Analysis of the work “The White Guard” (M. Bulgakov)

Alexey Vasilyevich Turbin, captain, military doctor, 28 years old, - Leshka Goryainov.
Demobilized, engaged in private practice.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Turbin, cadet, 19 years old - apparently, Dimka, because Zhenka does not have time.
A very nice young man.

Sergei Ivanovich Talberg, captain of the general staff for 31 years, - Igor. A rather private person, he serves in the Hetman’s Ministry of War as a captain (previously he served in a division under Denikin. The author of a sensational note beginning with the words “Petliura is an adventurer who threatens the region with destruction with his operetta..."

Elena Vasilievna Turbina-Talberg, 24 years old - Dara. Sister of the Turbins, wife of Talberg.

Larion Larionovich Surzhansky, engineer, cousin of the Turbins, 24 years old - Mitechka.
Just arrived in town.

Phillip Phillipovich Preobrazhensky, professor of medicine, the best and most famous doctor in the city of Kyiv, specializes in urology and gynecology, 47 years old - Kolya.
Single. Single, or more accurately, married to medicine. He is harsh with loved ones, gentle with strangers.

Lidiya Alekseevna Churilova, head of the Institute of Noble Maidens, 37 years old - Irrra
Born and raised in Kyiv. In her youth she lived in St. Petersburg for a couple of years, then returned. An excellent boss, loved by both teachers and schoolgirls and their parents. Goddaughter of Obalkov. I started writing, but haven’t been very successful yet.

Maria Benkendorf, actress, 27 years old, - Vlada.
Moscow actress stuck in Kyiv due to unrest.

Zinaida Genrikhovna Orbeli, niece of Professor Preobrazhensky, 22 years old - Marisha.
I just returned from Kharkov. She was last seen in Kyiv 6 years ago, when she was studying at the institute. She didn’t finish college, got married and left the city.

Fedor Nikolaevich Stepanov, captain of artillery, - Menedin.
A close friend of the elder Turbin, as well as Myshlaevsky and Shervinsky. Before the war he taught mathematics.

Viktor Viktorovich Myshlaevsky, staff captain, 34 years old - Sasha Efremov. Harsh, sometimes too harsh. Best friend of Alexey Turbin.

Andrey Ivanovich Obalkov, assistant city manager, 51 years old - Fedor. He took the chair after the Central Rada came to power and became an assistant under Burchak. Surprisingly, he remained at his post under the hetman. They say he drinks bitter. Godfather of Churilova and Nikolka Turbin.

Shervinsky Leonid Yurievich, adjutant of Prince Belorukov, 27 years old - Ingvall.
Former lieutenant of the Ulan Regiment of the Life Guards Uhlan Regiment. Opera lover and owner of a magnificent voice. He says he once took the top “A” and held it for seven bars.

Petr Aleksandrovich Lestov, scientist, physicist, 38 years old - Andrey.
If Preobrazhensky is married to medicine, then Lestov is married to physics. I started coming to the Turbins relatively recently.

gaming equipment: Belka, Garik.

Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (1891–1940) - a writer with a difficult, tragic fate that influenced his work. Coming from an intelligent family, he did not accept the revolutionary changes and the reaction that followed them. The ideals of freedom, equality and fraternity imposed by the authoritarian state did not inspire him, because for him, a man with education and a high level of intelligence, the contrast between the demagoguery in the squares and the wave of red terror that swept Russia was obvious. He deeply felt the tragedy of the people and dedicated the novel “The White Guard” to it.

In the winter of 1923, Bulgakov began work on the novel “The White Guard,” which describes the events of the Ukrainian Civil War at the end of 1918, when Kiev was occupied by the troops of the Directory, who overthrew the power of Hetman Pavel Skoropadsky. In December 1918, officers tried to defend the hetman's power, where Bulgakov was either enrolled as a volunteer or, according to other sources, was mobilized. Thus, the novel contains autobiographical features - even the number of the house in which the Bulgakov family lived during the capture of Kiev by Petlyura is preserved - 13. In the novel, this number takes on a symbolic meaning. Andreevsky Descent, where the house is located, is called Alekseevsky in the novel, and Kyiv is simply called the City. The prototypes of the characters are the writer’s relatives, friends and acquaintances:

Nikolka Turbin, for example, is Bulgakov’s younger brother Nikolai
Dr. Alexey Turbin is a writer himself,
Elena Turbina-Talberg - Varvara's younger sister
Sergei Ivanovich Talberg - officer Leonid Sergeevich Karum (1888 - 1968), who, however, did not go abroad like Talberg, but was ultimately exiled to Novosibirsk.
The prototype of Larion Surzhansky (Lariosik) is a distant relative of the Bulgakovs, Nikolai Vasilyevich Sudzilovsky.
The prototype of Myshlaevsky, according to one version - Bulgakov's childhood friend, Nikolai Nikolaevich Syngaevsky
The prototype of Lieutenant Shervinsky is another friend of Bulgakov, who served in the hetman’s troops - Yuri Leonidovich Gladyrevsky (1898 - 1968).
Colonel Felix Feliksovich Nai-Tours is a collective image. It consists of several prototypes - firstly, this is the white general Fyodor Arturovich Keller (1857 - 1918), who was killed by the Petliurists during the resistance and ordered the cadets to run and tear off their shoulder straps, realizing the meaninglessness of the battle, and secondly, this is Major General Nikolai of the Volunteer Army Vsevolodovich Shinkarenko (1890 – 1968).
There was also a prototype from the cowardly engineer Vasily Ivanovich Lisovich (Vasilisa), from whom the Turbins rented the second floor of the house - architect Vasily Pavlovich Listovnichy (1876 - 1919).
The prototype of the futurist Mikhail Shpolyansky is a major Soviet literary scholar and critic Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky (1893 – 1984).
The surname Turbina is the maiden name of Bulgakov’s grandmother.

However, it should also be noted that “The White Guard” is not a completely autobiographical novel. Some things are fictitious - for example, that the Turbins’ mother died. In fact, at that time, the Bulgakovs’ mother, who is the prototype of the heroine, lived in another house with her second husband. And there are fewer family members in the novel than the Bulgakovs actually had. The entire novel was first published in 1927–1929. in France.

About what?

The novel “The White Guard” is about the tragic fate of the intelligentsia during the difficult times of the revolution, after the assassination of Emperor Nicholas II. The book also tells about the difficult situation of officers who are ready to fulfill their duty to the fatherland in the conditions of a shaky, unstable political situation in the country. The White Guard officers were ready to defend the hetman's power, but the author poses the question: does this make sense if the hetman fled, leaving the country and its defenders to the mercy of fate?

Alexey and Nikolka Turbin are officers ready to defend their homeland and the former government, but before the cruel mechanism of the political system they (and people like them) find themselves powerless. Alexei is seriously wounded, and he is forced to fight not for his homeland or for the occupied city, but for his life, in which he is helped by the woman who saved him from death. And Nikolka runs away at the last moment, saved by Nai-Tours, who is killed. With all their desire to defend the fatherland, the heroes do not forget about family and home, about the sister left by her husband. The antagonist character in the novel is Captain Talberg, who, unlike the Turbin brothers, leaves his homeland and his wife in difficult times and goes to Germany.

