The stage life of the play is Turbine Days. Mikhail Bulgakov - Turbine Days. Other retellings and reviews for the reader's diary

Michael Bulgakov

Days of the Turbins

A play in four acts

Characters

Turbine A leksey V a s i l ' y e vich - colonel-artilleryman, 30 years old.

Turbin Nikolay - his brother, 18 years old.

T a l berg Elena V a s i l e vna – their sister, 24 years old.

Tal'berg Vladimir R obertovich - Colonel of the General Staff, her husband, 38 years old.

Myshlaevsky Viktor Viktorovich – staff captain, artilleryman, 38 years old.

Shervinsky Leonid Yuryevych - lieutenant, personal adjutant of the hetman.

Studzinskiy Aleksandr Bronislavovich – captain, 29 years old.

L a r i o s i k - Zhytomyr cousin, 21 years old.

Hetman in all of Ukraine.

B o l b o t u n - commander of the 1st Petlyura Cavalry Division.

Galanba - Petliurist centurion, former uhlan captain.

Hurricane.

K and rp a t y.

F o n Sh r a t t is a German general.

F o n D u s t is a German major.

Doctor of the German Army.

D e s e r t i r-s e c h e v i k.

Man

C a m e r l a k e y.

M a k s i m - gymnasium pedel, 60 years old.

Gaidamak - telephone operator.

F irst officer.

Second officer.

T r e t i y o f ic e r.

F irst Junker.

The second junker.

T r e t i y y n k e r.

Y n kera i g a i d a m a k i.

The first, second and third acts take place in the winter of 1918, the fourth act in early 1919.

The place of action is the city of Kyiv.

Act one

Picture one

Turbin's apartment. Evening. Fire in the fireplace. At the opening of the curtain, the clock strikes nine times and the minuet of Boccherini gently plays.

Alexei bent over the papers.

N and to about l to and (plays guitar and sings).

Worse rumors every hour:
Petliura is coming at us!
We loaded the guns
We fired at Petliura,
Machine gunners-chiki-chiki...
Doves-chiki...
You rescued us, well done.

Alexei. God knows what you're eating! Cook's songs. Sing something decent.

N and to about l to and. Why cooks? I composed this myself, Alyosha. (Sings.)

Do you want to sing, do not sing,
Your voice is not like that!
There are voices...
Hair will stand on end...

Alexei. It's just about your voice. N and to about l to and. Alyosha, you are in vain, by God! I have a voice, though not the same as Shervinsky's, but still quite decent. Dramatic, most likely - a baritone. Lenochka, and Lenochka! How do you think I have a voice?

Elena (from his room). Who? At your place? I don't have any.

N and to about l to and. She was upset, that's why she answers. And by the way, Alyosha, my singing teacher told me: "You," he says, "Nikolai Vasilievich, in essence, could sing in the opera, if it weren't for the revolution."

Alexei. Your singing teacher is a fool.

N and to about l to and. I knew it. Complete breakdown of nerves in the turbine house. The singing teacher is a fool. I don’t have a voice, but yesterday I still had it, and in general pessimism. I tend to be more optimistic by nature. (Pulls the strings.) Although you know, Alyosha, I'm starting to worry myself. It's already nine o'clock, and he said that he would come in the morning. Has something happened to him?

Alexei. You speak softer. Understood?

N and to about l to and. Here is the commission, the creator, to be a married brother sister.

Elena (from his room). What time is it in the dining room?

N and to about l to and. Er... nine. Our clock is ahead, Lenochka.

Elena (from his room). Please don't compose.

N and to about l to and. Look, he's worried. (Sings.) Foggy ... Oh, how foggy everything is! ..

Alexei. Please don't break my soul. Sing merry.

N and to about l to and (sings).

Hello summer folks!
Hello gardeners!
Filming has already begun...
Hey, my song!.. Beloved!..
Bul-boo-boo, bottle
Treasury wine!!.
Peakless caps,
shaped boots,
Then the cadets of the guards are coming ...

The electricity suddenly goes out. Outside the windows with the song is a military unit.

Alexei. The devil knows what it is! It fades every minute. Lenochka, give me candles, please.

Elena (from his room). Yes Yes!..

Alexei. Some part is gone.

Elena, leaving with a candle, listens. A distant gunshot.

N and to about l to and. How close. The impression is that they are shooting near Svyatoshyn. I wonder what's going on there? Alyosha, maybe you will send me to find out what's the matter at the headquarters? I would go.

Alexei. Of course, you are still missing. Please sit still.

N and to about l to and. Listen, Mr. Colonel... I, in fact, because, you know, inaction... somewhat insulting... People are fighting there... At least our division was more likely to be ready.

