[Suppressed Edition] Furmanov, D. Chapaev, 1936. In Russian.

Фурманов Д. Чапаев. / Обработка А. Фурмановой; рис. П. Соколова-Скаля; переплет П. Таёжного.
Москва — Ленинград : Деტიздат, 1936.
383 с., 18 л. ил. Издательский иллюстрированный переплет с конгревным серебряным тиснением барельефа В. И. Чапаева, формат 23,1×17,7 см. Тройной торшонированный обрез, ляссе, иллюстрированные форзацы. Состояние: хорошее, слабые следы влаги. Уничтоженное издание, редкость.
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Furmanov, Dmitry. Chapaev. / Edited by A. Furmanova; illustrations by P. Sokolov-Skalya; binding relief by P. Taezhny.
Moscow — Leningrad: Detizdat, 1936.
383 pp., 18 leaves of illustrations. Publisher’s illustrated hardcover with silver embossed relief of V. I. Chapaev, 23.1×17.7 cm. Triple deckle-edged (torchon) pages, ribbon marker, illustrated endpapers. Condition: Good, faint traces of moisture. A suppressed edition, rare. In Russian.

This 1936 edition of Dmitry Furmanov’s Chapaev is a bibliographical rarity and a survivor of the "Great Purge" censorship. While Chapaev—the legendary novella about the Civil War commander Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev—was a staple of Soviet literature, this specific publication belongs to the "destroyed" category of books. Chapaev by Dmitry Furmanov is a novella about the legendary Civil War commander Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev, based on the author’s experiences as a commissar in the 25th Division. The 1936 edition, edited by A.N. Furmanova, retains the original text with real names of characters (Kutyakov, Potapov, Tronin, Novikov), later altered due to 1938 repressions.
Historical Significance and Suppression: The 1936 edition is a rare artifact, as early print runs of Chapaev were withdrawn and destroyed in 1938 after the execution of I. S. Kutyakov (Chapaev's successor) and other high-ranking officers mentioned in the text. Following their arrest as "enemies of the people," the Soviet censorship apparatus (Glavlit) ordered the destruction of copies containing their real names. In subsequent editions, names were systematically replaced: Kutyakov became Elan, Potapov became Popov, Tronin became Trallin, and references to Novikov were deleted entirely. Even the editor and author's wife, Anna Furmanova, was replaced in the text by the pseudonym "Zoya Pavlovna." A copy preserving the original names is a testament to the brutal political history of the era.
The book is a masterpiece of 1930s Soviet book design. The binding features a silver-embossed relief of Chapaev created by the renowned sculptor Pyotr Taezhny. Inside, the volume is enriched by 18 monumental illustrations by Pyotr Sokolov-Skalya, a master of heroic realism whose work defined the visual mythos of the Russian Civil War. The high production quality is evident in the torchon edges, the ribbon marker (lyasse), and the elaborate illustrated endpapers and headpieces.
Despite faint traces of moisture, this copy remains in good condition, which is exceptional for a book that was officially scheduled for destruction. For collectors of banned books, historians of the Red Army, and admirers of Soviet graphic art, this 1936 Detizdat edition represents one of the most significant and elusive "censored" artifacts of the Stalinist period.