“THE WHITE GUARD” & “THE DAYS OF THE TURBINS”

“The White Guard “ by Mikhail Bulgakov was first published in 1925 and reissued as a book in 1966; the novel-based movie “The Days of the Turbins” (1976) was directed by Vladimir Basov

Set in Kyiv during the Civil War of 1918–1920, The White Guard follows the Turbin family - educated, loyal, and deeply tied to the old Russian order. The brothers are professional soldiers; their home becomes a refuge as rival armies and ideologies fight for control of the city.

The world around is collapsing, yet the Turbins’ private moments - conversations, meals, family bonds - feel heartbreakingly real. It’s a story about courage, confusion, and love in impossible times, about what it means to stay human when history gives you no good choices.

The 1976 film The Days of the Turbins, based on the novel, carries the same quiet intensity - people trying to find their footing as everything they believed in disappears.