In addition, “The White Guard” is a novel about the horrors, lawlessness and devastation that are happening in the city occupied by Petliura. Bandits with forged documents break into the house of engineer Lisovich and rob him, there is shooting in the streets, and the master of the kurennoy with his assistants - the “lads” - commit a cruel, bloody reprisal against the Jew, suspecting him of espionage.

In the finale, the city, captured by the Petliurists, is recaptured by the Bolsheviks. “The White Guard” clearly expresses a negative, negative attitude towards Bolshevism - as a destructive force that will ultimately wipe out everything holy and human from the face of the earth, and a terrible time will come. The novel ends with this thought.

The main characters and their characteristics

Alexey Vasilievich Turbin- a twenty-eight-year-old doctor, a division doctor, who, paying a debt of honor to the fatherland, enters into a battle with the Petliurites when his unit was disbanded, since the fight was already pointless, but is seriously wounded and forced to flee. He falls ill with typhus, is on the verge of life and death, but ultimately survives.
Nikolai Vasilievich Turbin(Nikolka) - a seventeen-year-old non-commissioned officer, Alexei’s younger brother, ready to fight to the last with the Petliurists for the fatherland and hetman’s power, but at the insistence of the colonel he runs away, tearing off his insignia, since the battle no longer makes sense (the Petliurists captured the City, and the hetman escaped). Nikolka then helps her sister care for the wounded Alexei.
Elena Vasilievna Turbina-Talberg(Elena the redhead) is a twenty-four-year-old married woman who was left by her husband. She worries and prays for both brothers participating in hostilities, waits for her husband and secretly hopes that he will return.
Sergei Ivanovich Talberg- captain, husband of Elena the Red, unstable in his political views, who changes them depending on the situation in the city (acts on the principle of a weather vane), for which the Turbins, true to their views, do not respect him. As a result, he leaves his home, his wife and leaves for Germany by night train.
Leonid Yurievich Shervinsky- lieutenant of the guard, a dapper lancer, admirer of Elena the Red, friend of the Turbins, believes in the support of the allies and says that he himself saw the sovereign.
Victor Viktorovich Myshlaevsky- lieutenant, another friend of the Turbins, loyal to the fatherland, honor and duty. In the novel, one of the first harbingers of the Petliura occupation, a participant in the battle a few kilometers from the City. When the Petliurists break into the City, Myshlaevsky takes the side of those who want to disband the mortar division so as not to destroy the lives of the cadets, and wants to set fire to the building of the cadet gymnasium so that it does not fall to the enemy.
crucian carp- a friend of the Turbins, a restrained, honest officer, who, during the dissolution of the mortar division, joins those who disband the cadets, takes the side of Myshlaevsky and Colonel Malyshev, who proposed such a way out.
Felix Feliksovich Nai-Tours- a colonel who is not afraid to defy the general and disbands the cadets at the moment of the capture of the City by Petliura. He himself dies heroically in front of Nikolka Turbina. For him, more valuable than the power of the deposed hetman is the life of the cadets - young people who were almost sent to the last senseless battle with the Petliurists, but he hastily disbands them, forcing them to tear off their insignia and destroy documents. Nai-Tours in the novel is the image of an ideal officer, for whom not only the fighting qualities and honor of his brothers in arms are valuable, but also their lives.
Lariosik (Larion Surzhansky)- a distant relative of the Turbins, who came to them from the provinces, going through a divorce from his wife. Clumsy, a bungler, but good-natured, he loves to be in the library and keeps a canary in a cage.
Yulia Alexandrovna Reiss- a woman who saves the wounded Alexei Turbin, and he begins an affair with her.
Vasily Ivanovich Lisovich (Vasilisa)- a cowardly engineer, a housewife from whom the Turbins rent the second floor of his house. He is a hoarder, lives with his greedy wife Wanda, hides valuables in secret places. As a result, he is robbed by bandits. He got his nickname, Vasilisa, because due to the unrest in the city in 1918, he began to sign documents in a different handwriting, abbreviating his first and last name as follows: “You. Fox."
Petliurites in the novel - only gears in a global political upheaval, which entails irreversible consequences.

Subjects

Theme of moral choice. The central theme is the situation of the White Guards, who are forced to choose whether to participate in meaningless battles for the power of the escaped hetman or still save their lives. The Allies do not come to the rescue, and the city is captured by the Petliurists, and, ultimately, by the Bolsheviks - a real force that threatens the old way of life and political system.
Political instability. Events unfold after the events of the October Revolution and the execution of Nicholas II, when the Bolsheviks seized power in St. Petersburg and continued to strengthen their positions. The Petliurists who captured Kyiv (in the novel - the City) are weak in front of the Bolsheviks, as are the White Guards. “The White Guard” is a tragic novel about how the intelligentsia and everything connected with them perish.
The novel contains biblical motifs, and in order to enhance their sound, the author introduces the image of a patient obsessed with the Christian religion who comes to doctor Alexei Turbin for treatment. The novel begins with a countdown from the Nativity of Christ, and just before the end, lines from the Apocalypse of St. John the Theologian. That is, the fate of the City, captured by the Petliurists and Bolsheviks, is compared in the novel with the Apocalypse.

Christian symbols

A crazy patient who came to Turbin for an appointment calls the Bolsheviks “angels,” and Petliura was released from cell No. 666 (in the Revelation of John the Theologian - the number of the Beast, the Antichrist).
The house on Alekseevsky Spusk is No. 13, and this number, as is known in popular superstitions, is the “devil’s dozen”, an unlucky number, and various misfortunes befall the Turbins’ house - the parents die, the older brother receives a mortal wound and barely survives, and Elena is abandoned and the husband betrays (and betrayal is a trait of Judas Iscariot).
The novel contains the image of the Mother of God, to whom Elena prays and asks to save Alexei from death. In the terrible time described in the novel, Elena experiences similar experiences as the Virgin Mary, but not for her son, but for her brother, who ultimately overcomes death like Christ.
Also in the novel there is a theme of equality before God's court. Everyone is equal before him - both the White Guards and the soldiers of the Red Army. Alexey Turbin has a dream about heaven - how Colonel Nai-Tours, white officers and Red Army soldiers get there: they are all destined to go to heaven as those who fell on the battlefield, but God doesn’t care whether they believe in him or not. Justice, according to the novel, exists only in heaven, and on the sinful earth godlessness, blood, and violence reign under red five-pointed stars.

Issues

The problematic of the novel “The White Guard” is the hopeless, plight of the intelligentsia, as a class alien to the winners. Their tragedy is the drama of the entire country, because without the intellectual and cultural elite, Russia will not be able to develop harmoniously.