Alexei. When I need your advice in preparing the division, I will tell you myself. Understood?

N and to about l to and. Understood. I'm sorry, Colonel.

Electricity flashes.

Elena. Alyosha, where is my husband?

Alexei. Come, Lenochka.

Elena. But how is it? He said that he would come in the morning, but now it is nine o'clock, and he is still missing. Has something already happened to him?

Alexei. Lenochka, well, of course, this cannot be. You know that the line to the west is guarded by the Germans.

Elena. But why is it still not there?

Alexei. Well, obviously, they stand at every station.

N and to about l to and. Revolutionary riding, Lenochka. You drive for an hour, you stop for two.

Well, here he is, I told you! (Runs to open the door.) Who's there?

N and to about l to and (let Myshlaevsky into the hall). Is that you, Vitenka?

M yshlaevsk and y. Well, I, of course, to be crushed! Nicol, take the rifle, please. Here, the devil's mother!

Elena. Victor, where are you from?

M yshlaevsk and y. From under the Red Inn. Hang carefully, Nicol. A bottle of vodka in my pocket. Don't break it. Allow me, Lena, to spend the night, I won’t get home, I’m completely frozen.

Elena. Oh, my God, of course! Go quickly to the fire.

They go to the fireplace.

M yshlaevsk and y. Oh oh oh...

Alexei. Why couldn't they give you felt boots, or what?

M yshlaevsk and y. Felt boots! They are such bastards! (Rushes towards the fire.)

Elena. Here's what: the bath is heating up there now, you undress him as soon as possible, and I'll prepare his underwear. (Exits.)

M yshlaevsk and y. Baby, take it off, take it off, take it off...

N and to about l to and. Now. (Takes off Myshlaevsky's boots.)

M yshlaevsk and y. Easier, brother, oh, easier! I would like to drink vodka, vodka.

Alexei. Now ladies.

N and to about l to and. Alyosha, my toes are frozen.

M yshlaevsk and y. Fingers gone to hell, gone, that's clear.

Alexei. Well, what are you! They will depart. Nikolka, rub his feet with vodka.

M yshlaevsk and y. So I let my legs rub with vodka. (Drinking.) Three hand. It hurts!.. It hurts!.. It's easier.

N and to about l to and. Oh oh oh! How cold is the captain!

Elena (appears with dressing gown and shoes). Now to his bath. On the!

M yshlaevsk and y. God bless you, Lenochka. Give me some more vodka. (Drinking.)

Elena leaves.

N and to about l to and. What, got warm, captain?

M yshlaevsk and y. It became easier. (Lit up.)

N and to about l to and. Can you tell me what's going on under the Tavern?

M yshlaevsk and y. Snowstorm under the Tavern. That's what's there. And I would have this blizzard, frost, German bastards and Petliura! ..

Alexei. Why, I don’t understand, they drove you under the Tavern?

M yshlaevsk and y. And the peasants are there under the Tavern. These are the cutest peasants of the compositions of Count Leo Tolstoy!

N and to about l to and. Yes, how is it? And in the newspapers they write that the peasants are on the side of the hetman ...

M yshlaevsk and y. What are you, junker, poking me newspapers? I would hang all this newspaper rubbish on one bitch! This morning I personally ran into one grandfather during reconnaissance and I ask: “Where are your lads?” The village is definitely dead. And he blindly did not see that I had epaulettes under my hood, and answered: “Usi were beaten to Petlyura ...”

N and to about l to and. Oh-oh-oh-oh...

M yshlaevsk and y. That's right, "oh-oh-oh-oh" ... I took this Tolstoy horseradish by the shirt-front and I say: "Usi got as far as Petlyura? So I'll shoot you now, old one ... You will learn from me how they run to Petliura. You are running away from me to the kingdom of heaven.

Alexei. How did you get into the city?

M yshlaevsk and y. Changed today, thank you, Lord! The infantry squad arrived. I made a scandal at the headquarters at the post. It was terrible! They are sitting there, drinking cognac in the car. I say, you, I say, sit with the hetman in the palace, and the artillery officers were kicked out in boots in the cold to exchange fire with the peasants! They didn't know how to get rid of me. We, they say, send you, captain, by profession to any artillery unit. Go to the city... Alyosha, take me to your place.

