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The White Guard

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 3,076 ratings · 65 reviews

The White Guard is less famous than Mikhail Bulgakov's comic hit, The Master and Margarita, but it is a lovely book, though completely different in tone. It is set in Kiev during the Russian revolution and tells a story about the war's effect on a middle-class family (not workers).

The story was not politically correct and thereby contributed to Bulgakov's lifelong trouble...more

Paperback, 304 pages

Published 2006 by Vintage Classics (first published 1924)

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Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

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Oct 27, 2012 ☽ Moon ☯ 佛月球 Будда Луны rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The horrifying cadence of a revolution that swept Russia in the early part of the 20th century; which replaced the seat of the governing aristocracy with the austerity of the intense power of the collective plebeian regime that gave rise to an ideal that cried for justice and equality, breathing life to a series of senseless violence causing the untimely deaths of the many in its wake showed in full daylight the unobtrusive intention beneath the noble purpose, forfeiting its essence by its oppos...more

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Jan 20, 2009 Kerry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-personal-canon, translations

A trip to Kiev cannot be complete without a little Bulgakov. A museum dedicated to the master lies just off of St. Andrew’s Descent, a cobblestone street passing from St. Sophia’s cathedral down to the Dneiper. The museum is contained in House No. 13 where, at one time, Mikhail Bulgakov and his family lived. While “The White Guard” is not as widely known as “The Master and Margarita” (which Salman Rushdie drew upon heavily for “Midnight’s Children”), it provides a better sense of Ukraine and, pa...more A trip to Kiev cannot be complete without a little Bulgakov. A museum dedicated to the master lies just off of St. Andrew’s Descent, a cobblestone street passing from St. Sophia’s cathedral down to the Dneiper. The museum is contained in House No. 13 where, at one time, Mikhail Bulgakov and his family lived. While “The White Guard” is not as widely known as “The Master and Margarita” (which Salman Rushdie drew upon heavily for “Midnight’s Children”), it provides a better sense of Ukraine and, particularly, Kiev.

House No. 13 in Kiev provides the place, while 1918 and Ukrainian civil war provides the setting. The story is about the survival of the Turbin family in the midst of this upheaval. Bulgakov’s writing is transcendent:

For many years before her death, in the house at No. 13 St. Alexei’s Hill, little Elena, Alexei the eldest and baby Nikolka had grown up in the warmth of the tiled stove that burned in the dining-room. How often they had followed the story of Peter the Great in Holland, ‘The Shipwright of Saardam’, portrayed on its glowing hot dutch tiles; how often the clock had played its gavotte; and always towards the end of December there had been a smell of pine-needles and candles burning on evergreen branches..…But clocks are fortunately quite immortal, as immortal as the Shipwright of Saardam, and however bad the times might be, the tiled Dutch stove, like a rock of wisdom, was always there to radiate life and warmth. (p.10)

The tiled stove, upon which many political and apolitical messages are written, is nearly a character in its own right. The life it gives is not only comfort, but humor too:

Then printed [on the stove:] in capitals, in Nikolka’s hand:
I herby forbid the scribbling of nonsense on this stove. Any comrade found guilty of doing so will be shot and deprived of civil rights. Signed: Abraham Goldblatt,
Ladies, Gentlemen’s and Women’s Tailor.
Commissar, Podol District Committee.
30th January 1918.

Bulgakov’s mastery of these slices of life make this an ideal book for reading while in Kiev. The city comes alive with a personality that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. Reading how things were, while seeing how things are makes both the past and the present striking.

This book has not only history, but action too. The stakes are incredibly high. Characters are shot, they are robbed; characters live, they die. The politics of the novel provide a roiling backdrop, though I do not think politics is the point. The intersection of politics and daily life, particularly when politics has brought war, is a fascinating topic and one that Bulgakov explores, but never in a heavy-handed manner. The political is merely backdrop to the personal:

Something had settled in Alexei’s chest like a stone and he whistled as he breathed, drawing in through bared teeth a sticky, thin stream of air that barely penetrated to his lungs. He had long ago lost consciousness and neither saw nor understood what was going on around him. Elena stood and looked. The professor took her by the arm and whispered:
‘Go now, Elena Vasilievna, we’ll do all there is to do.’
Elena obeyed and went out. But the professor did not do anything more. (p. 275)

This moment, to me, was perfect. Bulgakov has captured the essence of this type of situation. The only thing the professor could do for Alexei was to reassure Elena.

