Formed in 1918, it was a Russian, and later Soviet, Red Army formation formed on the Eastern Front during the Russian Civil War. It was named after its first commander, Vasily Chapayev. As Chapayev's command it gained fame during the war and as a result received his name, designated the 25th Chapayev Rifle Division (). The division was transferred west to fight in the Polish–Soviet War and was stationed in Ukraine during the interwar period. Moved forward to participate in the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia in 1940, the division retreated east after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. It was disbanded after being destroyed in the siege of Sevastopol in mid-1942.