The Days of the Turbins (Dni Turbinykh)

Mikhail Bulgakov's work has had a colossal influence on modern literature. And not only because he is recognized as a brilliant writer. Bulgakov was an equally brilliant thinker, capable not only of accurately assessing complex socio-political situations but also of foreseeing the future. The play 'The Days of the Turbins,' based on the novel 'The White Guard,' is dedicated to perhaps the most tragic chapter of Russian history—the Civil War. It was the only play in Soviet theater where the Whites were portrayed not as caricatures, but with obvious sympathy. Moreover, Colonel Alexei Turbin clearly possessed autobiographical traits of Bulgakov himself. The critic Litovsky (the prototype for Latunsky from 'The Master and Margarita') dubbed the play 'the Cherry Orchard of the White movement.' P. Markov, then literary director of the Moscow Art Theater, noted that '...'The Days of the Turbins' became a kind of new 'Seagull' for the Moscow Art Theater. 'In total, from 1926 to 1941, the play was performed 987 times. In addition to the play 'The Days of the Turbins,' this edition includes early stories by M. Bulgakov. The edition is provided with commentary.