In our country, in the era of communism, there probably would not have been a person who had not watched the cult film “Chapaev” at least once in his life. The film was shot by the Vasilyev brothers based on the work of the same name by Furmanov. Anka the machine gunner was especially fond of the Soviet audience, despite the fact that the character was fictional.
At the same time, it is known who was the real prototype of this brave and brave heroine.
Yevgenia Chapaeva, great-granddaughter of the well-known division head Chapaev, claims that the candidate for the prototype of the Anka machine gunner was the wife of Furmanov, who was also a consultant for the film. However, in fact, a completely different woman became the prototype of the legendary heroine of the film "Chapaev".
At a time when Anka the machine gunner was born in the director's thoughts as a character, the authors of the film accidentally learned about the existence of one nurse, whose name was Maria Andreevna Popova. During a fierce battle, she managed to crawl close to the wounded soldier, who ordered her to shoot from a machine gun. The nurse, having closed her eyes, was firing, and the wounded fighter controlled one barrel of a weapon. This episode entered the film, and Anka the machine gunner became a model of female heroism and dedication. The author of the work insisted on the character of the film being called Anna. So the Anka the machine gunner appeared. After some time, a lawsuit arose between Furmanov’s wife and Maria Popova for the right to be the prototype of the legendary heroine. As a result, the Soviet nomenclature acknowledged the correctness of the nurse.
The film about Chapaev was “asked” to be shot personally by Joseph Stalin.
The first scenario of the film about Chapaev “the leader of the peoples” did not like. He said that a woman heroine should definitely take part in the picture. It was after this that the Vasiliev brothers were forced to redo the script and begin an active search for such a woman.
A film about the heroes of the Civil War was released on the screens of the country in 1934. The role of Anka the machine gunner in it was played by actress Varvara Sergeyevna Myasnikova. The success was simply amazing, and despite the fact that the heroine of the machine gunner is a fictional character in the film, the Soviet audience perceived the main characters as real, and all the events taking place in the film seemed to him genuine. People rushed to the cinemas in order to relive, together with the heroes, the bright events of the Civil War.
Subsequently, Anka became famous as a heroine of anecdotes, who loved to compose among the people. However, the characters of the short humorous stories were not only Anka, but also very real personalities - starting out with Vasily Chapaev and his good-natured assistant Petka. In addition, Anka the machine gunner in the film was Petka's lover.
The motion picture "Chapaev" was awarded numerous Soviet and foreign cinematographic awards, including the bronze medal of the Venice Film Festival, the first prize "Silver Cup" of the capital's international film festival and the Grand Prix of the Paris World Exhibition.