Chapaev  is a 1934 Soviet film.  It was directed by the Vasilyev brothers on Lenfilm. It is a story about Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev (1887-1919), a legendary Red Army commander who became a hero of the Russian Civil War.  The plot is based on the novel of the same name by Dmitri Furmanov, a Russian writer and Bolshevik commissar who fought together with Chapayev.  Immediately upon the release (premiered on November 6, 1934 in Leningrad cinema theatre "Titan") the film became one of the most popular creations in the history of Soviet cinema. Within the first year it was watched by 30 million people in the USSR alone.  It was awarded as "Best Foreign Film" by US National Board of Review in 1935 and Grand-Prix of Paris World Affair in 1937.  By poll of cinema critics (1978) the film is considered as one of the best 100 films in the world history.  After the release of the film, Chapaev and his assistants Petka and Anka became Russian folklore characters. This trio, together with their political commissar Furmanov, is present in a large number of Russian jokes.