The 32-year-old foreign intelligence agent donned military uniform and was allowed to go on manoeuvres in make-up with a top tank division that Ukraine has claimed was spotted helping the rebels in Crimea.
In a revealing programme for Russian channel Ren TV, she went behind the scenes with the army, which is facing Western accusations of secret military involvement in Ukraine, in a report evidently aimed at boosting respect for Putin's military machine.
Marching
Knife through the heart: Chapman showed off the techniques she had been taught at the base
Proud: Chapman brandished a Kalashnikov, pointing out how it was the most reliable rifle ever made
During the documentary, she rode in a T80 tank, honed her spying skills by brandishing a Kalashnikov, and showed viewers how to kill with a knife during a visit to the base of a famous division.
'It's almost 6 am and 3,000 handsome men are still sleeping,' she whispered. 'I am very lucky to be at the heart of my motherland's army. It's a very special day for me.'
Chapman added breathlessly: 'I'm so excited about getting the uniform. Is it the famous uniform designed by Valentin Yudashkin (a well-known Russian fashion designer)? Will it suit me? I will have to wear this for the entire day.
'I was fighting to keep my make-up on. Eventually, they let me wear it - although this is hugely untypical. If I was a soldier in the regular army I would not have the right to put on lipstick.'
But she is surprised at the modern facilities of the Kantemirovskaya division, which she said was named personally by Stalin after the scene of a bloody Second World War battle close to the River Don.
This month Ukraine claims that the division's tanks were deployed in rebel-held Lugansk region in defiance of international law.
'You know, I'm amazed they have hot water here. Until five minutes ago, I was sure all of our soldiers wash their face with cold water,' she said after inspecting the soldiers' living conditions in their barracks.
Killer shot: Chapman said she had to fight to be able to wear make-up during the filming of the documentary
Secrets:
Chapman breathlessly talked of the sense of danger as she was deployed
with the tanks division on tactical training - making comparisons to her
time as a spy in the United States
Special: 'I am very lucky to be at the heart of my motherland's army. It's a very special day for me,' she said
Special: 'I am very lucky to be at the heart of my motherland's army. It's a very special day for me,' she said
The barracks were 'not a hotel, but still quite cosy', she said.
Flame-haired Chapman has made a fortune in Moscow since being unmasked by the FBI in 2010 as part of an undercover espionage network inside America. She and other 'illegal spies' were sent back home in a Cold War-style spy swap.
After her exposure as a Russian agent she was also stripped of her British passport, but since returning to Moscow she has carved out a lucrative new career as a TV presenter and owner of a fashion brand soon to open its second outlet in Moscow.
During the broadcast - first aired in March at the height of the tensions with Ukraine but only unearthed today - she also told viewers she was surprised to learn that 'a Russian private gets almost 4,500 calories a day. This is twice more than a woman should eat to keep fit.
'By the way, it is more than in German, French or American army, where the daily intake shouldn't exceed 3,600 calories. Our soldiers are better fed.
I'm starving. However, in the American army they fight obesity. The Kantemirovskaya division fighters don't have this problem. Everyone here looks as is they were hand-picked.'
She trumpets the high quality food available to soldiers after the budget for the army was significantly boosted by Putin.
'As the saying goes, you can postpone a war but never a lunch,' she said. 'To be honest, after everything I heard about the army, I was expecting to see barley porridge and not so much choice: two different sorts of soup, cutlets or goulash.'
She was 'all but dizzy from the multitude of salads. They even have olives.'
Approvingly, she added: 'Hold on - a choice between three courses, a salad bar, it's not a canteen, it's a restaurant. I have forgotten I'm in the army.'
Chapman - who had been deployed by Russian foreign intelligence in the US - was sent on 'tactical training' with the tank division, part of the former Red Army, she revealed.
Does my bum look big in this? Chapman donned thick winter military uniform for the tour of Russian bases
Well
fed: The former spy boasted of the food choices the Russian soldiers
had - and sniped at how the US army is having to fight obesity among its
servicemen
Modern: Chapman goes on at length about the state-of-the-art facilities that Russian troops now enjoy
Dear Leader: The programme pointed out the huge boost in funding Putin had given to Russia's armed forces
Cold war: The 32-year-old was pleasantly surprised to discover that the barracks had hot running water
'Right now we're on the way to our destination. I don't know where is it, I'm a soldier and comply with my orders.
'A spy's code of ethics resembles that of the Japanese samurai. Who wins the battle is not who shoots first, but the one to hits the target. An enemy's bullet decides whether you fail weapons training.'
She is shown proudly with Russia's trademark Kalashnikov gun.
'I've got so used to the Kalashnikov gun so much that I don't really want to leave it,' she cooed. 'By the way, the gun is one of the most reliable in all history.
'Did you know that Kalashnikov gun is depicted on the national emblems of three countries? What recognition.'
Chapman also headed the panel of judges in the Miss Crimea 2014 beauty contest in September, an event used to highlight Russian patriotism.
Its website boasted: 'It is a unique beauty contest taking place in the Russian Federation, in Crimea. Hosting the event (here) affirms the fact that Crimea is part of Russia.'
Chapman used the event to select models for her 'patriotic brand' of fashion clothes which seeks specifically Russian suppliers.
She will open her second Moscow outlet next month.
'Our company is more successful than a lot of their competitors who have been operating in the market for the past 10 to 20 years,' she said.
'We have the understanding of the market and offer a competitive product.'
While little is known of her private life, divorced Anna - once married to an ex-English public schoolboy - recently told viewers she would like a young lover but this was frowned upon in her homeland.
'I don't know any man who has a woman at least five years old than him. It is not accepted here. I myself would like a younger man, but it is not accepted in our country,' she explained.
Recently, a man who claimed to have met Chapman at a fashion show in New York shortly before she was arrested, said: 'A close friend organised the show, so he made me sit at the best corner table there. I figured she might have thought I was a VIP, so before long, she was next to me chatting me up.
Another front: Chapman was also the lead judge on the Miss Crimea 2014 beauty contest in September
Propaganda: The event was a celebration of Russian patriotism, pushing how Crimea IS part of the federation
Model
spy: Since she was thrown out of the US, Chapman has grown rich on
being a TV presenter, model and she has also launched her own line of
clothing
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