Dishonor and cowardice. If the Turbins, Myshlaevsky, Shervinsky, Karas, Nai-Tours are unanimous and are going to defend the fatherland to the last drop of blood, then Talberg and the hetman prefer to flee like rats from a sinking ship, and individuals like Vasily Lisovich are cowardly, cunning and adapt to existing conditions.
Also, one of the main problems of the novel is the choice between moral duty and life. The question is posed bluntly - is there any point in honorably defending a government that dishonorably leaves the fatherland in the most difficult times for it, and there is an answer to this very question: there is no point, in this case life is put in first place.
The split of Russian society. In addition, the problem in the work “The White Guard” lies in the attitude of the people to what is happening. The people do not support the officers and White Guards and, in general, take the side of the Petliurists, because on the other side there is lawlessness and permissiveness.
Civil War. The novel contrasts three forces - the White Guards, Petliurists and Bolsheviks, and one of them is only intermediate, temporary - the Petliurists. The fight against the Petliurists will not be able to have such a strong impact on the course of history as the fight between the White Guards and the Bolsheviks - two real forces, one of which will lose and sink into oblivion forever - this is the White Guard.

Meaning

In general, the meaning of the novel “The White Guard” is struggle. The struggle between courage and cowardice, honor and dishonor, good and evil, God and the devil. Courage and honor are the Turbins and their friends, Nai-Tours, Colonel Malyshev, who disbanded the cadets and did not allow them to die. Cowardice and dishonor, opposed to them, are the hetman, Talberg, staff captain Studzinsky, who, afraid to violate the order, was going to arrest Colonel Malyshev because he wants to disband the cadets.

Ordinary citizens who do not participate in hostilities are also assessed in the novel according to the same criteria: honor, courage - cowardice, dishonor. For example, female characters - Elena, waiting for her husband who left her, Irina Nai-Tours, who was not afraid to go with Nikolka to the anatomical theater for the body of her murdered brother, Yulia Aleksandrovna Reiss - this is the personification of honor, courage, determination - and Wanda, the wife of engineer Lisovich, stingy, greedy for things - personifies cowardice, baseness. And engineer Lisovich himself is petty, cowardly and stingy. Lariosik, despite all his clumsiness and absurdity, is humane and gentle, this is a character who personifies, if not courage and determination, then simply kindness and kindness - qualities that are so lacking in people at that cruel time described in the novel.

Another meaning of the novel “The White Guard” is that those who are close to God are not those who officially serve him - not churchmen, but those who, even in a bloody and merciless time, when evil descended to earth, retained the grains of humanity in themselves, and even if they are Red Army soldiers. This is told in Alexei Turbin’s dream - a parable from the novel “The White Guard”, in which God explains that the White Guards will go to their paradise, with church floors, and the Red Army soldiers will go to theirs, with red stars, because both believed in the offensive good for the fatherland, albeit in different ways. But the essence of both is the same, despite the fact that they are on different sides. But the churchmen, “servants of God,” according to this parable, will not go to heaven, since many of them departed from the truth. Thus, the essence of the novel “The White Guard” is that humanity (goodness, honor, God, courage) and inhumanity (evil, devil, dishonor, cowardice) will always fight for power over this world. And it doesn’t matter under what banners this struggle will take place - white or red, but on the side of evil there will always be violence, cruelty and base qualities, which must be opposed by goodness, mercy, and honesty. In this eternal struggle, it is important to choose not the convenient, but the right side.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

Although the manuscripts of the novel have not survived, Bulgakov scholars have traced the fate of many prototype characters and proved the almost documentary accuracy and reality of the events and characters described by the author.

The work was conceived by the author as a large-scale trilogy covering the period of the Civil War. Part of the novel was first published in the magazine "Russia" in 1925. The entire novel was first published in France in 1927-1929. The novel was received ambiguously by critics - the Soviet side criticized the writer’s glorification of class enemies, the emigrant side criticized Bulgakov’s loyalty to Soviet power.

The work served as a source for the play “Days of the Turbins” and subsequent several film adaptations.

Plot

The novel takes place in 1918, when the Germans who occupied Ukraine leave the City and it is captured by Petliura's troops. The author describes the complex, multifaceted world of a family of Russian intellectuals and their friends. This world is breaking under the onslaught of a social cataclysm and will never happen again.

The heroes - Alexey Turbin, Elena Turbina-Talberg and Nikolka - are involved in the cycle of military and political events. The city, in which Kyiv is easily guessed, is occupied by the German army. As a result of the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, it does not fall under the rule of the Bolsheviks and becomes a refuge for many Russian intellectuals and military personnel who are fleeing Bolshevik Russia. Officer military organizations are created in the city under the patronage of Hetman Skoropadsky, an ally of the Germans, Russia's recent enemies. Petlyura's army is attacking the City. By the time of the events of the novel, the Compiegne Truce has been concluded and the Germans are preparing to leave the City. In fact, only volunteers defend him from Petlyura. Understanding the complexity of their situation, the Turbins reassure themselves with rumors about the approach of French troops, who allegedly landed in Odessa (in accordance with the terms of the truce, they had the right to occupy the occupied territories of Russia up to the Vistula in the west). Alexey and Nikolka Turbin, like other residents of the City, volunteer to join the defenders’ detachments, and Elena protects the house, which becomes a refuge for former officers of the Russian army. Since it is impossible to defend the City on its own, the hetman’s command and administration abandon him to his fate and leave with the Germans (the hetman himself disguises himself as a wounded German officer). Volunteers - Russian officers and cadets unsuccessfully defend the City without command against superior enemy forces (the author created a brilliant heroic image of Colonel Nai-Tours). Some commanders, realizing the futility of resistance, send their fighters home, others actively organize resistance and die along with their subordinates. Petlyura occupies the City, organizes a magnificent parade, but after a few months is forced to surrender it to the Bolsheviks.

The main character, Alexei Turbin, is faithful to his duty, tries to join his unit (not knowing that it has been disbanded), enters into battle with the Petliurists, is wounded and, by chance, finds love in the person of a woman who saves him from being pursued by his enemies.

A social cataclysm reveals characters - some flee, others prefer death in battle. The people as a whole accept the new government (Petliura) and after its arrival demonstrate hostility towards the officers.

Characters

Alexey Vasilievich Turbin- doctor, 28 years old.
Elena Turbina-Talberg- sister of Alexei, 24 years old.
Nikolka- non-commissioned officer of the First Infantry Squad, brother of Alexei and Elena, 17 years old.
Victor Viktorovich Myshlaevsky- lieutenant, friend of the Turbin family, Alexei’s friend at the Alexander Gymnasium.
Leonid Yurievich Shervinsky- former lieutenant of the Life Guards Uhlan Regiment, adjutant at the headquarters of General Belorukov, friend of the Turbin family, friend of Alexei at the Alexander Gymnasium, longtime admirer of Elena.
Fedor Nikolaevich Stepanov(“Karas”) - second lieutenant artilleryman, friend of the Turbin family, Alexei’s friend at the Alexander Gymnasium.
Sergei Ivanovich Talberg- Captain of the General Staff of Hetman Skoropadsky, Elena’s husband, a conformist.
father Alexander- priest of the Church of St. Nicholas the Good.
Vasily Ivanovich Lisovich(“Vasilisa”) - the owner of the house in which the Turbins rented the second floor.
Larion Larionovich Surzhansky(“Lariosik”) - Talberg’s nephew from Zhitomir.

