was only temporary. She wanted to survive. And at any cost.

Executioner's Rate

Antonina’s wanderings ended in the vicinity of the Bryansk village of Lokot. Let us remember that during the war, the so-called The Lokot Republic, which was founded by Russian collaborators, that is, henchmen of the Nazis.

The unfortunate nurse was detained by the police who took a fancy to her. They took me in, gave me food, offered me alcohol and raped me. True, the fact of this violence was very controversial. Because at that moment Tonya agreed to absolutely everything.

Thus, for some time, the former medical instructor worked with the police as a prostitute.

One day, very drunk, she was taken out into the street and given a Maxim machine gun - exactly the same as that of Anka the machine gunner.

In front of her stood people who were now about to be executed. Tonya was given the order: shoot. The massacre was not a big deal for her. And she felt no remorse. Of course, Makarova had a choice. She could have been among those shot. She could also become an executioner, which is exactly what happened. She chose the second option, hoping that later the war would write everything off anyway. Well, in the end, her old dream somehow came true - she became a machine gunner, like her favorite character. Her life also began to improve.

For the next day her superiors decided that working as a prostitute was not a suitable occupation for her. She does other jobs much better. In a word, she was offered to participate in executions on an ongoing basis. According to Makarova herself, the occupiers did not want to get their hands dirty. They believed that it would be more convenient if the condemned were shot by a Soviet woman.

As a result, when she agreed to the Germans’ offer, she was given a machine gun for her personal keeping. From now on she was an official - an executioner. The management offered her a salary of thirty marks. Also, after many months, she was finally given a bed. And Tonka the machine gunner lived (biography, photo - in the article) in a separate room at a local factory.

"Lead into nettles"

Antonina's daily routine as an executioner was too monotonous. She woke up, had breakfast, and then prepared her machine gun for execution. Meanwhile, the condemned were in the barn. In fact, it served as a kind of prison. This “chamber” accommodated exactly twenty-seven people. According to eyewitnesses, there was a constant eerie groan in the dungeon. The prisoners were crammed into the room until it was impossible to even sit down. And since the prison was never empty, the condemned were quickly dealt with. And immediately new unfortunates arrived on this death row.

When Antonina's machine gun was ready for execution, the condemned were taken to the execution pit and the sentence itself was carried out. Tonka the machine gunner finished off the survivors with a pistol to the head. By the way, the story of execution in Makarova’s jargon is “to lead into nettles.”

According to her testimony, she was just doing her job conscientiously. Moreover, for this “work,” as mentioned above, she received real German money.

At times she executed not only Soviet partisans, but also members of their families. True, she did not want to remember this at all and tried to forget about those whom she shot. And the doomed themselves did not know her. Therefore, she never felt remorse. However, I remembered the circumstances of one massacre until the last moment. An unknown young guy, who was sentenced to death, managed to shout to her: “We won’t see you now! Goodbye, sister!”

At times, Antonina Makarova (Tonka the Machine Gunner, whose biography is described in the article) allowed “marriage” in her work. So, several children were able to survive in this meat grinder. There was only one reason: due to their short stature, the bullets passed over their heads...

The villagers who buried the executed were able to take the unfortunate teenagers out and hand them over to the Soviet partisans.

The rumor about the bloody punisher Tonka the machine gunner spread throughout the Bryansk region. The partisans even decided to hunt her. Unfortunately, these searches seemed futile.

When Tonya finished her reprisal, she cleaned her favorite machine gun. In the evenings, she came to a German club, danced, drank with representatives of the Aryan nation, and then relaxed in the arms of officers and policemen.

Also, often at night Tonka the Machine Gunner, whose biography and life story are described in many historical documents, came to the death row and carefully examined the condemned. Either she was mentally preparing for the morning execution, or she was looking after the things of the doomed in advance. In any case, as an encouragement, she was given the opportunity to take the clothes of the dead. Over time, she acquired a colossal number of outfits.

Although there were serious disappointments in her work. Sometimes she complained that not only large blood stains remained on the clothes of those shot, but also holes from bullets...