“DAYS OF THE TURBINS”, a play. The premiere took place at the Moscow Art Theater on October 5, 1926. In April 1929, D.T. the play ran 987 times. During Bulgakov's lifetime it was not published. For the first time: Bulgakov M. Days of the Turbins. Last days (A. S. Pushkin). M .: Art, 1955. In 1934, two translations of D. T. into English by Y. Lyons and F. Bloch were published in Boston and New York. In 1927, a translation into German of the second edition of D.T., made by K. Rozenberg, appeared in Berlin, which in the original Russian bore the name “White Guard” (the publication had a double title: “The Days of the Turbins. The White Guard”). D.T. were written based on the novel The White Guard, and the first two editions of the play had the same name with it. Bulgakov began work on the first edition of the play The White Guard in July 1925. On April 3, 1925, he received an invitation from the director of the Moscow Art Theater B. I. Vershilov to come to the theater, where he was offered to write a play based on the novel The White Guard. Bulgakov's idea for such a play was born back in January 1925. To some extent, this idea continued the idea realized in Vladikavkaz in his early play "The Turbine Brothers" in 1920. Then the autobiographical characters (Turbina - the maiden name of Bulgakov's grandmother , Anfisa Ivanovna, in marriage - Pokrovskaya) were transferred during the revolution of 1905. In the play "The White Guard", as in the novel, Bulgakov used his own memories of life in Kiev at the turn of 1918-1919. At the beginning of September 1925, in the presence of Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky (Alekseev) (1863-1938), he read the first edition of the play in the theater. Here, almost all the plot lines of the novel were repeated and its main characters were preserved. Aleksey Turbin was still a military doctor, and Colonels Malyshev and Nai-Tours were among the actors. This edition did not satisfy the Moscow Art Theater because of its length and the presence of characters and episodes duplicating each other. In the next edition, which Bulgakov read to the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater at the end of October 1925, Nai-Tours was already eliminated and his remarks were transferred to Colonel Malyshev. And by the end of January 1926, when the final distribution of roles in the future performance was made, Bulgakov also removed Malyshev, turning Alexei Turbin into a career artillery colonel, a true spokesman for the ideology of the white movement. Note that in 1917, as an artillery officer, Mr. the husband of Bulgakov's sister Nadezhda Andrey Mikhailovich Zemsky (1892-1946) served. Perhaps the acquaintance with the son-in-law prompted the playwright to make the main characters of D.T. gunners. Now the hero closest to the author - Colonel Turbin gave the white idea a catharsis with his death. By this point, the play had basically taken shape. Later, under the influence of censorship, a scene was filmed at Petliura's headquarters, for Petliura's freemen in their cruel element very much resembled Red Army soldiers. It should be noted that in early editions, as in the novel, the “turnover” of the Petliurists in red was emphasized by the “red tails” (shanks) on their hats. The name "White Guard" provoked an objection. K. S. Stanislavsky, under pressure from the Glavrepertkom, proposed replacing it with “Before the End”, which Bulgakov categorically rejected. In August 1926, the parties agreed on the name "Days of the Turbins" (the "Turbin Family" appeared as an intermediate option). On September 25, 1926, D.T. were allowed by the Glavrepertkom only in the Moscow Art Theater. In the last days before the premiere, a number of changes had to be made, especially in the finale, where the growing sounds of the “Internationale” appeared, and Myshlaevsky was forced to say a toast to the Red Army and express his readiness to serve in it: “At least I know that I will serve in the Russian army."

A major role in resolving the play was played by the People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs K. E. Voroshilov. On October 20, 1927, Stanislavsky sent him a letter of thanks: "Dear Klementy Efremovich, let me bring you heartfelt gratitude from the Moscow Art Theater for your help in resolving the play" Days of the Turbins "- than you provided great support at a difficult moment for us."

D.T. enjoyed unique success with the public. It was the only play in the Soviet theater where the white camp was shown not as a caricature, but with undisguised sympathy, and its main representative, Colonel Alexei Turbin, was endowed with obvious autobiographical features. The personal decency and honesty of the opponents of the Bolsheviks were not questioned, and the blame for the defeat was placed on the headquarters and generals, who failed to offer a political program acceptable to the majority of the population and properly organize the white army. For the first season 1926/27. D.T. was played 108 times, more than any other performance of Moscow theaters. The play was loved by the intelligent non-Party audience, while the Party audience sometimes tried to obstruct it. The second wife of the playwright, L. E. Belozerskaya, in her memoirs, reproduces the story of one friend about the Moscow Art Theater performance: “The 3rd act of“ Days of the Turbins ”was going on ... The battalion (more correctly, the division. - B.S.) was defeated. The city was taken by the Gaidamaks. The moment is tense. There is a glow in the window of the turbine house. Elena and Lariosik are waiting. And suddenly a faint knock... Both are listening... Unexpectedly, an excited female voice from the audience: “Yes, open it! These are theirs!” This is the fusion of theater with life that a playwright, actor and director can only dream of.”

And here is how D.T. was remembered by a person from a different camp - critic and censor Osaf Semenovich Litovsky, who did a lot to expel Bulgakov's plays from the stage: way youth. In Days of the Turbins, Moscow met for the first time with such actors as Khmelev, Yanshin, Dobronravov, Sokolova, Stanitsyn - with artists whose creative biography took shape in the Soviet era.