History of writing

Bulgakov began writing the novel “The White Guard” after the death of his mother (February 1, 1922) and wrote until 1924.

The typist I. S. Raaben, who retyped the novel, argued that this work was conceived by Bulgakov as a trilogy. The second part of the novel was supposed to cover the events of 1919, and the third - 1920, including the war with the Poles. In the third part, Myshlaevsky went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and served in the Red Army.

The novel could have other names - for example, Bulgakov chose between “Midnight Cross” and “White Cross”. One of the excerpts from an early edition of the novel in December 1922 was published in the Berlin newspaper "On the Eve" under the title "On the night of the 3rd" with the subtitle "From the novel" The Scarlet Mach "." The working title of the first part of the novel at the time of writing was The Yellow Ensign.

It is generally accepted that Bulgakov worked on the novel The White Guard in 1923-1924, but this is probably not entirely accurate. In any case, it is known for sure that in 1922 Bulgakov wrote some stories, which were then included in the novel in a modified form. In March 1923, in the seventh issue of the Rossiya magazine, a message appeared: “Mikhail Bulgakov is finishing the novel “The White Guard,” covering the era of the struggle with whites in the south (1919-1920).”

T. N. Lappa told M. O. Chudakova: “...I wrote “The White Guard” at night and liked me to sit next to me, sewing. His hands and feet were cold, he told me: “Hurry, quickly, hot water”; I was heating water on a kerosene stove, he put his hands in a basin of hot water...”

In the spring of 1923, Bulgakov wrote in a letter to his sister Nadezhda: “... I’m urgently finishing the 1st part of the novel; It’s called “Yellow Ensign.” The novel begins with the entry of Petliura's troops into Kyiv. The second and subsequent parts, apparently, were supposed to tell about the arrival of the Bolsheviks in the City, then about their retreat under the attacks of Denikin’s troops, and, finally, about the fighting in the Caucasus. This was the writer's original intention. But after thinking about the possibilities of publishing a similar novel in Soviet Russia, Bulgakov decided to shift the time of action to an earlier period and exclude events associated with the Bolsheviks.

June 1923, apparently, was completely devoted to work on the novel - Bulgakov did not even keep a diary at that time. On July 11, Bulgakov wrote: “The biggest break in my diary... It’s a disgusting, cold and rainy summer.” On July 25, Bulgakov noted: “Because of the “Beep”, which takes up the best part of the day, the novel is making almost no progress.”

At the end of August 1923, Bulgakov informed Yu. L. Slezkin that he had completed the novel in a draft version - apparently, work on the earliest edition was completed, the structure and composition of which still remain unclear. In the same letter, Bulgakov wrote: “... but it has not yet been rewritten, it lies in a heap, over which I think a lot. I'll fix something. Lezhnev is starting a thick monthly “Russia” with the participation of our own and foreign ones... Apparently, Lezhnev has a huge publishing and editorial future ahead of him. “Russia” will be published in Berlin... In any case, things are clearly moving forward... in the literary publishing world.”

Then, for six months, nothing was said about the novel in Bulgakov’s diary, and only on February 25, 1924, an entry appeared: “Tonight... I read pieces from The White Guard... Apparently, I made an impression in this circle too.”

On March 9, 1924, the following message from Yu. L. Slezkin appeared in the newspaper “Nakanune”: “The novel “The White Guard” is the first part of a trilogy and was read by the author over four evenings in the “Green Lamp” literary circle. This thing covers the period of 1918-1919, the Hetmanate and Petliurism until the appearance of the Red Army in Kiev... Minor shortcomings noted by some pale in front of the undoubted merits of this novel, which is the first attempt to create a great epic of our time.”

Publication history of the novel

On April 12, 1924, Bulgakov entered into an agreement for the publication of “The White Guard” with the editor of the magazine “Russia” I. G. Lezhnev. On July 25, 1924, Bulgakov wrote in his diary: “... in the afternoon I called Lezhnev on the phone and found out that for now there is no need to negotiate with Kagansky regarding the release of The White Guard as a separate book, since he does not have the money yet. This is a new surprise. That's when I didn't take 30 chervonets, now I can repent. I’m sure that the Guard will remain in my hands.” December 29: “Lezhnev is negotiating... to take the novel “The White Guard” from Sabashnikov and give it to him... I don’t want to get involved with Lezhnev, and it’s inconvenient and unpleasant to terminate the contract with Sabashnikov.” January 2, 1925: “... in the evening... I sat with my wife, working out the text of the agreement for the continuation of “The White Guard” in “Russia”... Lezhnev is courting me... Tomorrow, a Jew Kagansky, still unknown to me, will have to pay me 300 rubles and a bill. You can wipe yourself with these bills. However, the devil only knows! I wonder if the money will be brought tomorrow. I won’t give up the manuscript.” January 3: “Today I received 300 rubles from Lezhnev towards the novel “The White Guard”, which will be published in “Russia”. They promised a bill for the rest of the amount...”

The first publication of the novel took place in the magazine “Russia”, 1925, No. 4, 5 - the first 13 chapters. No. 6 was not published because the magazine ceased to exist. The entire novel was published by the Concorde publishing house in Paris in 1927 - the first volume and in 1929 - the second volume: chapters 12-20 newly corrected by the author.

According to researchers, the novel “The White Guard” was written after the premiere of the play “Days of the Turbins” in 1926 and the creation of “Run” in 1928. The text of the last third of the novel, corrected by the author, was published in 1929 by the Parisian publishing house Concorde.

For the first time, the full text of the novel was published in Russia only in 1966 - the writer’s widow, E. S. Bulgakova, using the text of the magazine “Russia”, unpublished proofs of the third part and the Paris edition, prepared the novel for publication Bulgakov M. Selected prose. M.: Fiction, 1966.

Modern editions of the novel are printed according to the text of the Paris edition with corrections of obvious inaccuracies according to the texts of the magazine publication and proofreading with the author's editing of the third part of the novel.

Manuscript

The manuscript of the novel has not survived.

The canonical text of the novel “The White Guard” has not yet been determined. For a long time, researchers were unable to find a single page of handwritten or typewritten text of the White Guard. At the beginning of the 1990s. An authorized typescript of the ending of “The White Guard” was found with a total volume of about two printed sheets. When conducting an examination of the found fragment, it was possible to establish that the text is the very ending of the last third of the novel, which Bulgakov was preparing for the sixth issue of the magazine “Russia”. It was this material that the writer handed over to the editor of Rossiya, I. Lezhnev, on June 7, 1925. On this day, Lezhnev wrote a note to Bulgakov: “You have completely forgotten “Russia”. It’s high time to submit the material for No. 6 to the typesetting, you need to type the ending of “The White Guard”, but you don’t include the manuscripts. We kindly request you not to delay this matter any longer.” And on the same day, the writer handed over the end of the novel to Lezhnev against a receipt (it was preserved).

