Pyotr Isaev

Pyotr Semyonovich Isaev (Пётр Семёнович Исаев; better known as Petka (Петька) or Pete; April 20, 1890 – September 5, 1919) was a participant in World War I and the Russian Civil War, assistant to a Red Army commander Vasily Chapayev and commander of the communications battalion.

Thanks to the vivid image of Petka in the film Chapaev, he became the hero of numerous anecdotes about Petka, Vasily Ivanovich and Anka the Machine-Gunner.

Biography
Pyotr was born on July 20, 1890, in the village of, , Samara Governorate, Russian Empire. He graduated from the.

In World War I, he was a senior non-commissioned officer of the musician team, after being wounded he returned home.

In the spring of 1918, he organized a detachment in Korneevka to suppress the anti-Bolshevik uprising, then in the village of Semyonovka he first met with Vasily Chapayev. Soon he became squadron commander at Chapayev, in the fall he was appointed chief of communications of the 1st brigade of the Chapayev division. Together with Chapayev, he transferred to the 2nd Nikolaev division, where he was the commander of the communications battalion, the assistant to the chief of communications.

Versions of death
There are several versions of the circumstances of his death.

According to one version, Pyotr died (or shot himself ) on September 5, 1919, in a battle during the, where the headquarters of the 25th rifle division was located. According to the version set forth in Dmitry Furmanov's novel and then reflected in the film of the same name, after the wounded Chapaev was being transported across the river, Pyotr remained on the shore, fired back and then fired the bullet into himself. According to his grandson, in that battle he was mortally wounded and, together with Chapaev, was buried in an unmarked grave.

According to another version, Isaev shot himself a year later after the death of Chapayev, unable to bear the loss of a close friend.

There is a version that he committed suicide a month after the battle, without finding the body of the deceased commander, or died of wounds at his home after leaving the hospital.

In culture
For the role of Petka in the film Chapaev, was first invited, but ultimately Leonid Kmit was approved.

Awards
For the capture of a White Army spy, Pyotr was awarded a personalized Browning pistol with the inscription "To Pyotr Isaev for courage from the Ural Chekists" (Петру Исаеву за отвагу от уральских чекистов). Pyotr was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Personal life
He was married to Anna Goldyreva. His grand-niece claims that his wife's name was Fima.