The extreme sincerity with which the young actors portrayed the experiences of the “knights” of the white idea, the evil punishers, the executioners of the working class, evoked sympathy from one, the most insignificant part of the audience, and indignation from another.

Whether the theater wanted it or not, it turned out that the performance urged us to take pity on, humanly treat the misguided Russian intellectuals in uniform and without uniform.

Nevertheless, we could not help but see that a new, young generation of artists of the Art Theater was entering the stage, which had every reason to stand on a par with the glorious old people.

And indeed, soon we had the opportunity to rejoice at the wonderful work of Khmelev and Dobronravov.

On the evening of the premiere, all the participants in the performance literally seemed like a miracle: Yanshin, and Prudkin, and Stanitsyn, and Khmelev, and especially Sokolova and Dobronravov.

It is impossible to convey how struck by his exceptional simplicity, even for students of Stanislavsky, Dobronravov in the role of Captain Myshlaevsky.

Years have passed. Toporkov began to play the role of Myshlaevsky. And we, the audience, really want to say to the participants of the premiere: never forget Myshlaevsky - Dobronravov, this simple, slightly clumsy Russian man, who really deeply understood everything, very simply and sincerely, without any solemnity and pathos, admitted his bankruptcy.

Here he is, an ordinary infantry officer (actually an artillery officer - B.S.), whom we have seen a lot on the Russian stage, doing the most ordinary thing: sitting on a bunk and pulling off his boots, at the same time dropping separate words of recognition of surrender. And behind the scenes - "International". Life goes on. Every day you will need to pull the service, and maybe even the military strap ...

Looking at Dobronravov, I thought: “Well, this one, perhaps, will be the commander of the Red Army, he will even definitely be!”

Myshlaevsky - Dobronravov was much smarter and more significant, deeper than his Bulgakov prototype (and Bulgakov himself was smarter and more significant than his critic Lithuanian. - B.S.).

The stage director of the play was Ilya Yakovlevich Sudakov (1890-1969), and the main director was K. S. Stanislavsky.

Almost all critics unanimously scolded D. T. Thus, the People's Commissar of Education A. V. Lunacharsky (1875-1933) claimed (in Izvestia on October 8, 1926) that the play is dominated by “the atmosphere of a dog wedding around some red-haired wife friend”, considered it “a half-apology of the White Guard”, and later, in 1933, called D.T. “a drama of restrained, even if you want crafty capitulation”. In an article in the Novyi Spectator magazine dated February 2, 1927, Bulgakov emphasized the following: “We are ready to agree with some of our friends that the Days of the Turbins is a cynical attempt to idealize the White Guard, but we have no doubt that it is the Days of the Turbins that - an aspen stake in her coffin. Why? Because for a healthy Soviet spectator, the most ideal slush cannot present a temptation, but for dying active enemies and for passive, flabby, indifferent townsfolk, the same slush cannot give either an emphasis or a charge against us. Just like a funeral hymn cannot serve as a military march.” The playwright, in a letter to the government on March 28, 1930, noted that in his scrapbook there were 298 “hostile and abusive” reviews and 3 positive ones, and the vast majority of them were devoted to D.T. Almost the only positive response to the play was N. Rukavishnikov’s review in “Komsomolskaya Pravda” of December 29, 1926. This was a response to an abusive letter from the poet Alexander Bezymensky (1898-1973), who called Bulgakov a “new-bourgeois offspring.” Rukavishnikov tried to convince Bulgakov’s opponents that “on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution ... it’s completely safe to show the viewer living people that the viewer is pretty fed up with both shaggy priests from agitation and pot-bellied capitalists in top hats,” but none of the critics and not convinced.