The found manuscript was preserved only because the famous editor and then employee of the newspaper “Pravda” I. G. Lezhnev used Bulgakov’s manuscript to paste newspaper clippings of his numerous articles onto it as a paper base. It is in this form that the manuscript was discovered.

The found text of the end of the novel not only differs significantly in content from the Parisian version, but is also much sharper in political terms - the author’s desire to find commonality between the Petliurists and the Bolsheviks is clearly visible. The guesses were also confirmed that the writer’s story “On the Night of the 3rd” is an integral part of “The White Guard”.

Historical outline

The historical events described in the novel date back to the end of 1918. At this time, in Ukraine there is a confrontation between the socialist Ukrainian Directory and the conservative regime of Hetman Skoropadsky - the Hetmanate. The heroes of the novel find themselves drawn into these events, and, taking the side of the White Guards, they defend Kyiv from the troops of the Directory. "The White Guard" of Bulgakov's novel differs significantly from White Guard White Army. The volunteer army of Lieutenant General A.I. Denikin did not recognize the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty and de jure remained at war with both the Germans and the puppet government of Hetman Skoropadsky.

When a war broke out in Ukraine between the Directory and Skoropadsky, the hetman had to turn for help to the intelligentsia and officers of Ukraine, who mostly supported the White Guards. In order to attract these categories of the population to its side, Skoropadsky’s government published in newspapers about Denikin’s alleged order to include the troops fighting the Directory into the Volunteer Army. This order was falsified by the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Skoropadsky government, I. A. Kistyakovsky, who thus joined the ranks of the hetman’s defenders. Denikin sent several telegrams to Kyiv in which he denied the existence of such an order, and issued an appeal against the hetman, demanding the creation of a “democratic united power in Ukraine” and warning against providing assistance to the hetman. However, these telegrams and appeals were hidden, and Kyiv officers and volunteers sincerely considered themselves part of the Volunteer Army.

Denikin's telegrams and appeals were made public only after the capture of Kyiv by the Ukrainian Directory, when many defenders of Kyiv were captured by Ukrainian units. It turned out that the captured officers and volunteers were neither White Guards nor Hetmans. They were criminally manipulated and they defended Kyiv for unknown reasons and unknown from whom.

The Kiev “White Guard” turned out to be illegal for all the warring parties: Denikin abandoned them, the Ukrainians did not need them, the Reds considered them class enemies. More than two thousand people were captured by the Directory, mostly officers and intellectuals.

Character prototypes

“The White Guard” is in many details an autobiographical novel, which is based on the writer’s personal impressions and memories of the events that took place in Kyiv in the winter of 1918-1919. Turbiny is the maiden name of Bulgakov’s grandmother on his mother’s side. Among the members of the Turbin family one can easily discern the relatives of Mikhail Bulgakov, his Kyiv friends, acquaintances and himself. The action of the novel takes place in a house that, down to the smallest detail, is copied from the house in which the Bulgakov family lived in Kyiv; Now it houses the Turbin House Museum.

The venereologist Alexei Turbine is recognizable as Mikhail Bulgakov himself. The prototype of Elena Talberg-Turbina was Bulgakov’s sister, Varvara Afanasyevna.

Many of the surnames of the characters in the novel coincide with the surnames of real residents of Kyiv at that time or are slightly changed.

Myshlaevsky

The prototype of Lieutenant Myshlaevsky could be Bulgakov's childhood friend Nikolai Nikolaevich Syngaevsky. In her memoirs, T. N. Lappa (Bulgakov’s first wife) described Syngaevsky as follows:

“He was very handsome... Tall, thin... his head was small... too small for his figure. I kept dreaming about ballet and wanted to go to ballet school. Before the arrival of the Petliurists, he joined the cadets.”

T.N. Lappa also recalled that the service of Bulgakov and Syngaevsky with Skoropadsky boiled down to the following:

“Syngaevsky and Misha’s other comrades came and they were talking about how we had to keep the Petliurists out and defend the city, that the Germans should help... but the Germans kept scurrying away. And the guys agreed to go the next day. They even stayed overnight with us, it seems. And in the morning Mikhail went. There was a first aid station there... And there should have been a battle, but it seems there was none. Mikhail arrived in a cab and said that it was all over and that the Petliurists would come.”

After 1920, the Syngaevsky family emigrated to Poland.

According to Karum, Syngaevsky “met the ballerina Nezhinskaya, who danced with Mordkin, and during one of the changes in power in Kiev, he went to Paris at her expense, where he successfully acted as her dance partner and husband, although he was 20 years younger her" .

According to Bulgakov scholar Ya. Yu. Tinchenko, the prototype of Myshlaevsky was a friend of the Bulgakov family, Pyotr Aleksandrovich Brzhezitsky. Unlike Syngaevsky, Brzhezitsky was indeed an artillery officer and participated in the same events that Myshlaevsky talked about in the novel.

Shervinsky

The prototype of Lieutenant Shervinsky was another friend of Bulgakov - Yuri Leonidovich Gladyrevsky, an amateur singer who served (though not as an adjutant) in the troops of Hetman Skoropadsky; he later emigrated.

Thalberg

Leonid Karum, husband of Bulgakov's sister. OK. 1916. Thalberg prototype.

Captain Talberg, the husband of Elena Talberg-Turbina, has many similarities with Varvara Afanasyevna Bulgakova’s husband, Leonid Sergeevich Karum (1888-1968), a German by birth, a career officer who served first Skoropadsky and then the Bolsheviks. Karum wrote a memoir, “My Life. A story without lies,” where he described, among other things, the events of the novel in his own interpretation. Karum wrote that he greatly angered Bulgakov and other relatives of his wife when, in May 1917, he wore a uniform with orders to his own wedding, but with a wide red bandage on the sleeve. In the novel, the Turbin brothers condemn Talberg for the fact that in March 1917 “he was the first - understand, the first - who came to the military school with a wide red bandage on his sleeve... Talberg, as a member of the revolutionary military committee, and no one else, arrested the famous General Petrov." Karum was indeed a member of the executive committee of the Kyiv City Duma and participated in the arrest of Adjutant General N.I. Ivanov. Karum escorted the general to the capital.

Nikolka

The prototype of Nikolka Turbin was the brother of M. A. Bulgakov - Nikolai Bulgakov. The events that happened to Nikolka Turbin in the novel completely coincide with the fate of Nikolai Bulgakov.

“When the Petliurists arrived, they demanded that all officers and cadets gather in the Pedagogical Museum of the First Gymnasium (the museum where the works of gymnasium students were collected). Everyone has gathered. The doors were locked. Kolya said: “Gentlemen, we need to run, this is a trap.” Nobody dared. Kolya went up to the second floor (he knew the premises of this museum like the back of his hand) and through some window he got out into the courtyard - there was snow in the courtyard, and he fell into the snow. It was the courtyard of their gymnasium, and Kolya made his way into the gymnasium, where he met Maxim (pedel). It was necessary to change the cadet clothes. Maxim took his things, gave him to put on his suit, and Kolya got out of the gymnasium in a different way - in civilian clothes - and went home. Others were shot."

crucian carp

“There was definitely a crucian carp - everyone called him Karasem or Karasik, I don’t remember if it was a nickname or a surname... He looked exactly like a crucian carp - short, dense, wide - well, like a crucian carp. The face is round... When Mikhail and I came to the Syngaevskys, he was there often..."