Bulgakov brilliantly sketches even minor characters. Outside of House No. 13, a war is raging. Several family members are involved and, in this way, the reader is provided a view of the wider world and the characters that inhabit it. Perhaps my favorite is this troubling scene in which the janitor, drafted into service as coroner, is helping Nikolka, the younger brother, find Colonel Nais-Turs, Nikolka’s fallen comrade-in-arms.

Moving carefully in order not to slip on the floor, Fyodor grasped Nais-Turs by the head and pulled hard. A flat-chested, broad-hipped woman was lying face down across Nai’s stomach. There was a cheap little comb in the hair at the back of her neck, glittering dully, like a fragment of glass. Without stopping what he was doing Fyodor deftly pulled it out, dropped it into the pocket of his apron and gripped NaiTurs under the armpits. As it was pulled out of the pile his head lolled back, his sharp, unshaven chin pointed upwards and one arm slipped from the janitor’s grasp. (p.271)

Bulgakov keeps the plot taut and the reader engaged. This book requires little suspension of disbelief. The White Guard is realist, unlike the much more fanciful “The Master and Margarita.” Bulgakov does, however, add a touch of the supernatural. And while the book is political enough to have been suppressed by Stalin, the question of which of the three sides fighting the war is “right” is never really posed, much less answered. The interesting questions all pertain to the individual and, more, to a family trying to survive a civil war. The primary loyalties are personal which, in Ukraine as elsewhere, reflects reality. The book is ambivalent toward political loyalties and the revolutions borne of having putting those loyalties before the personal. The author, as surely as the characters, must have had little enthusiasm for revolutionary politics.

In the end, perhaps the highest praise I can give is that it would be difficult to read “The White Guard” without becoming attached to the Turbin family. Perhaps, this, more than any overt politics, is why the novel was banned in the Stalinist Soviet Union.
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Jun 26, 2008 J.A. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: русская-литература, war-what-is-it-good-for

Mikhail Bulgakov is one of my favorite authors, and this book has been on my reading list for far too long. I’ve had a copy of it for years, albeit a copy in the original Russian. I’m somewhat ashamed of the fact that I’ve allowed my Russian skills to languish to the point that I had to purchase an English translation in order to finally read The White Guard, but a little shame should never stand in the way of a worthwhile read! This story was known more widely in its play form than as a book (S...more

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May 20, 2012 Alain added it · review of another edition

Fin 1918, ? Kiev, en Ukraine. La premi?re guerre mondiale vient juste de s?achever. L?ensemble de la famille Tourbine, les deux fr?res, la s?ur et le beau-fr?re sont enfin r?unit chez eux, et n?aspirent qu?? une seule chose : vivre paisiblement. Mais, c?est sans compter sur la guerre civile qui gronde d?j? aux portes de la ville. Seuls les r?giments allemands encore pr?sents ? Kiev emp?chent les anachistes, les bolcheviks et leurs partisans d?entrer dans la ville. Cependant, l?Allemagne perd la...more

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May 09, 2013 Tom Andersson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Det vita gardet är förmodligen en av de bästa böckerna jag har läst, om inte den bästa.

För min del beror mycket på att jag är väldigt intresserad av den tid och plats som skildras. Men det som gör detta till en universellt läsvärd bok beror på att Bulgakov själv är så förtrogen med miljön i vilken boken utspelas. Ett påstående vilket egentligen är en stark underdrift då boken är starkt självbiografisk, Bulgakov och hans familj upplevde det som familjen Turbin upplever i boken och varje karaktär...more Det vita gardet är förmodligen en av de bästa böckerna jag har läst, om inte den bästa.