In D.T. Bulgakov, as in the novel The White Guard, the goal was, in his own words from a letter to the government on March 28, 1930, “to persistently depict the Russian intelligentsia as the best layer in our country. In particular, the image of an intelligentsia-noble family, by the will of an immutable historical fate, thrown into the camp of the White Guard during the Civil War, in the tradition of "War and Peace". Such an image is quite natural for a writer who is closely connected with the intelligentsia.” However, the play depicts not only the best, but also the worst representatives of the Russian intelligentsia. Among the latter is Colonel Thalberg, who is concerned only with his career. In the second edition of the play The White Guard, he quite selfishly explained his return to Kyiv, which the Bolsheviks were about to take: “I am perfectly aware of the matter. The Hetmanate turned out to be a stupid operetta. I decided to return and work in contact with the Soviet authorities. We need to change political milestones. That's all". Talberg had Bulgakov's son-in-law, the husband of Varya's sister, Leonid Sergeevich Karum (1888-1968), a career officer who, despite his previous service, became the hetman Pavel Petrovich Skoropadsky (1873-1945) and General Anton Ivanovich Denikin (1872-1947) as his prototype. ), a teacher at the Red Army rifle school (because of Talberg, Bulgakov quarreled with the Karum family). However, for censorship, such an early “shifting” of such an unsympathetic character as Talberg turned out to be unacceptable. In the final text of D.T., he had to explain his return to Kiev by a business trip to the Don to General P.N. was still occupied by the Petliurists, hostile to the Whites, and was about to be occupied by the Bolsheviks. The sudden outbreak of love for his wife Elena as an explanation for this act looked rather false, because before, hastily leaving for Berlin, Thalberg did not show concern for his wife, who was leaving. The return of the deceived husband right to the wedding of Elena and Shervinsky was necessary for Bulgakov to create a comic effect and finally shame Vladimir Robertovich.

The image of Talberg, promoted to colonel in D.T., came out even more repulsive than in the novel The White Guard. L.S. Karum wrote about this in his memoir “My Life. A novel without lies”: “Bulgakov remade the first part of his novel into a play called Days of the Turbins. This play was very sensational, because for the first time on the Soviet stage, although not direct opponents of Soviet power, but still indirect ones were brought out. But the "officers-drinking buddies" are somewhat artificially tinted, arouse vain sympathy for themselves, and this caused an objection to staging the play on stage.

The case in the novel and the play is played out in a family whose members serve in the ranks of the Hetman's troops against the Petliurists, so that there is practically no white anti-Bolshevik army.

The play nevertheless suffered a lot of torment until it hit the stage. Bulgakov and the Moscow Art Theater, which staged this play, had to deepen it many times. So, for example, at one party in the house of the Turbins, officers - all monarchists - sing a hymn. The censorship demanded that the officers be drunk and sing the anthem out of harmony, in drunken voices.

I read the novel a very long time ago, I watched the play several years ago (Karum wrote his memoirs in the 60s. - B.S.), and therefore my novel and play merged into one.

I must only say that my likeness is less done in the play, but Bulgakov could not deny himself the pleasure that someone would not hit me in the play, and my wife would marry another. Only Talberg (a negative type) goes to Denikin's army, the rest disperse, after the capture of Kyiv by the Petliurists, who goes where.

I was very excited, because my acquaintances recognized the Bulgakov family in the novel and the play, they should have known or suspected that Thalberg was me. This trick of Bulgakov also had an empirical - practical meaning. He reinforced the conviction about me that I was a hetman's officer, and the local Kiev OGPU (if the OGPU did not know for some reason that Talberg served Hetman Skoropalsky, then there could be no doubt about his presence in the Denikin and Wrangel armies, and From the point of view of the Soviet government, service in the White Army was a much greater sin than a short stay in the troops of the ephemeral Ukrainian state. - B.S.). After all, "white" officers could not serve in the "red" army. Of course, the writer is free in his work, and Bulgakov could say that he did not mean me: it is free for me to recognize myself, but there are also caricatures where the resemblance cannot be overlooked. I wrote an excited letter to Nadya in Moscow, where I called Mikhail "a scoundrel and a scoundrel" and asked that the letter be delivered to Mikhail. Once I complained about such an act by Mikhail Kostya.

- Answer him the same! Kostya answered.

“Stupid,” I replied.

And, by the way, I regret that I didn’t write a short story in the Chekhovian style, where I would talk about marriage for money, and about choosing the profession of a venereal doctor, and about morphinism and drunkenness in Kiev, and about insufficient cleanliness in terms of money” .

By marriage for money, here we mean Bulgakov's first marriage - with T. N. Lappa, the daughter of a real state councilor. Also, the profession of a venereal doctor, according to Karum, the future writer chose solely for material reasons. In connection with the First World War and the revolution, a stream of refugees poured into the interior of the country, and then soldiers returning from the front; there was a surge in venereal diseases, and the profession of a venereologist became especially profitable. While still a zemstvo doctor in the Smolensk province, Bulgakov became addicted to morphine. In 1918, in Kyiv, he managed to overcome this disease, but, according to Karum, for some time he became addicted to alcohol. It is possible that alcohol replaced Bulgakov with a drug for some time and helped to distract him from the upheavals caused by the collapse of his former life. And by insufficient cleanliness in money matters, Karum means the case when Bulgakov borrowed money from Varya and did not give it back for a long time. According to T. N. Lappa, Leonid Sergeevich even said to someone about this: “They eat delicacies, but they don’t pay money.”