Metamorphoses of the executioner

In the summer of 1943, Makarova’s life took another turn. Soviet troops began to liberate the Bryansk region. Accordingly, in light of the latest reports from the front, this did not bode well for her. But that same summer she was sent to a rear hospital to be treated for sexually transmitted diseases. In a word, she managed to escape from retribution at that time. Let us note right away that the Red Army and the partisans liberated Lokot in early September.

Makarova felt more than uncomfortable within the hospital walls. After all, Soviet troops were approaching very quickly. The Nazis began evacuating, but they only transported Aryans.

Meanwhile, in the rear, Antonina managed to start another love affair. The German chef became his lover. He was able to secretly take her to Ukraine, and then to Poland.

But she was very unlucky here. Her lover was killed, and the Nazis sent her to the death camp in Koenigsberg.

In 1945, the Red Army captured this city. Then Makarova used a stolen Soviet military ID. In this document it was written that from 1941 to 1944 she served in one of the medical battalions. Thus, Tonka managed to pass herself off as a Russian nurse, and she began working in a mobile hospital.

During the same period, the executioner Tonka the Machine Gunner, whose biography makes even the most cold-blooded people horrified, met one of the wounded soldiers. His name was Viktor Ginzburg. Just one week later, the lovers got married. Of course, the bride decided to take her groom's surname. And when the war finally ended, the young couple went to the city of Lepel - Ginzburg’s homeland.

Thus, Antonina Makarova, Tonka the Machine Gunner, whose biography aroused the contempt of everyone and who was hunted by the partisans for a long time, disappeared. Honored veteran, front-line soldier Antonina Ginzburg appeared. Only three decades later, Tonka the Machine Gunner, her biography and her wartime sacrifices suddenly surfaced...

Double life

When Soviet troops liberated not only Bryansk, but also Lokot, investigators discovered the remains of 1.5 thousand execution victims. Unfortunately, the investigation was able to identify only 200 of those executed. In addition, witnesses were summoned for questioning. The information was constantly updated and rechecked. But Tonka the Machine Gunner disappeared into thin air. There was no way they could find her trail.

And Tonka the machine gunner herself, whose biography and life after the war were getting better, became an ordinary, simple Soviet woman. She was raising her two daughters; she was invited to a meeting with schoolchildren, where she talked about her heroic past. She worked. She managed to find a job at the Lepel sewing factory. Antonina was responsible for product quality at the enterprise.

By and large, she was considered not only a very responsible, but also a conscientious worker. Her photograph was repeatedly hung on the honor board.

According to her former colleagues, Antonina always seemed withdrawn. She didn't talk much during the conversation. And when there were corporate holidays at the company, she hardly drank alcohol (apparently, so as not to let it slip).

In general, the Ginsburgs were respected people. And since they were front-line soldiers, they received all the benefits that veterans were entitled to. And, of course, neither the husband, nor family acquaintances, nor neighbors were completely aware that the honored person Antonina Ginzburg was the notorious Tonka the Machine Gunner...

Unexpected turn

Only in 1976 did the case of the Lokot punisher move forward. And the following happened. On one of the squares in Bryansk, an unknown man suddenly attacked a certain Nikolai Ivanin with his fists. The fact is that he was able to recognize the head of the German prison Lokot during the war. Ivanin, who had been hiding all this time, like Antonina, did not deny it and gave his testimony to the investigation. At the same time, he also mentioned Tonka the machine gunner (he had a short love affair with her). Of course, the suspect also told the investigators her last name.

It was this clue that made it possible to develop a complete list of USSR citizens who bear this name. Alas, law enforcement officers did not find the Makarova they needed on this list. They did not yet know that there were representatives of the fairer sex here who were registered under this surname at birth. Well, Tonka the Machine Gunner, as mentioned above, was originally recorded as Parfenova.

However, at first the investigators mistakenly managed to get on the trail of another Makarova, who lived in the city of Serpukhov. Ivanin had to agree to conduct an identification parade in this city. He was placed in one of the hotels, and the next day in his room he took his own life. The reasons for this suicide remain unclear to this day.