According to another version, expressed by researcher Yaroslav Tinchenko, the prototype of Stepanov-Karas was Andrei Mikhailovich Zemsky (1892-1946) - the husband of Bulgakov’s sister Nadezhda. 23-year-old Nadezhda Bulgakova and Andrei Zemsky, a native of Tiflis and a philologist graduate of Moscow University, met in Moscow in 1916. Zemsky was the son of a priest - a teacher at a theological seminary. Zemsky was sent to Kyiv to study at the Nikolaev Artillery School. During his short leave, the cadet Zemsky ran to Nadezhda - to the very house of the Turbins.

In July 1917, Zemsky graduated from college and was assigned to the reserve artillery division in Tsarskoye Selo. Nadezhda went with him, but as a wife. In March 1918, the division was evacuated to Samara, where the White Guard coup took place. Zemsky's unit went over to the White side, but he himself did not participate in the battles with the Bolsheviks. After these events, Zemsky taught Russian.

Arrested in January 1931, L. S. Karum, under torture at the OGPU, testified that Zemsky was listed in Kolchak’s army for a month or two in 1918. Zemsky was immediately arrested and exiled to Siberia for 5 years, then to Kazakhstan. In 1933, the case was reviewed and Zemsky was able to return to Moscow to his family.

Then Zemsky continued to teach Russian and co-authored a Russian language textbook.

Lariosik

Nikolai Vasilievich Sudzilovsky. Lariosik prototype according to L. S. Karum.

There are two candidates who could become the prototype of Lariosik, and both of them are full namesakes of the same year of birth - both bear the name Nikolai Sudzilovsky, born in 1896, and both are from Zhitomir. One of them is Nikolai Nikolaevich Sudzilovsky, Karum’s nephew (his sister’s adopted son), but he did not live in the Turbins’ house.

In his memoirs, L. S. Karum wrote about the Lariosik prototype:

“In October, Kolya Sudzilovsky appeared with us. He decided to continue his studies at the university, but was no longer at the medical faculty, but at the law faculty. Uncle Kolya asked Varenka and me to take care of him. Having discussed this problem with our students, Kostya and Vanya, we offered him to live with us in the same room with the students. But he was a very noisy and enthusiastic person. Therefore, Kolya and Vanya soon moved to their mother at 36 Andreevsky Spusk, where she lived with Lelya in the apartment of Ivan Pavlovich Voskresensky. And in our apartment the imperturbable Kostya and Kolya Sudzilovsky remained.”

T.N. Lappa recalled that at that time Sudzilovsky lived with the Karums - he was so funny! Everything fell out of his hands, he spoke at random. I don’t remember whether he came from Vilna or from Zhitomir. Lariosik looks like him.”

T.N. Lappa also recalled: “Someone’s relative from Zhitomir. I don’t remember when he appeared... An unpleasant guy. He was kind of strange, there was even something abnormal about him. Clumsy. Something was falling, something was beating. So, some kind of mumble... Average height, above average... In general, he was different from everyone else in some way. He was so dense, middle-aged... He was ugly. He liked Varya right away. Leonid was not there..."

Nikolai Vasilyevich Sudzilovsky was born on August 7 (19), 1896 in the village of Pavlovka, Chaussky district, Mogilev province, on the estate of his father, state councilor and district leader of the nobility. In 1916, Sudzilovsky studied at the Faculty of Law of Moscow University. At the end of the year, Sudzilovsky entered the 1st Peterhof Warrant Officer School, from where he was expelled for poor academic performance in February 1917 and sent as a volunteer to the 180th Reserve Infantry Regiment. From there he was sent to the Vladimir Military School in Petrograd, but was expelled from there in May 1917. To get a deferment from military service, Sudzilovsky got married, and in 1918, together with his wife, he moved to Zhitomir to live with his parents. In the summer of 1918, Lariosik's prototype unsuccessfully tried to enter Kiev University. Sudzilovsky appeared in the Bulgakovs' apartment on Andreevsky Spusk on December 14, 1918 - the day Skoropadsky fell. By that time, his wife had already left him. In 1919, Nikolai Vasilyevich joined the Volunteer Army, and his further fate is unknown.

The second likely contender, also named Sudzilovsky, actually lived in the Turbins’ house. According to the memoirs of Yu. L. Gladyrevsky’s brother Nikolai: “And Lariosik is my cousin, Sudzilovsky. He was an officer during the war, then he was demobilized and tried, it seems, to go to school. He came from Zhitomir, wanted to settle with us, but my mother knew that he was not a particularly pleasant person, and sent him to the Bulgakovs. They rented a room to him..."

Other prototypes

Dedications

The question of Bulgakov’s dedication to L. E. Belozerskaya’s novel is ambiguous. Among Bulgakov scholars, relatives and friends of the writer, this question gave rise to different opinions. The writer's first wife, T. N. Lappa, claimed that in handwritten and typewritten versions the novel was dedicated to her, and the name of L. E. Belozerskaya, to the surprise and displeasure of Bulgakov's inner circle, appeared only in printed form. Before her death, T. N. Lappa said with obvious resentment: “Bulgakov... once brought The White Guard when it was published. And suddenly I see - there is a dedication to Belozerskaya. So I threw this book back to him... I sat with him for so many nights, fed him, looked after him... he told his sisters that he dedicated it to me...”

Criticism

Critics on the other side of the barricades also had complaints about Bulgakov:

“... not only is there not the slightest sympathy for the white cause (which would be complete naivety to expect from a Soviet author), but there is also no sympathy for the people who devoted themselves to this cause or are associated with it. (...) He leaves the lust and rudeness to other authors, but he himself prefers a condescending, almost loving attitude towards his characters. (...) He almost does not condemn them - and he does not need such condemnation. On the contrary, it would even weaken his position, and the blow that he deals to the White Guard from another, more principled, and therefore more sensitive side. The literary calculation here, in any case, is evident, and it was done correctly.”

“From the heights from which the whole “panorama” of human life opens up to him (Bulgakov), he looks at us with a dry and rather sad smile. Undoubtedly, these heights are so significant that at them red and white merge for the eye - in any case, these differences lose their meaning. In the first scene, where tired, confused officers, together with Elena Turbina, are having a drinking binge, in this scene, where the characters are not only ridiculed, but somehow exposed from the inside, where human insignificance obscures all other human properties, devalues virtues or qualities , - you can immediately feel Tolstoy.”