Karum, of course, did not want to recognize himself as a negative character. But in many ways, Colonel Thalberg, written off from him, was one of the strongest, albeit very repulsive, images of the play. According to the censors, it was impossible to bring such a man to serve in the Red Army. Therefore, instead of returning to Kyiv in the hope of establishing cooperation with the Soviet government, Bulgakov had to send Talberg on a business trip to the Don to Krasnov. On the contrary, under pressure from the Glavrepertkom and the Moscow Art Theater, the sympathetic Myshlaevsky underwent a significant evolution towards Smenovekhism and the willing acceptance of Soviet power. Here, for such a development of the image, a literary source was used - the novel by Vladimir Zazubrin (Zubtsov) (1895-1937) "Two Worlds" (1921). There, the lieutenant of the Kolchak army, Ragimov, explained his intention as follows. go to the Bolsheviks: “We fought. Honestly cut. Ours is not baret. Let's go to those whose bart... In my opinion, both the motherland and the revolution are just a beautiful lie, with which people cover up their selfish interests. People are arranged in such a way that no matter what meanness they do, they will always find an excuse for themselves. Myshlaevsky, in the final text, speaks of his intention to serve the Bolsheviks and break with the white movement: “Enough! I have been fighting since 1914. For what? For the fatherland? And this is the fatherland, when they threw me to shame?! And again go to these lordships?! Oh no! Did you see? (Shows a bang.) Shish!.. What am I, an idiot, really? No, I, Viktor Myshlaevsky, declare that I have nothing more to do with these scoundrel generals. I've finished!..” Zazubrinsky Ragimov interrupted the carefree vaudeville song of his comrades with a recitation: “I am a commissar. There's a fire in my chest!" In D. T. Myshlaevsky inserts a toast into the white anthem - “Prophetic Oleg”: “So for the Council of People’s Commissars ...” Compared to Ragimov, Myshlaevsky was greatly ennobled in his motives, but the vitality of the image was completely preserved. In the 1926/27 season. Bulgakov at the Moscow Art Theater received a letter signed "Viktor Viktorovich Myshlaevsky". The fate of the unknown author during the civil war coincided with the fate of Bulgakov's hero, and in subsequent years was just as bleak as that of the creator of D.T. The letter said: “Dear Mr. Author. Remembering your sympathetic attitude towards me and knowing how interested you were at one time in my fate, I hasten to inform you of my further adventures after we parted with you. Having waited for the arrival of the Reds in Kyiv, I was mobilized and began to serve the new government not out of fear, but out of conscience, and even fought with the Poles with enthusiasm. It seemed to me then that only the Bolsheviks have that real power, strong by the faith in it of the people, which brings happiness and prosperity to Russia, which will make strong, honest, direct citizens out of the townsfolk and rogue God-bearers. Everything seemed to me so good with the Bolsheviks, so smart, so smooth, in a word, I saw everything in a rosy light to the point that I myself blushed and almost became a communist, but my past saved me - the nobility and officers. But now the honeymoons of the revolution are over. NEP, Kronstadt uprising. I, like many others, pass the frenzy and pink glasses begin to repaint in darker colors ...

General meetings under the watchful inquisitorial gaze of the local committee. Resolutions and demonstrations under duress. Illiterate bosses, having the appearance of a Votyak god and lusting after every typist (one gets the impression that the author of the letter was familiar with the relevant episodes of Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”, unpublished, but walking in the lists. - B.S.). No understanding of the matter, but a look at everything from the bottom. Komsomol spying with enthusiasm. The workers' delegations are distinguished foreigners, reminiscent of Chekhov's generals at a wedding. And lies, lies without end... Leaders? These are either little men holding on to power and comfort, which they have never seen, or rabid fanatics thinking of breaking through a wall with their foreheads (the latter, obviously, meant, first of all, L. D. Trotsky, who had already fallen into disgrace. - B. S. ). And the very idea! Yes, the idea is wow, quite coherent, but absolutely not put into practice like the teachings of Christ, but Christianity is both clearer and more beautiful (it seems that “Myshlaevsky” was also familiar with the works of Russian philosophers N. A. Berdyaev and S. N. Bulgakov, who argued that Marxism took the Christian idea and simply transferred it from heaven to earth. - B.S.). I am now left with nothing. Not material. No. I serve in modern times - wow, I'm interrupted. But it sucks to live without believing in anything. After all, not to believe in anything and not to love anything is the privilege of the next generation after us, our homeless replacement.

Recently, either under the influence of a passionate desire to fill the spiritual emptiness, or, indeed, it really is, but sometimes I hear subtle notes of some new life, real, truly beautiful, which has nothing to do with either royal or Soviet Russia. I make a great request to you on my own behalf and on behalf of, I think, many others like me, empty-hearted. Tell me from the stage, from the pages of a magazine, directly or in Aesopian language, as you like, but just let me know if you hear these subtle notes and what they sound like?