För min del beror mycket på att jag är väldigt intresserad av den tid och plats som skildras. Men det som gör detta till en universellt läsvärd bok beror på att Bulgakov själv är så förtrogen med miljön i vilken boken utspelas. Ett påstående vilket egentligen är en stark underdrift då boken är starkt självbiografisk, Bulgakov och hans familj upplevde det som familjen Turbin upplever i boken och varje karaktär i boken har en verklig förlaga.

Det är det som gör att handlingen berör i ett steg längre, att Bulgakov inte har behövt föreställa sig vad karaktärerna känner och gör, han har erfarit det.

Boken handlar alltså om familjen Turbin, en monarkistisk medelklassfamilj i Kiev 1918. De båda bröderna i familjen, Alexei och Nikolka Turbin är båda officerare, den förra läkare och den senare kadett. Det bor med sin syster Elena som försöker hålla ordning på hushållet men oroar sig för sin man Sergei Talhberg, som inte återvänt till Kiev så som han skulle. Därtill kommer deras officersvänner som spenderar stor tid i familjen Turbins lägenhet där de samlas och försöker leva som tiden innan revolutionen.

Fienden närmar sig dock staden och nederlaget är ofrånkomligt. Man får följa familjen Turbin när de flyr från fiendens anfall och hur de sedan försöker hålla sig undangömda från fiendens patruller som försöker hitta och avrätta de som förgäves försökte försvara staden.

Man kan säga att romanen handlar om att tillhöra förlorarna, hur Turbin och deras vänner oavsett och de stretar emot, förlorar och hur deras livsstil dör.

Denna gripande skildring av hur livet som man känt tar slut tillsammans med Bulgakovs signaturmässiga skildringar av drömmar, gud och snabba skeenden där virrvarr av fragmentariska ljud och iakttagelser lämnar en lika förvirrad som bokens karaktärer.

Dessutom måste jag slå ett slag för kadettsångerna, som mer ofta än sällan strömmar ur Nikolka tillsammans med en gitarr i marschtakt.

"Stövlarna sitter bra,
Mössorna som de ska,
Vi är ingenjörkadetter vi!" (less)

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Feb 14, 2013 Dragan rated it 5 of 5 stars

what a man can say but: Mischa, thank you.

Read this for the first time some 25 years ago. Read it, understood it. Loved it, obviously.
few years later i myself went through a similar experience of confusion and war.
i read it now again, and i tell you: only now I FELT IT, thoroughly.

it is obviously a brilliant work: full to the brim with the smell of winter and cold, anguish, war, confusion (who is who and what will happen tomorrow), emotional to the bursting, hints of upcoming love, uncertainty....more

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Oct 26, 2012 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: russia, ukraine, fiction, war

re: Kiev: "In winter, as in no other city in the world, a calm fell over the streets and lanes and the upper City, over the hills and the lower City, which sprawled out at a bend in the frozen Dnieper, and all the mechanical noise retreated into the stone buildings, which softened and muffled its growl."

"All the City's energy amassed over the sunny and stormy summer spilled out in light...the City played, overflowed with light, lit up, and danced, flickering all through the night until morning,...more re: Kiev: "In winter, as in no other city in the world, a calm fell over the streets and lanes and the upper City, over the hills and the lower City, which sprawled out at a bend in the frozen Dnieper, and all the mechanical noise retreated into the stone buildings, which softened and muffled its growl."

"All the City's energy amassed over the sunny and stormy summer spilled out in light...the City played, overflowed with light, lit up, and danced, flickering all through the night until morning, when it died out and wrapped itself in smoke and haze. But the electric white cross in the hands of the gigantic St. Vladimir on St. Vladimir's Hill shimmered best of all and could be seen from far away, and often in the summer, in the dark haze, in the tangled twists and turns of old man river, from the osier bed, boats saw it and by its light found their way to the City and its docks."

"What had it all been for? No one could say. And would anyone pay for the blood? No. No one would.

The snow would melt, the green Ukrainian grass would come up and plait the earth, lush sprouts would emerge, the heat would shimmer above the fields, and no trace would remain of the blood. Blood is cheap in these dark red fields, and no one would ever redeem it.

No one."

