Books were written, and heroic films were made about this military leader. Chapayev’s military journey began on the battlefields of World War I, where he rose to the rank of sergeant major and was awarded three St. George Crosses. On the eve of the October Revolution, Chapayev joined the Bolsheviks. Of “proper” peasant origin, with a wealth of combat experience and outstanding leadership qualities, Chapayev quickly advanced to the rank of division commander. Soviet propaganda depicted him as a daring cavalryman. In reality, due to an injury sustained during World War I, Chapayev could not sit on a horse for long and preferred a car or motorcycle with a sidecar. Moreover, he did not command the cavalry but the infantry. In the spring and summer of 1919, Chapayev fought against the White armies of Kolchak in the Volga and Southern Ural regions. The Bolsheviks managed to halt the enemy’s advance and capture the industrial center of Ufa. The soldiers of Chapayev’s 25th Infantry Division were the first to storm the city. On September 5, 1919, a bold raid by White Cossack cavalry struck the rear of the Red Army and attacked Chapayev’s division headquarters in the town of Lbishchensk (modern-day Chapayev in Kazakhstan). The commander was killed while attempting to escape. In 1923, the former commissar of the 25th Division, Dmitry Furmanov, wrote a novel about his leader’s heroic deeds. Eleven years later, a film based on the novel was made, turning Chapayev into a legend. Over time, the image of the celebrated commander lost its grandeur, and Vasily Ivanovich became a popular figure in numerous jokes.