Or all this is self-deception and the current Soviet emptiness (material, moral and mental) is a permanent phenomenon. Caesar, morituri te salutant (Caesar, those doomed to death greet you (lat. - B.S.) ”.

The words about the Aesopian language indicate the acquaintance of the author of the letter with the feuilleton "Crimson Island" (1924). As an actual answer to “Myshlaevsky”, one can consider the play “Crimson Island”, where Bulgakov, turning a parody of Smenovekhism into an “ideological” play within the play, showed that everything in modern Soviet life is determined by the omnipotence of officials strangling creative freedom, like Savva Lukich, and no there can be no new sprouts here. In D.T., he still harbored hopes for some better future, and therefore introduced the Epiphany tree into the last action as a symbol of hope for spiritual rebirth. For this, the chronology of the play's action was even shifted against the real one. Later, Bulgakov explained this to his friend P. S. Popov: “I attribute the events of the last act to the feast of baptism ... I pushed the dates. It was important to use the Christmas tree in the last action.” In fact, the abandonment of Kyiv by the Petliurists and the occupation of the city by the Bolsheviks took place on February 3-5, 1919, but Bulgakov postponed these events two weeks ahead in order to combine them with the Epiphany holiday.

Criticism fell upon Bulgakov for the fact that in D.T. the White Guards appeared as tragic Chekhov's heroes. O. S. Litovsky dubbed Bulgakov’s play “The Cherry Orchard of the “White Movement”, asking rhetorically: “What does the Soviet audience care about the suffering of the landowner Ranevskaya, whose cherry orchard is mercilessly cut down? What does the Soviet audience care about the suffering of external and internal emigrants about the untimely death of the white movement? A. Orlinsky accused the playwright that “all commanders and officers live, fight, die and marry without a single batman, without servants, without the slightest contact with people from any other classes and social strata.” February 7, 1927 at the debate in the theater Sun. Meyerhold, dedicated to D.T. and “Lyubov Yarovaya” (1926) by Konstantin Andreevich Trenev (1876-1945), Bulgakov answered the critics: “I, the author of this play “Days of the Turbins”, who was in Kiev during the Hetmanate and Petliurism, saw the White Guards in Kiev from the inside behind cream curtains, I assert that batmen in Kiev at that time, that is, when the events in my play took place, could not be obtained worth their weight in gold. D. T. to a much greater extent was a realistic work than his critics allowed, representing reality, unlike Bulgakov, in the form of given ideological schemes.

Bulgakov as a playwright

Today we will take a closer look at creative activity. Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov- one of the most famous writers and playwrights of the last century. He was born on May 3, 1891 in Kyiv. During his life, great changes occurred in the structure of Russian society, which was reflected in many of Bulgakov's works. It is no coincidence that he is considered the heir to the best traditions of Russian classical literature, prose and dramaturgy. He gained world fame thanks to such works as "The Master and Margarita", "Heart of a Dog" and "Fatal Eggs".

Three works by Bulgakov

A special place in the writer's work is occupied by a cycle of three works: a novel "White Guard" and plays "Run" and "Days of the Turbins" based on real events. Bulgakov borrowed the idea from the memories of the emigration of his second wife, Lyubov Evgenievna Belozerskaya. Part of the novel "White Guard" was first published in the magazine "Russia" in 1925.

At the beginning of the work, the events taking place in the Turbin family are described, but gradually, through the history of one family, the life of the whole people and country is revealed, and the novel acquires a philosophical meaning. There is a story about the events of the civil war of 1918 in Kyiv, occupied by the German army. As a result of the signing of the Brest Peace, it does not fall under the rule of the Bolsheviks and becomes a refuge for many Russian intellectuals and military men who flee from Bolshevik Russia.

Aleksey and Nikolka Turbins, like other residents of the City, volunteer to join the defenders, and Elena, their sister, guards the house, which becomes a refuge for former officers of the Russian army. Note that it is important for Bulgakov not only to describe the revolution that took place in history, but also to convey the subjective perception of the civil war as a kind of catastrophe in which there are no winners.

The image of a social cataclysm helps to reveal the characters - someone is running, someone prefers death in battle. Some commanders, realizing the futility of resistance, send their fighters home, others actively organize resistance and perish along with their subordinates. And yet - in times of great historical turning points, people do not stop loving, believing, worrying about loved ones. But the decisions they have to make on a daily basis have a different weight.