Questions - that's what I liked about White Guard, and it even ended in one, "Why?" Master and Margarita set out with more overt ideologies even in its fantasy and satire. Here there was both the surety and doubt that lies in real life situations; I felt more of the complexity and imperfections of humanity were allowed here. And with that I enjoyed the text more. It took me some time to become engrossed; my historical knowledge of the time is low, but Bulgakov allows for this. He describes for the reader so vividly through characters and settings this time of revolution and civil war, with all of its opposites and shades of gray inbetween. The confusion, the violence, the chaos. And while there were clear 'heros' laid out in the Turbins, they were self-doubting, and I don't get the sense that their chosen side is given the clear vision of being that of the 'good guys'.

Bulgakov captured the multitude of forces pushing and pulling and vying for dominance. German, Russian, Ukrainian, honor, tragedy, nationalistic, monarchist, imperialist, socialist, bourgeois, proletariat, city, country, following orders blindly, what informs a decision, presence and absence, and it could go on. And many of these same forces are still in flux, for example, when we continue to see referendums on what should be allowable national languages in Ukraine. Change is still in the air, and that's what I liked about White Guard, it captured it and left me not only with Why but What next?(less)

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Nov 25, 2010 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone interested in the Russian Revolution, Kiev, Bulgakov

Recommended to Becky by: reading group

After I finished reading the first time I went to the Introductions and read them. The one by the translator, Marian Schwartz, is very nice, informative - she did this in 2009. But the one by Evgeny Dobrenko is totally marvelous, thoughtful and informative, giving background information on Bulgakov as well as the Ukranaian War of Independence (Russian Civil War). In fact, I was so taken by Dobrenko’s introduction I went back and reread the entire work - very carefully - and was stunned.

This tim...more After I finished reading the first time I went to the Introductions and read them. The one by the translator, Marian Schwartz, is very nice, informative - she did this in 2009. But the one by Evgeny Dobrenko is totally marvelous, thoughtful and informative, giving background information on Bulgakov as well as the Ukranaian War of Independence (Russian Civil War). In fact, I was so taken by Dobrenko’s introduction I went back and reread the entire work - very carefully - and was stunned.

This time I followed all the action, family or not. I took notes (see the link). I googled for more specific info. I was mesmerized.

The writing is beautiful, lush, sensual. Everything has meaning and I know that no matter how much I studied it in this day and age, 2010 - California - there is no way I could possibly understand the nature of all the symbolism, the dream sequences, the characters and their ideas.

I understand how Stalin could let the play be staged and love it, but ban the book because in the play and the book the Petlyiura forces are made to look seriously bad but in the book it’s complex, in the play that part is simpler. Apparently Bulgakov had conflicting feelings about the Revolution - although I didn’t catch that - Dobrenko did.

The narrative gives off a strong bit of nostalgia for the old Russian Kiev - that’s where Bulgakov was from and the book is semi-autobiographical. Kiev is the religious center of Russia - where Prince Vladimir accepted Christianity in 988. His statue and hill play a central roll in White Guard.

But Bulgakov also wrote the book as a kind of commentary on the meaningless, violent, stupidity of war.

Also important in the book are the themes time is moving on and running out (so many clocks) and that everybody is running away. There seem to be lots of ways of running away but the physical act is important here. Lampshades color, dim, hide the truth of the situation while religion seems to distance it.
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Aug 04, 2010 Jayaprakash Satyamurthy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure if Bulgakov's first novel, described as a historical novel about the fortunes of the city of Kiev in the year 1918, as the repercussions of the Russian revolution and the tail-end of the first world war play out, would be as good as his satirical masterpieces, The Master And Margarita and Black Snow.

It certainly is.

Bulgakov was a literary genius, that's the only conclusion I can draw. Not only does he maintain complete control over a narrative that segues constantly from the pano...more

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Apr 20, 2008 Rachael rated it 3 of 5 stars

I loved this book mostly for the descriptions of Kyiv. I read this just before one my trips there so it was interesting to walk around the city and remember scenes from the book. It also gives an excellent historical account of life in Ukraine during the years just before the establishment of the Soviet Union.

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Apr 19, 2007 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Originally a play that, despite its sympathetic potrayal of a 'White' Kievan family during the Civil War following the Bolshevik Revolution, Stalin was fond of, (see the passage in The Life of Monsieur De Moliere), this is a lovely tale of the effect of the revolution on a middle class family.

