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 erected, Soviet authorities the attraction to cyclopism was not yet so strongly developed. 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.
Monument to Chapaev in Samara (Samara, Russia) - description, history, location, reviews, photo and video.
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The monument to Chapaev in Samara can be safely called one of the most emotional and vibrant in the city. It is located on the square of the same name opposite the Samara Drama Theatre. The sculpture was installed in 1932 in honor of the 15th anniversary October revolution. The authors are sculptor Matvey Manizer and architect Iosif 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 fighters. 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 state and political figure Sergei Kirov. He liked it so much that he asked the authors to make an exact copy for installation in Leningrad. Today, a copy of the monument is located in St. Petersburg, not far from the Military Academy of Communications. Budyonny.
Interestingly, the sculpture is very popular with Samarans. Firstly, the townspeople often make appointments here, and secondly, every now and then they try to steal Chapaev's checker.
Having lived all his life in St. Petersburg literally three kilometers from this monument, he first saw it ... in Kuibyshev, that is, now Samara, in 1979.
There were several surprises. Firstly, I learned about the St. Petersburg monument, secondly, I found out 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, they erected monuments in the besieged city!
I also learned that the son of Vasily Ivanovich, outwardly similar to him, posed for the sculptor.
And an associate of V.I. Chapaev I.S. Kutyakov, who was subsequently repressed. 
As always in the post-revolutionary years, such a monument could not do without the intervention of party officials. Here is what is written in one of the books:
On August 18, 1931, the well-known Soviet sculptor M.G. Manizer are amended by the Small Presidium of the Middle Volga Regional Executive Committee of the Soviets of Samara. The approval of the project with the decision to strengthen the leading role of Chapaev in the composition eventually led to the replacement of the image of the boy in the foreground by the sculptural image of the commissar. This adjustment was made on purpose. The leading role of the party is obvious - the figure running ahead leads a detachment of Red Army soldiers, including the legendary commander himself.
Chapaev was not only the hero of jokes and Furmanov's novel, but also authentic hero.
In 1914, Chapaev was called to military service, he graduated from the training team, 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 crosses for his courage and bravery in battle.
No laughing, was a hero.
This face is the prettiest in the group, but it reminds me of some actor of those years. I'm suffering... 
For the curious reference from the encyclopedia.
In 1932, a monument to V.I. Chapaev, created by the 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, possibly, was intended for installation in the TsPKiO im. CM. Kirov.
It is known that in 1935-1940. the sculpture, which did not have a pedestal, is transported to the site of the proposed installation on Yelagin Island, in the Maslyany Meadow zone. But work on the installation of the sculpture was not carried out. To the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the sculpture was placed in the courtyard of house number 34 on Krestovsky Prospekt. During the autumn-winter period of 1943, by order of the head of the shooting and machine-gun courses for junior lieutenants of the Leningrad Front, P.V. until the 1960s
IN post-war years the question of returning the sculpture to the city, public territory was repeatedly raised. In 1965-1968. State Museum city sculpture, according to the project of the architect N. F. Brovkin, the sculpture was transferred to a new place, in front of the Academy building, where it was installed on a new granite pedestal.
The height of the sculptural 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. M.S. Budyonny
Sculptor: Manizer Matvey Genrikhovich (1891-1966)
Architect: Brovkin Nikolai Fedorovich (1916-1986)
Opened November 4, 1968
Materials: bronze - sculptural group, letters; forged granite - pedestal.
Inscriptions: on the pedestal on the right side in patch letters: to Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev
The Academy building itself. 
Such an unusual-ordinary monument we have in the city.
One of the expressive and beautiful monuments of Samara is the monument to the legendary division commander, 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 installation of the monument, the square was called the Paris Commune, and a sculpture dedicated to the Third 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. sculpture produced 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.
