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Mikhail Bulgakov
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The White Guard Kindle Edition

by Mikhail Bulgakov (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 319 ratings
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In Kiev during the Russian Civil War the Turbin household is sanctuary to a ragtag, close-knit crowd of friends and family. As the brothers prepare to fight for the White Guard, friends charge in from the riotous streets amidst an atmosphere of heady chaos, quaffing vodka, keeling over, taking baths, playing guitar, falling in love. But the new regime is poised and in its brutal triumph lies destruction for the Turbins and their world.

The novel is powered by that distinctively Russian mix of wild hilarity and desperate heartache. There are deeply wrenching moments, terrible family losses and brilliantly staged war scenes that encapsulate the horror of Russia’s turbulent, blood-drenched history.

The civil war was a very cruel one - on both sides. The Whites killed 100,000 Jews in organised pogroms. White cossacks dragged Red prisoners over the ground with lassos. The reds had little to learn from them, they massacred complete villages. Priests were speared on poles, and on the bodies of White officers were tied cages with rats, the cages were then heated so that the rats gnawed their way through the bodies.

The real victims were, of course, the civilians. Red and White terror cost millions of lives. Famine and disease spread. And, as if the civilians had not enough to fear from the White and the Red armies, they had to be on alert for each other too: plunderings, killings, robberies and even cannibalism were reported.

Between 1918 and 1923 the civil war cost about 15 million Russian lives.This story throws light on the smallest part of an epic, horrifying drama involving all that life holds; hope, love, fear and death.
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  1. Print length
    338 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    September 16, 2012
  5. File size
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) was born in Kiev. Schooled as a doctor, he gave up the practice of medicine in 1920 to devote himself to writing. He went on to write some of the greatest novels in twentieth-century Russian literature, including White Guard and Black Snow. Though Bulgakov's work was often censored, Stalin showed his personal favor by protecting him from imprisonment and finding a job for him at the Moscow Art Theatre, where the writer would work as a director and playwright for many years. He died at the age of forty-nine from a kidney disorder. His masterpiece, The Master and Margarita, would not be published until twenty-six years after his death.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009BXUGB0
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 16, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 722 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 338 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 319 ratings

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Mikhail Bulgakov

Mikhail Bulgakov

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Mikhaíl Afanasyevich Bulgakov (/bʊlˈɡɑːkəf/; Russian: Михаи́л Афана́сьевич Булга́ков, pronounced [mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf]; May 15 [O.S. May 3] 1891 – March 10, 1940) was a 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 has been called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Unknown [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
319 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

M. A. Seifter
5.0 out of 5 stars Kiev in the hard year
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2022
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This early novel written by Mikhail Bulgakov is a tremendous, suggestive read, and before the reader undertakes to dive into his more famous literary landmark, "The Master and Margarita", he should sample the waters with "The White Guard". Depicting the travails of the Turbin family in Kiev, "the City", in precariously independent Ukraine the year following the Russian Revolution, this novel counterposes an eloquent picture of one family's serene and privileged comforts chez eux with, outside their little household, the descending storm of impending Bolshevik invasion, political chaos ( Russian Bolsheviks vs. "White Guardist supporters of the tsarist autocracy vs. German soldiers aligned with the temporarily ruling Cossack Hetman vs. Ukrainian partisans led by Simon Petlyura), military devastation of Kiev (How familiar this sounds to today!) and general economic disaster. The translator has presented a suggestive, eloquent translation of this work, which operates on a narrative basis of realism crossed with impressionistic flashes. What is more, he includes a biographical summary of Bulgakov's life and career, along with a summary treatment of his major works, in prose and drama. Well worth a purchase; this book will provide a splendid entree into this important writer's literature and life.
6 people found this helpful
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John Stults
4.0 out of 5 stars very good story of the multiple sides in the fight for Kiev in 1918 and 1919
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2022
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Details the story of a middle class family
Fighting on the czarist side in Kiev. Shows how they are abandoned by their leaders , the Germans stirring up trouble as they leave, the Ukrainian Cossacks taking the city briefly only to be run out by the Bolsheviks. We see the breakdown of all forms of government and yes only the criminals have guns. We see the mass programs on the Jews from all sides but the Ukrainian Cossacks seem to hold the record only challenged by Hitler in the 1940s.
What I did not like is that the translator was not mentioned and we can also see that while it was at first published in the early 1920s it was latter banned by the soviets. A good book and I recommend the novel.
2 people found this helpful
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Mark Clegg
5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Reminder of the Futility of Ideology and Nationalism
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
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The backdrop is post WWI Kiev, which is held by the Mensheviks or "White Guard," those loyal to the deposed and murdered Czar Nicholas II. With the German forces fleeing Kiev after the armistice is signed to end WWI, their erstwhile allies, the White Guard, desperately attempt to hold off the forces of Petlyura, who heads a force of Ukrainian nationalists. The Bolsheviks in Moscow are also a more distant but very real menace, and rumors of the their advance from the north begin to spread among the local populace.

The Turbin family, consisting of brothers Alexi and Nikolka and their sister, Elena, seek protection in their home in Kiev during the winter of 1918/19. A constant stream of visitors seek permanent or temporary comfort in the Turbin's home before venturing out to take up arms, conduct daily business, or trudge through the deep snow for any word of the fate that might await them as armies clash.