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Mar 22, 2012 Biljana Skataric rated it 3 of 5 stars

......Jednostavno će okopiti snijeg, iznići će zelena ukrajinska trava, prekriće zemlju... pojaviće se raskošni izlasci sunca... zadrhtaće žega nad poljima i od krvi neće ostati ni traga. Jeftina krv na crvenim poljima, i niko je neće iskupljivati. Niko. ......

...... Nad Dnjeprom se sa grešne i okrvavljene i zasniježene zemlje dizao u crnu, mračnu visinu ponoćni krst Vladimira. Iz daljine je izgledalo kao da je poprečna prečka nestala - slila se sa vertikalnom i od toga se krst pretvorio u prije...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Wayne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: european-favourites, plays

SEE THE REVIEW OF THE THEATRICALS BELOW!!!

Going to see the theatrical version of this novel by the Sydney Theatre Company early in July.
LOVED his "The Master and Margarita".
Not expecting anything similar, but am hoping for good writing.

A very vivid recreation of time and place
... 1918 and the city of Kiev facing an attack by a local Socialist warlord
but being betrayed by their protectors, both the German Army and
the White Russian Army.
Meanwhile the Red (Bolshevik) Army lies in wait.
All this th...more

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Aug 12, 2011 Ivan rated it 5 of 5 stars

A truthful and frightening recount of an ordinary pre-revolution family transformed by successive events in Ukrainian history.
This isn't a horror story, and it doesn't have any gore, but the functioning and the breakdown of society; life of a family in such a society with its hopes and fears in absence of clear outcome is a fearsome sight to behold. This is especially true when we look back to contemplate the uneasy history of UkrSSR that followed and hundreds of thousands of people's lives dest...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Viktor Malafey rated it 2 of 5 stars

На вікіпедії є шикарна стаття про цей роман, я ж тут опишу лише свої враження.

Коли читаєш цю книгу, то сам переносишся в події майже столітньої давності. Як же автор класно описав Київ, просто шик! І це в той час, коли там населення становило 700 тисяч населення, місто надзвичайно гарне, відчуваєш його красу всіма органами тіла.

Всі події відбуваються в дуже малий проміжок часу, але вони дуже насичені, героїв роману багато. Заплутатись легко. Але кожен персонаж унікальний, і таке враження, що то...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Jeremy Estabrooks rated it 3 of 5 stars

Taking place in Kiev during the tumultuous period near the end of World War I, when a series of nationalist regimes are established and collapse before the Bolsheviks eventually march in to permanently seize power, the book follows the lives of the Turbin family, who are loyal to the White Army until their demise. This book is really a series of images of the chaos of war and revolution and the invasion of the public sphere into private lives during such a period. It lacks the compelling plot st...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Rob rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like my magic realism but in small doses so this suited me far more than Bulgakov's better known Master and Margarita . So, aside from the odd dream sequence, the author sticks to the concrete, albeit within the context of the confused, heady years of post-revolutionary Russia.

A primer on the political factions of those days might be necessary although the overwhelming mood is one of chaos. Nor is the absurdity of much of Eastern and Central Europe's best fiction very far away - characters ap...more

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Sep 25, 2010 Danja rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: war-and-military, favorites

A beautiful book. This edition is translated by Marian Schwartz, and seemed like a very good translation. It takes place at a confusing point in history, with WWI just ended and the Russian revolution just beginning, and the book wonderfully depicts the confusion and uncertainty from the point of view of a little family. The introduction by Evgeny Dobrenko does a great job of explaining the political setting, but also mentions a few things about the characters (apparently White Guard was origina...more

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Aug 10, 2010 Venessa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bulgakov's first novel follows a Russian families travails through the Revolution, and is a showcase of Bulgakov's amazingly descriptive and beautifully imagined prose. Kiev, the setting, is also a character in this work: in addition to describing the Revolution's effects on human beings, Bulgakov also focuses his description of its effects on the City, effectively demonstrating his love of place as well as for the Russian people. A very serious work which hints at the genius that was Bulgakov (...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Jorge Maia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