As a summary of the criticism heard from two irreconcilable camps, one can consider I. M. Nusinov’s assessment of the novel: “Bulgakov entered literature with the consciousness of the death of his class and the need to adapt to a new life. Bulgakov comes to the conclusion: “Everything that happens always happens as it should and only for the better.” This fatalism is an excuse for those who have changed milestones. Their rejection of the past is not cowardice or betrayal. It is dictated by the inexorable lessons of history. Reconciliation with the revolution was a betrayal of the past of a dying class. The reconciliation with Bolshevism of the intelligentsia, which in the past was not only by origin, but also ideologically connected with the defeated classes, the statements of this intelligentsia not only about its loyalty, but also about its readiness to build together with the Bolsheviks - could be interpreted as sycophancy. With his novel “The White Guard,” Bulgakov rejected this accusation of the White emigrants and declared: the change of milestones is not capitulation to the physical winner, but recognition of the moral justice of the victors. For Bulgakov, the novel “The White Guard” is not only reconciliation with reality, but also self-justification. Reconciliation is forced. Bulgakov came to him through the brutal defeat of his class. Therefore, there is no joy from the knowledge that the reptiles have been defeated, there is no faith in the creativity of the victorious people. This determined his artistic perception of the winner."

Bulgakov about the novel

It is obvious that Bulgakov understood the true meaning of his work, since he did not hesitate to compare it with “

1. Introduction. M. A. Bulgakov was one of those few writers who, during the years of omnipotent Soviet censorship, continued to defend their rights to authorial independence.

Despite the fierce persecution and the ban on publishing, Bulgakov never followed the lead of the authorities and created sharp independent works. One of them is the novel "The White Guard".

2. History of creation. Bulgakov was a direct witness to all the horrors of the Civil War. The events of 1918-1919 made a huge impression on him. in Kyiv, when power passed several times to different political forces.

In 1922, the writer decided to write a novel, the main characters of which would be the people closest to him - white officers and the intelligentsia. Bulgakov worked on The White Guard during 1923-1924.

He read individual chapters in friendly companies. Listeners noted the undoubted merits of the novel, but agreed that it would be unrealistic to publish it in Soviet Russia. The first two parts of "The White Guard" were nevertheless published in 1925 in two issues of the magazine "Russia".

3. The meaning of the name. The name "White Guard" carries a partly tragic, partly ironic meaning. The Turbin family are staunch monarchists. They firmly believe that only the monarchy can save Russia. At the same time, the Turbins see that there is no longer any hope for restoration. The abdication of the Tsar became an irrevocable step in the history of Russia.

The problem lies not only in the strength of the opponents, but also in the fact that there are practically no real people devoted to the idea of the monarchy. The “White Guard” is a dead symbol, a mirage, a dream that will never come true.

Bulgakov's irony is most clearly manifested in the scene of a night drinking session in the Turbins' house with enthusiastic talk about the revival of the monarchy. This is the only strength of the “white guard”. Sobering up and hangover are exactly reminiscent of the state of the noble intelligentsia a year after the revolution.

4. Genre Novel

5. Theme. The main theme of the novel is the horror and helplessness of ordinary people in the face of enormous political and social upheavals.

6. Issues. The main problem of the novel is the feeling of uselessness and uselessness among white officers and the noble intelligentsia. There is no one to continue the fight, and it makes no sense. There are no more people like Turbins left. Betrayal and deception reign among the white movement. Another problem is the sharp division of the country into many political opponents.

The choice has to be made not only between monarchists and Bolsheviks. Hetman, Petliura, bandits of all stripes - these are just the most significant forces that are tearing Ukraine and, in particular, Kyiv apart. Ordinary people who do not want to join any camp become defenseless victims of the next owners of the city. An important problem is the huge number of victims of the fratricidal war. Human life has become so devalued that murder has become commonplace.

7. Heroes. Alexey Turbin, Nikolay Turbin, Elena Vasilyevna Talberg, Vladimir Robertovich Talberg, Myshlaevsky, Shervinsky, Vasily Lisovich, Lariosik.

8. Plot and composition. The novel takes place at the end of 1918 - beginning of 1919. At the center of the story is the Turbin family - Elena Vasilievna with two brothers. Alexey Turbin recently returned from the front, where he worked as a military doctor. He dreamed of a simple and quiet life, of a private medical practice. Dreams are not destined to come true. Kyiv is becoming the scene of a fierce struggle, which in some ways is even worse than the situation on the front line.

Nikolai Turbin is still very young. The romantically inclined young man endures the Hetman’s power with pain. He sincerely and ardently believes in the monarchical idea, dreams of taking up arms in its defense. Reality roughly destroys all his idealistic ideas. The first military clash, the betrayal of the high command, and the death of Nai-Tours amaze Nikolai. He understands that he has until now harbored ethereal illusions, but cannot believe it.

Elena Vasilievna is an example of the resilience of a Russian woman who will protect and take care of her loved ones with all her might. The Turbins' friends admire her and, thanks to Elena's support, find the strength to live on. In this regard, Elena’s husband, Staff Captain Talberg, makes a sharp contrast.

Thalberg is the main negative character of the novel. This is a person who has no beliefs at all. He easily adapts to any authority for the sake of his career. Thalberg's flight before Petlyura's offensive was due only to his harsh statements against the latter. In addition, Thalberg learned that a new major political force was being formed on the Don, promising power and influence.

In the image of captain, Bulgakov showed the worst qualities of the white officers, which led to the defeat of the white movement. Careerism and lack of sense of homeland are deeply disgusting to the Turbin brothers. Thalberg betrays not only the defenders of the city, but also his wife. Elena Vasilievna loves her husband, but even she is amazed by his actions and in the end is forced to admit that he is a scoundrel.

Vasilisa (Vasily Lisovich) personifies the worst type of everyman. He does not evoke pity, since he himself is ready to betray and inform, if he had the courage. Vasilisa’s main concern is to better hide her accumulated wealth. Before the love of money, the fear of death even recedes in him. A gangster search of the apartment is the best punishment for Vasilisa, especially since he still saved his miserable life.

Bulgakov's inclusion of the original character Lariosik in the novel looks a little strange. This is a clumsy young man who, by some miracle, remained alive after making his way to Kyiv. Critics believe that the author specifically introduced Lariosik to soften the tragedy of the novel.

As is known, Soviet criticism subjected the novel to merciless persecution, declaring the writer a defender of white officers and “philistines.” However, the novel does not at all defend the white movement. On the contrary, Bulgakov paints a picture of incredible decline and decay in this environment. The main supporters of the Turbine monarchy, in fact, no longer want to fight with anyone. They are ready to become ordinary people, isolating themselves from the surrounding hostile world in their warm and cozy apartment. The news their friends report is depressing. The white movement no longer exists.

The most honest and noble order, paradoxically, is the order to the cadets to throw down their weapons, tear off their shoulder straps and go home. Bulgakov himself subjected the “white guard” to sharp criticism. At the same time, the main thing for him becomes the tragedy of the Turbin family, who are unlikely to find their place in their new life.

9. What the author teaches. Bulgakov refrains from making any author's assessments of the novel. The reader's attitude towards what is happening arises only through the dialogues of the main characters. Of course, this is pity for the Turbin family, pain for the bloody events that shook Kyiv. “The White Guard” is the writer’s protest against any political coups, which always bring death and humiliation for ordinary people.