After these events, investigators began to look for all surviving witnesses who could remember Makarov's face. However, they did not identify her either.

But the search continued. We found the real Antonina almost by accident.

A certain Soviet citizen Parfenov was going abroad. To obtain permission to leave, he sent the appropriate form, which contained information about his relatives. This profile also included Parfenov’s sister, Antonina Makarova. Then it became clear that the school teacher, young Tonka, had made a mistake...

Jewelry work of operatives

Investigators had to work hard to find the Lokot executioner. They could not accuse an innocent person of such atrocities. Therefore, the honored veteran Antonina Ginzburg began to be carefully checked. Secretly, operatives brought witnesses to Lepel.

So, in 1978, law enforcement officers conducted an experiment. One of the direct witnesses came to the city. At the same time, under a fictitious pretext, Makarova was asked to go outside. And an eyewitness to the crimes watched Antonina from the window. She confirmed that the clothing factory employee is Tonka the Machine Gunner. However, this fact was not enough for an arrest.

Then the investigation decided to conduct another experiment. Two more witnesses arrived in Lepel. One woman pretended to be a social security employee. Makarova was summoned to allegedly recalculate her pension. Tonka the machine gunner was immediately recognized. Another eyewitness was on the street next to the building. She also identified Antonina. And only after that they decided to detain her. On this day, Makarova-Ginzburg went to see the head of the personnel department. The operatives stopped her and presented her with an arrest warrant. According to investigators, when she was arrested, she immediately understood everything and behaved absolutely calmly.

Renunciation

When Makarova ended up in the cell, she was transferred to Bryansk. At first, law enforcement officers were very afraid that the defendant would commit suicide. To prevent a possible suicide, a woman “whisperer” was placed with her. According to her, Makarova had no intention of taking her own life. She was absolutely sure that due to her retirement age, the court would give her a minimum sentence of three years. At the same time, she volunteered herself for questioning by the investigator. Tonka the Machine Gunner demonstrated enviable composure when answering direct questions. The biography (a documentary filmed in 2010) is told in the film “Retribution. Two lives of Tonka the Machine Gunner.” The presenter said that Makarova believed that there was simply nothing to punish her for. And, accordingly, all the sad events that happened were attributed solely to the war by Tonka the Machine Gunner.

The biography (the film tells details about this woman) said that when she was brought to Lokot, she also behaved very calmly. She herself admitted that during the war her name was the Thin Machine Gunner. Then the investigators led her to the execution ditch, near which she carried out the sentences. And the Lokot residents, seeing and recognizing her, spat after her.

Investigators asked her if she had nightmares after the mass shootings. Makarova said that this had never happened. By the way, a mental examination confirmed that Tonka the Machine Gunner is absolutely sane.

Investigators suggested that she communicate with her husband and children. She refused. And she decided not to even convey the news.

Meanwhile, Makarova’s unhappy husband was running around all the authorities. He was ready to write a complaint to Brezhnev himself and to the UN. He demanded the immediate release of his beloved wife and mother of his children. Investigators were forced to report what his wife was accused of. They say that the brave veteran, having learned the truth, turned gray overnight. The entire family renounced Antonina and left Lepel forever.

Inevitable Retribution

In the fall of 1978, the trial of Antonina Makarova-Ginzburg began in Bryansk, which turned out to be not only the last major trial in the Soviet Union of traitors to the Motherland, but also the only one when the punisher was tried.

Tonka the Machine Gunner's guilt in the execution of 168 people was documented. In addition, almost 1,300 civilians remained unknown victims of Makarova.

Tonka the Machine Gunner herself, whose biography appeared in many investigative reports, was sure that the punishment a priori could not be severe due to the passage of time. She was only worried that because of the shame she would have to move to another city and, accordingly, look for a new job. To be honest, the investigators themselves believed that the court would show her leniency. Moreover, her post-war biography turned out to be exemplary.

But the court decided to impose a harsh sentence. On November 20, 1978, Tonka the Machine Gunner was sentenced to death. Makarov listened to Judge Makarov’s words absolutely calmly, but at the same time did not understand why this measure was so cruel. Then she explained: “After all, there was a war. Life turned out that way. And now my eyes hurt. I need surgery. Will they really not have mercy?