The book particularly resonates with contemporary events — the Russians are coming, and those who speak Ukrainian with a Russian accent arouse suspicion as Moscow sends its forces across the borders. But the more immediate threat is Ukrainian against Ukrainian, and by the time the Bolsheviks finally arrive to take the city, the citizenry, exhausted by years of violence and shifting alliances, shrug it off in a dream-like slumber.

The last paragraph of the book offers the bit of hope that we need but always ignore: "..the sword is also fearful. Everything passes away — suffering, pain, hunger and 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 does not know that. Why, then, will we not turn our eyes toward the stars? Why?"
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Susan
3.0 out of 5 stars Not complete text
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2014
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This version does not include several pages on Alexei's dream (see translation by Michael Glenny in Lesley Milne's book on Bulgakov). It also does not say who the translator is or the date of original publication (the copyright page is missing), but I guess it's the 1971 edition, which is the one Milne says deleted the dream sequence. There's nothing there but an ellipsis -- no explanation of mention that something has been deleted. The Russian text has the whole thing.
22 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars War in the Ukraine 1918-1919
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2022
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Following the fall of the Romanov Tsar, the people of the Ukraine, still divided between the Russian and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, find themselves divided between Monarchists, Russians, Ukrainians, Socialists, Nationalist and, of course, the Bolsheviks. The mixture of languages within the land, the largest in Europe, after Russia itself, can be a bond among brothers or a weapon to root out spies, opportunists, or simply those you don’t want in your little group.
Bulgakov, from Kyiv, which he calls simply The City, takes a look at all the events through the eyes of the various members of the Turbin family and their apartment full of friends and neighbors.
As in his book, the Master and Margarita, his prose is lyrical, with descriptions of the snow covered land and the snow covered city. This is interspersed with dramatic crowd scenes, as the various rumors, hopes and fears of the people of The City are expressed. This story was later turned into a play, but reading the story gives us the same feeling of standing among people, right in the action.
The release of this Kindle edition is timely, as current events seem to recreate the post-World-War-I themes.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Chaddie
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2022
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Good story and excellent translation
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars And a very funny TV series
Reviewed in Canada on June 2, 2016
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Fiction but true to life. Story of a Russian/Ukranian family caught between the retreating German Army, the feared arrival of the Red Army and the Ukrainian peasants who would support the reds. As middle-class people they supported the Tsar.. The action takes place in 1917 when the Germans were involved in WW1. This is a moving depiction of ordinary citizens caught in the chaos of civil war. Of course the Ukraine was won by the Reds The action takes place in Ukraine. . The author Bulgakov also wrote A Young Doctor's Notebook, a heart-rending, heart warming book.
And a very funny TV series.
One person found this helpful
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Richard Armin
5.0 out of 5 stars Ukraine war of independence 1917-1921
Reviewed in Canada on June 17, 2022
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Bulgakov describes the horror of this war 100 years ago to achieve independence from Moscow. My own father escaped and came to Canada in 1921.
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dithers
4.0 out of 5 stars Classic novel
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2013
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Its simply a classic, as good in its way as Tolstoy, maybe more accessible. Atmospheric and beautiful and, being Russian, tragic.
2 people found this helpful
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JPSreviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Glimpses of greatness - but falls short of Karl Kraus
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2022
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Page 282 in the extra material explains Bulgakov conceived this work as the first part of a 3 part volume and the reader is left hanging as to how some characters will play out and on which side.
What i liked
1. To those who study Russian Censorship the extended censors footprint is of interest (produced 1922 / 4 censored until 1966).
2. I found a scene similarity with Kraus’s satire ‘the last days of mankind’ whose opening scene 1 depicts the newspaper boy shouting “Extraausgabee - Ermordung des Thronfolgers! Da Tata verhaftet.”
From Bulgakov pages 77 - 79 we have
“Liberty news, liberty news,” shouted the paper boy “Petlyura demoralized. African troops arrive in Odessa. Liberty News ! “

Further the satirical opportunity to set the White recruitment station under Col M in the departed Parisian Madame Anjou’s boutique reminds me of Kraus’s method and mockery heights. The assertion and rights of White regimental costume only later to be rewarded by capitulation and the removal of their epaulettes unmissable mockery for Bulgakov.

3. The lisping White Col NT was an enjoyable moment saddened by his wasteful death in the street - hardly an heroic departure.

4. The Nationalist parade at pages 222/223 helps solve some reviewers problems on regimental names and white allegiances eg., Col B and Col KL and others under Symon Petljura.

5. Exhortation from the main character Alexei Turbin - Holy Russia is a country thats wooden, poor, and ..... dangerous. Plus - the Russian concept of honour pages 46/7 and of course page 42 - only the Monarchy is capable of saving Russia . All censorship hurdles .

6. Biography and extra material - excellent

Finally what makes me despair:
1. The anti - semitism and wanton slaying of Jews through even to page 258 and closure.
2. These are ‘Kresy’ lands borderlands - arming oneself with a gun is the single most important protection every household must consider. In a city of 700,000 without a police force, or any justice its likely to be a hotbed of thievery against those seen as a soft touch. And this vast country larger than the size of France has always suffered from invading armies with little respect for person or property. Im reminded of Kraus’s reporting of postcards showing the hanging corpses of Ukrainians and the grinning Austrian combattants of 1914 - 1918.
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