De certa maneira, a generalidade dos romances acabam por se inscrever, de uma forma ou de outra, na história dos homens. A Guarda Branca, de Mikhaíl Bulgákov, toma essa história não apenas como pano de fundo longínquo, mas como o motivo central em torno do qual gira a intriga. Não se trata, todavia, de um romance histórico, mas da exploração do impacto da história na vida das personagens, os irmão Turbin, e da forma como ela desconstrói e reconstrói as identidades individuais e testa crenças e c...more

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Mar 03, 2008 Calvin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: russian-studies

One of the masterpieces of Russian Literature

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Apr 17, 2013 Miklos Hargitay rated it 4 of 5 stars

The serious side of Bulgakov, still isn't so serious. There is wit and cynicism as well as heartrending moments of suffering and love gone awry. For 300 pages, The White Guard demands rereadings, especially if you know little about Russian history (as I do) and the book is packed with atmosphere and context and humor that can be lost if one is reading it without appreciation of the history that goes alongside.
All the same, beautifully written and if it inspires you to want to know more about th...more

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Jul 18, 2010 Ana rated it 4 of 5 stars

The White Guard comprised some of the politico-military Russian forces who unsuccessfully fought the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and later the Red Army in the Russian Civil War (1917–23).

In the Russian context, White connoted three designations:

1. political contra-distinction to the Reds, whose revolutionary Red Army supported the Bolsheviks and Communism;
2. historical reference to absolute monarchy, specifically united Russia’s first Tsar, Ivan III (1462–1505), styled “Albus Rex” (“...more

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Mar 22, 2011 Alberto Schiariti rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Con Bulgakov non si sbaglia. Non raggiunge le punte deliranti de Il Maestro e Margherita, ma è un libro bellissimo sulla guerra in Ucraina vista da una famiglia, da una casa. Difficile descriverlo se non come una bella storia. E' un libro assolutamente non leggero e, come con quasi tutti gli scrittori russi, si può incappare nella difficoltà di mischiare i personaggi a causa dei loro nomi complicati e dei loro diminuitivi.

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Dec 06, 2011 Aaron rated it 5 of 5 stars

White Guard haunted me. As noted by other readers, the descriptions of Kiev are astounding. Even after my first visit to Kiev, I recognized many of the descriptions. In fact, I first learned of this book while on a tour of the Churches in the former city. One of the Churches that we heard about, is mentioned. White Guard dives into a surreal world--where political invasion and turmoil leave a country numb. How do you deal with a political system that treats you like crap--only to be taken over b...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Jesse rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, russian

This was a great book.

Completely different from the other books that I've read by Bulgakov. This book lacked the humor that "The Master and Margarita" and "Heart of a Dog", but in many ways, this is a superior story.

It takes place during the Ukraine revolution and is about a middle class family who are torn apart by the war.

It was an outstanding story and I'd actually like to read it again.

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Apr 22, 2011 Peter rated it 5 of 5 stars

The thing about The White Guard is that it manages to combine a fast paced plot full of action with writing that is lyrical, poetic and ingenious. It's rich in symbolism, beautifully written and memorable. The descriptions of 1918 Kiev are amongst the most amazing things I have ever read for setting the scene. One of the best books ever.

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Aug 09, 2010 Chris Watson rated it 5 of 5 stars

A beautiful book.
Bulgakov expresses the horror and futility expertly, yet the story is still full of beauty and humour and is ultimately uplifting.
Only such a master could paint a picture of the human soul in all its wickedness and stupidity, and simultaneously show its beauty and profundity.
A wonderful book.

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Jun 13, 2011 Stef rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, literature, read-for-school

While I love Bulgakov's the Master and Margherita, I just couldn't get into the White Guard. I didn't find it political enough, but it wasn't really personal enough either. I couldn't imagine why he would be writing this or why Stalin would see the book as a threat.

