A summary of Mikhail Bulgakov’s "The White Guard"

Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel, written between 1923 and 1924, is an autobiographical reflection on the tragedy of the intelligentsia during the Ukrainian Civil War. The text describes the collapse of the city’s traditional way of life through the lens of the Turbin family. The writer drew on his personal experience as a doctor in Kyiv in the winter of 1918.

The play gained widespread recognition thanks to the author’s stage adaptation, "The Days of the Turbins." The production enjoyed enormous success at the Moscow Art Theater. The plot was subsequently adapted for television in Vladimir Basov’s acclaimed 1976 adaptation.

A cozy home and a gathering storm

The winter of 1918 was harsh and terrible. The Turbin family suffered great grief: their mother died, leaving her children with the message of peace and harmony. The older brother, Alexei, a doctor, his sister, Elena, and younger brother, Nikolka, remained in their warm apartment on Alekseevsky Descent. Chaos was looming. Armed forces under Symon Petliura were approaching the city.

Elena’s husband, Captain of the General Staff Sergei Talberg, makes a pragmatic decision. He abandons his wife and flees to Germany on a train carrying the departing German command. Justifying his cowardice by citing the need to serve on the Don, he leaves Elena in danger.

That same evening, family friends gather at the apartment. Frozen Lieutenant Viktor Myshlaevsky returns from a pointless guard duty. Artilleryman Fyodor Stepanov, nicknamed Karas, and adjutant Leonid Shervinsky arrive. The officers try to warm up, sing marches to the guitar, and share rumors. Shervinsky tells a fantastic story about the rescue of Emperor Nicholas II. New inscriptions appear on the tiled stove.

Engineer Vasily Lisovich, nicknamed Vasilisa, lives on the floor below. Under cover of night, he creates hiding places behind the wallpaper and conceals the tsar’s money. He is terrified of searches and robberies.

Formation of the division and the collapse of power

The city is overflowing with refugees from St. Petersburg and Moscow. The power of the Hetman of All Ukraine rests solely on German bayonets. The German army is suffering defeat on the Western Front and is preparing to evacuate. The rebels are closing in on the city.

Alexei Turbin and Karas enlist in the student mortar battalion. Formation takes place in Madame Anjou’s shop, where Colonel Malyshev commands. Soon, the battalion moves to the building of the Aleksandrovskaya Gymnasium. Malyshev soberly assesses the situation. He learns that the hetman and the commander-in-chief have secretly fled.

In the morning, the colonel lines up the cadets. Malyshev declares bluntly: "This morning, around four o’clock, the Hetman, shamefully abandoning us all to our fate, fled!" He orders the students to go home, rip off their epaulets, and hide their weapons. Malyshev saves hundreds of lives by refusing to lead inexperienced young men to the slaughter.

Street fighting and the death of Nai-Turs

Petliura’s troops enter the city. Street fighting begins. Colonel Nai-Turs commands a detachment of cadets at a crossroads. Caught in machine-gun fire from enemy cavalry, he orders his subordinates to flee. Nai-Turs remains at the machine gun, covering the students’ retreat.

Nikolka Turbin refuses to abandon his commander. Before the young man’s eyes, the colonel is mortally wounded. With his last words, Nai-Tours sends Nikolka away. The young man flees through courtyards, climbs over fences, and narrowly escapes the red-haired janitor, who tries to betray him to his pursuers.

Alexei Turbin, unaware of the division’s disbandment, arrives at the assembly point. He finds Malyshev in disguise at the store. Malyshev destroys documents in the oven and orders the doctor to leave immediately. Turbin emerges into the street in an officer’s greatcoat. Enemy soldiers spot him and give chase.

Alexei fires back but is wounded in the left arm. At a critical moment, he is saved by a woman he doesn’t know. She hides the doctor behind the gate of her garden on Malo-Provalnaya Street. The woman’s name is Yulia Reiss. She cuts open his bloody shirt, applies a tourniquet, and leaves Turbin with her until morning.

Alexei’s illness and new tenants

In the morning, Alexei arrives home. His wound is complicated by a serious illness — typhus. A new tenant appears in the Turbins’ apartment. Larion Surzhansky, Talberg’s nephew from Zhitomir, arrives after a difficult family tragedy. He brings with him a canary cage and accidentally breaks the blue tea set.

Petliura’s rule is firmly established in the City. Three armed men burst into the home of engineer Lisovich. They find a hiding place in the wall and steal his savings, suits, and new shoes. Vasilisa survives, but falls into a state of profound shock from the humiliation she has suffered.

Nikolka goes to the morgue of the anatomical theater. Among hundreds of mutilated bodies, he finds Colonel Nai-Tours. Together with the sister and mother of the slain commander, Nikolka organizes the funeral service in the chapel. The young man personally places the St. George ribbon on the deceased’s chest.

Crisis and retreat of the Petliurites

Alexey Turbin’s condition is rapidly deteriorating. His temperature is rising to 40 degrees Celsius. The doctor is leaving the family with no hope for a recovery. When asked about Alexey’s condition, the professor quietly replies, "Hopeless."

Elena locks herself in her room and prays passionately before the icon of the Mother of God. She begs for her brother’s life, promising to forever come to terms with the loss of her husband. An unexpected event occurs. Turbin regains consciousness, the crisis has passed, and the patient begins a slow recovery.

Soon, Elena receives a letter from Warsaw. It turns out that Talberg is filing for divorce and plans to marry another woman. Alexei rips the portrait of his former son-in-law off the wall and tears it to shreds.

A month and a half later, Petliura’s army hastily abandons the city. The cavalry regiments and the Blue Division retreat across the river bridges. Bolshevik troops approach the city. Turbin, leaning on a cane, begins seeing patients again. The poet Rusakov, suffering from syphilis, comes to see him. The young man reads the Apocalypse and awaits humanity’s punishment for its sins.

At night, the heavy guns of the armored train "Proletary" thunder over the city. The inhabitants of the house on Alekseevsky Spusk are having dreams. Petka Shcheglov sees a sparkling diamond ball. Sergeant Zhilin tells Aleksey of the heavenly barracks. The stars are shining in the sky, among which the red Mars stands out brightly. All earthly suffering, bloodshed, and pestilence will pass, but the stars will shine forever.