The outstanding pilot Valery Pavlovich Chkalov was born on February 2, 1904. He was christened and recorded in the church register as Valeryan. Later, during the issuing of official documents, the Soviet registers indicated a more convenient name — Valery.

The idea of naming the son Valerian belonged to his mother, Irina Ivanovna. His father, Pavel Grigoryevich, said the boy’s name in his own manner — Averyan or Averyashka. The neighborhood boys called him Volka, they also nicknamed him “Short sheepskin coat” because, in the winter, he wore an uncovered sheepskin coat, that looked similar to an army winter fur coat, with the flaps flying open. In his youth, Chkalov also had the nickname “Buffalo” for his belligerent posture and constantly knitted brows.

From the memoirs of Valery Chkalov’s godfather Nikolay Ivanovich Shaposhnikov,

The Chkalov family lived very modestly, so the children did not have any toys, and Valerian came up with activities to do with his friends as best as he could. He liked to climb as high as possible and loved to spend time near the river.

Valery’s older sister, Anna Pavlovna, later talked about her brother’s childhood, remembering how quickly he learned to swim and how much time he spent on the Volga. The boys swam across the river more than once, dived under the rafts, climbed on the steamers leaving the pier and jumped from the deck, scaring the passengers.

From the age of eight, Chkalov went to a local school. He was not a diligent student but had an excellent memory and math skills. He received “poor” marks, mostly for his behavior. Then the father sent the young man to train in turnery at the Cherepovets School, which soon closed. Valery returned home and at first helped his father in the forge, then got a “simpler” job as a stoker on the Bayan steamer.

According to legend, once the young stoker saw a flying plane and fell in love with aviation forever. He voluntarily joined the Red Army and got into a flight academy — this was the beginning of the path to the sky for one of the most famous Soviet pilots.