The White Guard
Encyclopedia
The White Guard is a novel by 20th century Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov
, famed for his critically acclaimed later work The Master and Margarita
.
Rossiya in 1926, but was never fully released as the magazine was closed by the Soviet Union
government. Never reaching proper publication until after the death of Joseph Stalin
, The White Guard was instead turned into the play
The Days of the Turbins, shown at the Moscow Arts Theatre until eventually being banned itself. Bulgakov then pleaded to Stalin himself to be permitted to leave the country, but instead Stalin personally gave him a job at the Moscow Arts Theatre, where he was still working while writing his uncompleted novel, "The Master And Margarita", before he died in 1940. His widow managed to have The White Guard partially published in the literary journal Moskva in 1966, and the novel was finally published in part in 1973 in the English translation by Michael Glenny which is missing the dream flashback sections. Yale University Press
in 2008 published an award-winning complete translation of this novel by Marian Schwartz.
- the Whites
, the Reds
, the Imperial German Army, and Ukrainian nationalists fight over the city of Kiev
. Real historical figures such as Petlyura and Pavlo Skoropadsky
make their entraces and exits as the Turbin family is caught up in the turbulent effects of the October Revolution
on their lives.
elements. The younger Turbin brother is modeled after Bulgakov's own younger brother. The house of the Turbins is an exact description of the house of the Bulgakov family in Kiev (which currently is the Mikhail Bulgakov Museum
).
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhaíl Afanásyevich Bulgákov was a Soviet Russian writer and playwright active in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his novel The Master and Margarita, which The Times of London has called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century.-Biography:Mikhail Bulgakov was born on...
, famed for his critically acclaimed later work The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, woven around the premise of a visit by the Devil to the fervently atheistic Soviet Union. Many critics consider the book to be one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and one of the foremost Soviet satires, directed against a...
.
History
The White Guard first appeared in serial form in the Soviet-era literary journalLiterary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
Rossiya in 1926, but was never fully released as the magazine was closed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
government. Never reaching proper publication until after the death of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, The White Guard was instead turned into the play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
The Days of the Turbins, shown at the Moscow Arts Theatre until eventually being banned itself. Bulgakov then pleaded to Stalin himself to be permitted to leave the country, but instead Stalin personally gave him a job at the Moscow Arts Theatre, where he was still working while writing his uncompleted novel, "The Master And Margarita", before he died in 1940. His widow managed to have The White Guard partially published in the literary journal Moskva in 1966, and the novel was finally published in part in 1973 in the English translation by Michael Glenny which is missing the dream flashback sections. Yale University Press
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
in 2008 published an award-winning complete translation of this novel by Marian Schwartz.
The novel: settings, themes and narrative style
Set in Ukraine, beginning in late 1918, the novel concerns the fate of the Turbin family as the various armies of the Russian Civil WarRussian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
- the Whites
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, the Reds
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, the Imperial German Army, and Ukrainian nationalists fight over the city of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Real historical figures such as Petlyura and Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Skoropadsky
Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi 3 May 1873, Wiesbaden, Germany – 26 April 1945, Metten monastery clinic, Bavaria, Germany) was a Ukrainian politician, earlier an aristocrat and decorated Imperial Russian Army general...
make their entraces and exits as the Turbin family is caught up in the turbulent effects of the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
on their lives.
Autobiographical elements
The novel contains many autobiographicalAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
elements. The younger Turbin brother is modeled after Bulgakov's own younger brother. The house of the Turbins is an exact description of the house of the Bulgakov family in Kiev (which currently is the Mikhail Bulgakov Museum
Mikhail Bulgakov Museum
Mikhail Bulgakov Museum is a museum in Kiev, Ukraine, dedicated to a Kiev-born Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov....
).
External links
Bulgakov museum in Moscow Bulgakov museum in Moscow. The Odd Flat Diary of Bulgakov museum in Moscow Bulgakov museum in Russian Wikipedia- http://www.sovlit.com/whiteguard/ - an overview of the novel, also with information on the author.