Bulgakov's 'The White Guard'

[cameronian]

Bulgakov's 'The White Guard' is available on BBC R4xtra, two episodes, first today, deals with the early days of the civil war in the Ukraine.

[KTravlos]

I remember reading that book as a kid. Truly interesting, though at the time I was not fully aware of who exactly were the Ukrainian sides. It was the first book written and published in the USSR I believe that looked at the civil war from a non-Red perspective.

[cameronian]

Kravlos its a play not a book, are you confusing it with Sholokov's 'Quiet flows the Don' ?

[Bernie]

Both a book and a play - nope not charades

Allegedly Stalin's favourite play, given the topic and the plot it is a bit surprising

Years ago there was a cracking version with John Shrapnel on the Beeb

[KTravlos]

I knew it as a book, suprised it is also a play. In my defense it was first a book.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Guard

[cameronian]

I'll be damned !!! Yes you're right, apologies for doubting you, I've only ever seen Bulgakov on stage (The Crimson Island, Notting Hill Gate Theatre, 1982ish) and on TV (The White Guard), didn't even know he'd written a novel. Anyhow, good anti-bolshevik stuff from the days when the Ukrainians still knew their place, well some of them at least.

[KTravlos]

Hmm cannot say the novel came forth as too anti-Bolshevik to me. More anti-Peturlia(who was a socialist but anti-Russian) and more about "Whites" criticising and losing their belief in the "White Movement". Its can be seen as a general critique of the Ukrainian political factions of the era. Ergo why it passed the censor initially.