The White Guard

15 hrs. 14 min.

Classics

Language Russian

Author Mikhail Bulgakov

Narrator Vyacheslav Manylov

Description

“The White Guard” is the first novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, written in 1923 and first partially published in the magazine “Russia” in 1925, and fully published in France in 1927–1929. The work, in many ways autobiographical (many of the characters’ prototypes were the writer’s relatives and acquaintances), tells of the events of the Civil War in Ukraine at the end of 1918, unfolding in Kyiv (in the novel, called “the City”). At the heart of the plot is the Turbin family: the doctor Alexei, his sister Yelena, and his younger brother Nikolka—who, together with friends, try to preserve human dignity and familiar ways of life amid political chaos: the departure of the German troops, the weakening of Hetman Skoropadsky’s authority, and the advance of Petliura’s forces. Through the characters’ personal dramas, Bulgakov reveals large-scale historical processes, showing the collapse of the world of the Russian intelligentsia, the moral trials of the era, and the strength of family values as a support in the face of catastrophe. The novel combines a detailed depiction of the historical setting with profound psychological insight, creating a vivid picture of a turning point in the fate of both the country and its people.