After the trial, Tonka the Machine Gunner, a biography whose history does not cause any regret, wrote appeals. She hoped for forgiveness, because the coming 1979 was supposed to be the Year of the Woman.

Unfortunately, the court decided to reject these requests. And on August 11, 1979, in the morning, at 6.00, the sentence was carried out... This is the life Tonka the Machine Gunner lived. A biography or documentary should be of interest to anyone who studies history. But no one will regret the fate of this woman.

"Birth" of Anka

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Despite the fact that there was no Anka the machine gunner in the legendary Chapaev division, this character cannot be called completely fictitious. This image was given life by nurse Maria Popova, who once in battle actually had to shoot a machine gun instead of a wounded soldier. It was this woman who became the prototype for Anka from the film “Chapaev”, included in the hundred best films in the world. Her fate deserves no less attention than the exploits of the movie heroine.

Not only Maria Popova fought in Chapaev’s 25th Rifle Division – there were quite a few women there. But the story of the nurse impressed the filmmakers the most. In the same division was the wife of the red commissar and writer Furmanov, Anna, in whose honor the main character of the film was named. By the way, in Furmanov’s story, on which the film was based, there was no such character.

Maria Popova was born into a peasant family in 1896. She lost her father at 4 years old, her mother at 8 years old. From this age, she had to work as a laborer for wealthy fellow villagers, including the kulaks Novikovs, which is why she was later accused of not being who she claims to be. In 1959, soldiers from the same Chapaev division wrote a denunciation against Maria Popova, saying that she was supposedly the daughter of the kulak Novikov, fought on the side of the White Guards, and when the Reds had a superiority in the Civil War, she went over to their side. All this turned out to be untrue, but it cost her health.

In fact, Maria Popova married a poor fellow villager at the age of 16, but her husband soon died. In 1917, she joined the Red Guard and took part in the battles for Samara. In 1918 she became a member of the party, and in the same year she became part of the Chapaev division. She was not only a nurse - she served in cavalry reconnaissance and performed the duties of a military doctor. There is one curious incident related to this, told by Maria Popova herself. One day, from a destroyed pharmacy, she brought two bags of soda to the division - there was nothing else there. I cut strips of paper, scattered powder into them and labeled “from the head”, “from the stomach”, etc. Some fighters claimed that it helped them.

After the Civil War, Maria graduated from the Faculty of Soviet Law at Moscow State University, then was engaged in intelligence activities in Germany. She was sent there as an assistant in the legal department of the Soviet trade mission. Then she had a daughter, whose father’s name Maria hid until the end of her days. During the Great Patriotic War, she was again at the front as part of a propaganda brigade. In 1981, Maria Popova died at the age of 85.

Let’s say right away that several women are vying for the role of the prototype character in the cult film by the Vasilyev brothers. The article will focus only on the version of Evgenia Chapaeva, the great-granddaughter of the legendary division commander. By...

Let’s say right away that several women are vying for the role of the prototype character in the cult film by the Vasilyev brothers. The article will focus only on the version of Evgenia Chapaeva, the great-granddaughter of the legendary division commander. In her opinion, Anka the Machine Gunner is the film’s consultant and Furmanov’s wife Anna, nee Steshenko.

Anna's mother, Yulia Aronovna Mendeleva (pictured), had a difficult fate. At the age of eight, she survived the Jewish pogrom in Starodub, and at sixteen she ended up on the territory of the Kuban Cossack army. There, from one of the Cossacks, she gave birth to a daughter, Anna Steshenko.

Julia joined the RSDLP almost as a child, and by 1917 she already had considerable party experience. After the revolution, she headed the Institute of Mother and Child established in Leningrad, where she assembled a brilliant team of scientists and was even able to protect many of them from repression. But she herself was not saved - in 1949, Yulia Aronovna was arrested for cosmopolitanism. She spent seven years in the Gulag, was rehabilitated, released and soon died.

But our story is not about her, but about her daughter, Anna.

