The revolution, and the civil war that broke out behind it, revealed in people deep layers of cruelty and villainy, hiding far inside. Over the years, many peaceful peasants have turned into ruthless killers and executioners. Among the many chieftains and gang leaders who robbed at that time, Anna Cherepanova earned particularly sad fame. She gathered around herself desperate thugs who for four years terrified the residents of the Irkutsk region, took part directly in torture and executions, after which she disappeared without a trace for half a century.
Good hostess
Almost nothing is known about the early biography of Anna Cherepanova, it is impossible to say with certainty when she was born, in what environment she grew up. More information can be found about her husband Andrian Cherepanov. It was a wealthy merchant who owned the marina and rafted cargo along the Lena River. Andrian lived in the village of Kartuhai, in the Irkutsk region. At a considerable age, he remained a widower and decided to find a new mistress.
Anna Chemyakina was 25 years younger than Andrian, was distinguished by good health and a stately figure. In addition, she was a merchant's daughter, so Cherepanov did not hesitate for a long time and took her as his wife.
Anna Prokopyevna became an excellent merchant wife, she managed to do housework, took an active part in managing the marina, and a happy husband could only thank fate for such a spouse. In addition, she was not afraid to walk independently with the ships along the Lena, well versed in trade and becoming a full partner of Andrian.
The new mistress of the wharf was distinguished by a severe temper, she personally could whip the guilty workers with a whip, drove people out of work without pay for the slightest fault, so everyone was afraid of her like fire.
End of idyll
Andrian would have lived with Anna and expanded the economy, but in 1917 the Great Russian Revolution broke out, and after it the Civil War began. Cherepanov was dispossessed and all property was taken, and Anna’s family was in trouble. All property was requisitioned, and her brothers were shot.
The harsh Siberian girl could not stand such an insult and decided to devote her life to revenge. From now on, all the Bolsheviks became for Anna Cherepanova her worst enemies. In 1918, Anna and Andrian put together a group of dashing people offended by the authorities and went into the taiga in order to raid the neighboring villages - Verkhnyaya Lena, Petrovo, Kachug, Kelora.
The composition of the gang was very mottled - dispossessed peasants, officers who escaped from a local prison. However, all these people, without the slightest argument, obeyed the chieftain Anna Cherepanova. Andrian was considered the formal leader, but all his power belonged to his wife.
She planned and organized operations, personally participated in the raids, and she personally chopped the heads of enemies with a saber.
The mistress of the forest Anna Cherepanova
In the troubled times of the first years of the Civil War, complete anarchy reigned in the country, the Bolsheviks hardly controlled the situation on the far outskirts of the state. Soon, the Cherepanovs gang almost seized power in the district. The thugs threw down the Verkholensky Council and killed all the activists of the new system.
One of the most successful actions was the capture and further extermination of a detachment of Red Army soldiers on the Kuchugsky tract. Among the prisoners was discovered the head of the Siberian Cheka, Ivan Postolovsky. He was tortured for a long time and then hanged, loudly declaring their rights to the local district.
This and other cruel executions give historians a clear idea of how Anna Cherepanova became a bloody ataman. Accordingly, the real affairs of the gang were overgrown with legends and fables, in which Anna appeared to be a real ghoul who feeds on the blood of her victims.
Politics of terror
A decisive and harsh ataman established cruel discipline in her squad. Each went about his own business and she did not need to repeat orders twice, as everyone knew that in anger Anna Cherepanova would not spare anyone else or her own.
The methods of intimidation were practiced very different. The favorite execution was to drag the prisoner, tied to the horse’s tail, and then chop down what was left of the man with checkers.
In 1920, the Red Army again came to Verkhnyaya Lena, but Anna Cherepanova did not calm down. She again rebelled against the Bolsheviks and went into the remote taiga, replenishing her gang with undefeated White Guards from the crushed army of Kappel.
The uncaught ataman Anna Cherepanova was a serious threat and a dangerous splinter in the Soviet rear. Repeatedly, detachments of CHON (special purpose units) combed the taiga in search of elusive robbers, but everything was unsuccessful. These people knew the district very well, used the services of informants in villages and uluses, and very often they themselves turned from victims into hunters.
This happened with the unit of the red commander Murashin. Several times he was one step away from completely encircling and destroying the taiga Mujahideen, but as a result he was destroyed along with his fighters.
The Elusive Anna
As the Soviet power strengthened, the ring around Cherepanova and her bandits shrank more and more. The impudent and cruel ataman was tired of everyone, catching and destroying the gang became a matter of honor for local activists. However, she was unusually lucky and escaped in the most hopeless situations.
Once, the local Cheka received information that Anna Cherepanova would visit her native village of Kartuhai to visit her relatives. An ambush was arranged, and when she appeared, they rushed after her in pursuit. However, the terrible woman seemed to have fallen underground, having managed inexplicably to break through the dense screening of her surroundings. As it turned out, she hid in a swamp and spent several hours breathing through a straw.
Another great chance to destroy the criminal was missed by a lone hunter-Chonovets. From afar, he spotted the ataman standing at the edge of the forest, and shot at her. The bullet hit the thigh, accomplices arrived, and hurriedly carried their witch deep into the forest.
The last days of the gang
Having grunted a bullet in the leg, Anna Cherepanova became even more fierce. She introduced a new tactic - the bandits dressed in the uniform of the Red Army and, entering the villages, gathered all the local activists in the square. This was followed by immediate execution. Thus, with one blow, they destroyed all the Bolsheviks and peasants sympathizing with them.
Cherepanovites pursued a policy of terror, intimidating and horrifying everyone with atrocities, they tortured, killed, and intentionally tortured people. On November 7, Anna raided the village of Zagsheskino, where she personally hacked three disarmed communists with a checker, writing a wish on the front door to celebrate her holiday in hell well.
In 1922, the gang disintegrated, although separate raids and attacks on single activists were repeated for another two years. Soon, these cases ceased, and Cherepanova and her husband disappeared without a trace in the boundless taiga open spaces.