Sections: Literature

Class: 11

Goals:

continue to get acquainted with the novel, content, main characters and their destinies;
help to comprehend the conflict of the work, to understand the depth of the spiritual tragedy of the main characters; show the inevitability of the tragedy of human fate at turning points in history; understand how a person reveals himself in a situation of choice;
to develop interest in the novel and the writer’s work.

Equipment: portrait of a writer, candles, sayings on a blackboard.

Epigraph:

The Civil War is an incomparable national tragedy in which there have never been winners...

Civil war is the most criminal, the most senseless and the most cruel of wars.

B. Vasiliev"Days of Repentance"

DURING THE CLASSES

1. Organizational moment

Teacher's opening remarks: Good afternoon dear friends! I am glad to welcome you today to our lesson and want to invite everyone to touch the wonderful world of M.A.’s novel. Bulgakov "The White Guard". Let candles burn in our lesson in memory of this wonderful man.

2. Announcement of the topic and goal setting

Teacher's word: October 25, 1917 split Russia into two camps: “white” and “red”. The bloody tragedy, which lasted four and a half years, changed people's understanding of morality, honor, dignity, and justice. Each of the warring parties proved its understanding of the truth. Monarchists, anarchists, Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, communists... There were so many of these parties. It turned out to be difficult for peasants, workers, and intellectuals to understand the diversity of political colors and political slogans. Such “hesitations and painful searches” are depicted in M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The White Guard.”
The novel can be called both autobiographical and historical. It is dedicated to the events of the Civil War. “The year 1918 was a great and terrible year since the birth of Christ, but the second since the beginning of the revolution...” - this is how the novel begins, which tells about the fate of the Turbin family. They live in the City (Bulgakov does not call it Kiev, it is a model for the whole country and a mirror of the split), on Alekseevsky Spusk. The Turbin family, a sweet, intelligent family, which suddenly becomes involved in the great events taking place in Russia. The Turbin family is small: Alexey (28 years old), Elena (24 years old), her husband Talberg (31 years old), Nikolka (17 years old)... And also a hanger-on, Anyuta. The inhabitants of the house are devoid of arrogance, stiffness, hypocrisy, and vulgarity. They are hospitable, condescending to the weaknesses of people, but irreconcilable to violations of decency, honor, and justice. Their mother bequeathed to them: “Live together.” This is how the family would have lived calmly and measuredly, if not for the revolution and the Civil War. New people, new characters appear. The family becomes a witness and participant in strange and wonderful things.
So: The main theme of the novel is the tragic fate of the Russian intelligentsia during the years of the revolution and the Civil War on the example of the Russian officers - the White Guard, and in connection with this the problem of preserving the cultural heritage of the past, issues of duty, honor, human dignity.
Through the fate of the Turbin family, the author showed us the tragedy and horror of the fratricidal war.

(Read the statements on the board).

3. Analytical conversation

Activities: portrait characteristics, speech characteristics of characters, sketches, questions for reflection, working with text, creative assignment.

– What moral laws do Turbines live by? (The cult of high Russian culture, spirituality, and intelligence reigns in the family. Russian literature is present in the novel as a full-fledged hero.)

– Let's talk about the fate of the main characters: Alexei, Elena and Nikolka.

(Student presentations using excerpts from the novel)

– What can you say about the fate of Alexei? (“That’s why I’m tormented because I don’t understand where the fate of events is taking us,” he could have subscribed to Yesenin’s phrase. Alexei Turbin, deluded and doubtful, comes to the conviction: it is necessary to “re-arrange ordinary human life,” and not to fight, pouring blood on his native land. Much brings the author closer to his hero.)

– Has Nikolka Turbin stood the test of time? (The younger Turbin owns the words: “... no person should break their words, because it will be impossible to live in the world»)

– What is Elena’s tragedy? What ideological load does this central image in the novel carry? (It is through her lips that Bulgakov expresses his cherished thoughts: “Never pull the lampshade off the lamp. Doze by the lampshade, read - let the blizzard howl, wait for them to come to you.” It also embodies the religious principle. She asks: “... all of us guilty of blood.")

– Which of the characters, besides the Turbins, preserved their honor, preserved their humanity and sense of duty in these troubled times? Nai – Tours, Myshlaevsky, Malyshev. (Doomed to defeat, finding themselves in a tragic situation, Bulgakov’s best heroes retain human dignity, officer’s honor, and a high sense of duty.)

– Which of the heroes did not retain these qualities?
(Thalberg: “A damn doll, devoid of the slightest concept of honor!”; "double-layer eyes"
Homeowner Lisovich:“an engineer and a coward, a bourgeois and unsympathetic.”
Being an irreconcilable opponent of violence, Bulgakov makes an exception in relation to those who have neither honor, nor conscience, nor basic human decency. He punishes Lisovich severely; the janitor trying to detain Nikolka for cowardly anger; poet Rusakova for spiritual decay; another poet Gorbolaz,- for denunciation. The nature of the punishment for each corresponds, according to the will of the author, to the nature of the Fall.)

Teacher's word: The storms of the Civil War capture people, drag them along, controlling their destinies. The heroes became toys in the hands of elemental forces; they were whirled around by a blizzard, a blizzard, symbolically foreshadowed by the epigraph from “The Captain’s Daughter.”
Remember Blok - revolution as a force of nature. On the surface of life, political temporary workers and adventurers flicker, replacing each other, and in the depths the rebellious mass of the people wanders.
The death of the white movement is inevitable, and the fall of the kingdom of the hetman, elected ruler of Ukraine, is also inevitable. at the circus. Let's pay attention to this symbolic detail.

– What moral values does the writer affirm in the novel?

(The results are summed up, conclusions are drawn)

4. Summary

– “The White Guard” is not only a historical novel, but also a unique novel - education, where, in the words of L. Tolstoy, family thought is combined with national thought. Many years have passed since the novel was written, but its problems are still relevant today.
Today we all seem to consider ourselves humanists, and no one wants blood, but it is shed, we are all for civil peace, but it collapses here and there.
It turns out that today, as many years ago, it is not easy to find a path of non-violent democratic evolution that would take into account and reconcile the interests of the entire society. And it is necessary …

5. Creative task

– Completing the work in the lesson, I invite you to imagine yourself in the role of specialists who were invited to take part in the development project of a monument to participants of the Civil War of 1918-1920 How would you like to see it?

(Speeches by guys with their projects)

Teacher's word: And I imagine it like this...
The mother bent over her dead sons. One of them is in a White Guard overcoat, the other in a Budenovka, but for the mother’s grief it does not matter on which side they fought. Her heart hurts equally.

6. Homework

– Our conversation ends here, but the meeting with M. Bulgakov continues. In the next lesson you will get acquainted with the play “Days of the Turbins” based on the novel.
Think about what kind of poster you would present for this performance.

- Thanks to all!

Ratings.

7. Reflection

Symbolic rating:

A) Take a token of a certain color:

Red – fully demonstrated himself, realized (2b).
Green – not fully realized (1b).
Yellow – did not realize himself.

B) Place the tokens in a box with the inscriptions:

I liked everything about the lesson (2b).
It was interesting, but I didn’t like everything (1b).
I didn't like the activity.