Back during the First World War, a young nurse Anna met on a train with an ensign of the tsarist army and the head of the same train, Dmitry Furmanov - the one who would later create the epic image of division commander Chapaev. They got married and later separated “due to jealousy,” as sources sparingly explain. But suddenly, in April 1919, Anna, without warning, arrived at the front to visit her husband, who was then already a commissar of the Chapaev division.

In times of peace, it is difficult to imagine what could force a woman to expose herself to mortal danger: to come from the rear to the front line. But then there were completely different, desperate times. The war had been going on for six years already - since 1914, men were killing and dying, youth was passing. What were women to do? Anna Steshenko went to her husband.

Furmanov had an excellent relationship with Chapaev until his beautiful wife arrived. Having learned about the arrival of the commissar's wife, Chapaev went to meet him and found the couple in bed. He was outraged by the violation of army discipline and... fell in love with the wife of his commissar.

From Furmanov’s diary: “I’m leaving. Naya is also leaving with me. Chapaev hung his head and walked around looking gloomy.”

Dmitry and Anna Furmanov

Historical evidence describes Anna Steshenko as a beauty, although photographs do not convey this.

The Furmanov archive preserves an exchange of letters between the division commander and the commissar about the love conflict that arose.

Chapaev: “...I once told you that I would never encroach on the wife of my comrade. You never know what’s in my soul, no one can stop me from loving... So what, if Anna Nikitichna herself didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have done it.”

Furmanov replied: “You...tried to explain everything with some kind of absurd jealousy because of Anna Nikitichna. But think for yourself, it would be very funny and stupid if I actually decided to be jealous of her for you. Such rivals are not dangerous, she showed me your last letter, where it is written “Chapaev, who loves you.” She was really indignant at your baseness and impudence, and in her note, it seems, she quite clearly expressed her contempt for you. I have all these documents in my hands, and if necessary, I will show them to the right people in order to reveal your vile game. You cannot be jealous of a lowly person, and I, of course, was not jealous of her, but was deeply outraged by that impudent courtship and constant pestering, which was obvious and about which Anna Nikitichna repeatedly told me. This means that there was not jealousy, but indignation at your behavior and contempt for you for your vile and base methods.”

The command resolved the conflict simply - the commissioner was recalled. Anna left with him. Soon after this, Chapaev's headquarters was destroyed, and he himself died. Ironically, the sudden arrival of his wife and the passions that followed most likely saved Furmanov’s life - had the writer remained at the front, he would most likely have shared the sad fate of the division commander.

Fate decreed otherwise: Furmanov was destined to glorify and romanticize the image of his rival, to make him a legend. And again, by strange irony, folk art somehow read something between the lines, and Chapaev and Anka for decades were the most popular characters in numerous jokes, most of them desperately indecent.

Chapaev’s personal life did not work out even before these events. His wife Pelageya left Chapaev’s parents’ house along with their three children to live with a neighbor, a conductor. Chapaev's next lady, also Pelageya, the widow of his front-line friend, cheated on him with the head of the artillery depot. Chapaev's daughter Claudia describes that different types of small arms were involved in resolving that conflict - a common story at that time.

Anna Steshenko became a widow just six years later. In 1926, Furmanov fell ill. At first, the illness seemed like a nonsense cold, but it developed into meningitis and at the age of 35, Dmitry Furmanov died.

Anna Steshenko, based on the novel and diaries of her deceased husband, and other documents, wrote the script, based on which the Vasilyev brothers filmed the famous film “Chapaev” in 1934. It was this cinematic Chapaev who became that folk hero and character in jokes.

Anna married again - to the heroic brigade commander Lajos Gavro, who was called the “Hungarian Chapaev”. Simultaneously with the release of the film, in 1934, they had a boy and a girl. And in 1938, the “Hungarian Chapaev” was shot. Anna survived her husband by only three years and died at the age of 42.

Anna's daughter Kira Mendelev, who inherited her grandmother's Jewish surname, became the first wife of the most prominent writer of the Thaw, Vasily Aksenov. How can one not recall Woland’s words about the fancifully shuffled deck?