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Mar 05, 2010 Julia Boechat Machado rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, russian-literature, tingle-of-the-spine, historical-fiction, 1920s

Stálin se impressionou tanto com essa história da guarda branca que foi vê-la no teatro mais de cinqüenta vezes – e essa é apenas uma das contradições que marcaram a vida de Bulgákov. Os personagens de Bulgakov são cativantes: Aleksei turbin, Elena, Myshlaevsky, Karas, Lariosik, Shpolyanski, Nai-Turs, Nikolka. Bulgakov consegue nos emocionar profundamente não só com os dramas inevitáveis, como a quase morte de um dos protagonistas, mas também com a perda do revólver de Nai-Turs, ou com a simples...more

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About Mikhail Bulgakov

Mikhaíl Afanasyevich Bulgakov (Russian: Михаил Булгаков) was the first of six children in the family of a theology professor. His family belonged to the intellectual elite of Kiev. Bulgakov and his brothers took part in the demonstration commemorating the death of Leo Tolstoy. Bulgakov later graduated with honors from the Medical School of Kiev University in 1915. He married his classmate Tatiana...more Mikhaíl Afanasyevich Bulgakov (Russian: Михаил Булгаков) was the first of six children in the family of a theology professor. His family belonged to the intellectual elite of Kiev. Bulgakov and his brothers took part in the demonstration commemorating the death of Leo Tolstoy. Bulgakov later graduated with honors from the Medical School of Kiev University in 1915. He married his classmate Tatiana Lappa, who became his assistant at surgeries and in his doctor's office. He practiced medicine, specializing in venereal and other infectious diseases, from 1915 to 1919 (he later wrote about the experience in "Notes of a Young Doctor.")

He joined the anti-communist White Army during the Russian Civil War. After the Civil War, he tried (unsuccesfully) to emigrate from Russia to reunite with his brother in Paris. Several times he was almost killed by opposing forces on both sides of the Russian Civil War, but soldiers needed doctors, so Bulgakov was left alive. He provided medical help to the Chehchens, Caucasians, Cossacs, Russians, the Whites, and the Reds.

In 1921, Bulgakov moved to Moscow. There he became a writer and became friends with Valentin Katayev, Yuri Olesha, Ilya Ilf, Yevgeni Petrov, and Konstantin Paustovsky. Later, he met Mikhail Zoschenko, Anna Akhmatova, Viktor Ardov, Sergei Mikhalkov, and Kornei Chukovsky. Bulgakov's plays at the Moscow Art Theatre were directed by Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.

Bugakov's own way of life and his witty criticism of the ugly realities of life in the Soviet Union caused him much trouble. His story "Heart of a Dog" (1925) is a bitter satire about the loss of civilized values in Russia under the Soviet system. Soon after, Bulgakov was interrogated by the Soviet secret service, OGPU. After interrogations, his personal diary and several unfinished works were confiscated by the secret service. His plays were banned in all theaters, which terminated his income. Destitute, he wrote to his brother in Paris about his terrible life and poverty in Moscow. Bulgakov distanced himself from the Proletariat Writer's Union because he refused to write about the peasants and proletariat. He adapted "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol for the stage; it became a success but was soon banned.

He took a risk and wrote a letter to Joseph Stalin with an ultimatum: "Let me out of the Soviet Union, or restore my work at the theaters." On the 18th of April of 1930, Bulgakov received a telephone call from Joseph Stalin. The dictator told the writer to fill an employment application at the Moscow Art Theater. Gradually, Bulgakov's plays were back in the repertoire of the Moscow Art Theatre. But most other theatres were in fear and did not stage any of the Bulgakov's plays for many years. At that time, the repressions, known as the "Great Terror" were started by an increasingly paranoid Joseph Stalin. Many of Bulgakov's friends and colleagues, like Vladimir Mayakovsky, Osip Mandelstam, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Anna Akhmatova, Mikhail Zoschenko and many others were censored, banned, prosecuted, exiled, imprisoned, executed, found dead, or just disappeared without a trace.

Mikhail Bulgakov died as a result of kidney failure.(less)

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Quotes from The White Guard

“Everything passes away-suffering,pain, blood, hunger,pestilence. The sword will pass away too, but the stars will remain when the shadows of our presence and our deeds have vanished from the Earth. There is no man who does not know that. Why, then, will we not turn our eyes toward the stars? Why?” — 40 people liked it

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