Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev was born on January 28, 1907, in the village of Budayka in Chuvashia. In the early fall of 1908, he was conscripted into the army, and at the beginning of World War I, he was mobilized to the front line. For his bravery and heroism, he was awarded the George Cross four times and promoted to the rank of second lieutenant.</p>\n "home_text": "<p>He received the George Cross for his valor and was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. In 1917, after being wounded, he 2 photos

He received the George Cross for his valor and was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. In 1917, after being wounded, he was admitted to a hospital in Saratov. In December 1917, he became the commander of the 138th Reserve Infantry Regiment, and in 1918, he was appointed Commissioner for Internal Affairs of the Nikolaevsk District. He led a Red Guard unit that suppressed counterrevolutionary uprisings in the district. From November 1918 to January 1919, he trained at the General Staff Academy of the Red Army, after which he was sent to the front line. In April, he took command of the 25th Rifle Division, which played a crucial role in the Red Army's counteroffensive against Kolchak's forces. For his courage, Chapayev was awarded the Order of the Red Flag.

In the summer of 1919, the division he commanded was transferred to the besieged city of Uralsk, which was under attack by White Cossacks. On September 5, 1919, Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev died in a surprise attack by Cossacks on the heavily fortified and strategically located town of Lbishchensk (now Chapayev Village in the West Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan), where the 25th Division's headquarters were located. The circumstances of his death are not entirely clear. According to an investigation conducted shortly after his death, Chapayev is believed to have drowned while trying to cross the Ural River. This version of the events has become widely known through the film "Chapayev."