Artwork characters:

Alexey Vasilyevich Turbin - doctor, 28 years old.
Elena Turbina-Talberg - Alexei's sister, 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 Yuryevich Shervinsky - a former Life Guards Lancers Regiment, lieutenant, adjutant at the headquarters of General Belorukov, friend of the Turbin family, Alexei's comrade at the Alexander Gymnasium, a longtime admirer of Elena.
Fedor Nikolaevich Stepanov (Karas) - second lieutenant artilleryman, friend of the Turbin family, Alexei's comrade at the Alexander Gymnasium.
Nai-Tours - Colonel, commander of the unit where Nikolka serves.

Character prototypes and historical background

An important aspect is the autobiographical nature of the novel. Although the manuscripts have not been preserved, the Bulgakov scholars traced the fate of many characters and proved the almost documentary accuracy of the events described by the author. The prototypes of the main characters in the novel were a relative of the writer himself, and the decorations were the Kyiv streets and his own house, in which he spent his youth.

In the center of the composition is the Turbin family. It is quite widely known that its main prototypes are members of Bulgakov's own family, however, for the purpose of artistic typification, Bulgakov deliberately reduced their number. In the main character, Alexei Turbina, one can recognize the author himself during the years when he was engaged in medical practice, and the prototype of Elena Talberg-Turbina, Alexei's sister, can be called Bulgakov's sister, Elena. It is also noteworthy that the maiden name of Bulgakov's grandmother is Turbina.

Another of the main characters is Lieutenant Myshlaevsky, a friend of the Turbin family. He is an officer devotedly defending his fatherland. That is why the lieutenant is enrolled in the mortar division, where he turns out to be the most trained and tough officer. According to Bulgakov scholar Ya. Yu. Tinchenko, the prototype of Myshlaevsky was a friend of the Bulgakov family, Pyotr Aleksandrovich Brzhezitsky. He was an artillery officer and participated in the same events that Myshlaevsky told about in the novel. The other friends of the Turbins remain faithful to their officer's honor in the novel: Stepanov-Karas and Shervinsky, as well as Colonel Nai-Tours.

The prototype of Lieutenant Shervinsky was another friend of Bulgakov - Yuri Leonidovich Gladyrevsky, an amateur singer who served (albeit not as an adjutant) in the troops of Hetman Skoropadsky, he later emigrated. The prototype of Karas is believed to have been a friend of the Syngaevskys.

The three works are connected by the novel "The White Guard", which served as the basis for the play "Days of the Turbins" and several subsequent productions.

"White Guard", "Running" and "Days of the Turbins" on stage

After part of the novel was published in the Rossiya magazine, the Moscow Art Theater invited Bulgakov to write a play based on The White Guard. This is how the "Days of the Turbins" were born. In it, the main character Turbin incorporates the features of three characters from the novel "The White Guard" - Alexei Turbin himself, Colonel Malyshev and Colonel Nai-Tours. The young man in the novel is a doctor, in the play he is a colonel, although these professions are completely different. In addition, one of the heroes, Myshlaevsky, does not hide the fact that he is a professional military man, since he does not want to be in the camp of the defeated. The relatively easy victory of the Reds over the Petliurites makes a strong impression on him: “These two hundred thousand heels have been smeared with lard and are blowing at the very word “Bolsheviks”.” At the same time, Myshlaevsky does not even think about the fact that he will have to fight with his yesterday's friends and comrades in arms - for example, with Captain Studzinsky.

One of the obstacles to accurately conveying the events of the novel is censorship.

As for the play "Running", its plot was based on the story of the escape of the guards from Russia during the Civil War. It all starts in the north of Crimea, and ends in Constantinople. Bulgakov describes eight dreams. This technique is used by him to convey something unreal, something that is hard to believe. Heroes of different classes run from themselves and circumstances. But this is a Run not only from the war, but also to love, which is so lacking in the harsh years of the war...

Screen adaptations

Of course, one could look at this amazing story not only on the stage, but, ultimately, in the cinema. The screen version of the play "Running" was released in 1970 in the USSR. The script was based on the works "Running", "White Guard" and "Black Sea". The film consists of two series, the directors are A. Alov and V. Naumov.

Back in 1968, a film based on the play "Running" was shot in Yugoslavia, directed by Z. Shotra, and in 1971 in France, directed by F. Shulia.

The novel "The White Guard" served as the basis for the creation of the television series of the same name, which was released in 2011. Starring: K. Khabensky (A. Turbin), M. Porechenkov (V. Myshlaevsky), E. Dyatlov (L. Shervinsky) and others.

Another three-part television feature film, Days of the Turbins, was made in the USSR in 1976. A number of location shootings of the film were made in Kyiv (Andreevsky Spusk, Vladimirskaya Gorka, Mariinsky Palace, Sofia Square).

Bulgakov's works on stage

The stage history of Bulgakov's plays was not easy. In 1930, his works were no longer printed, the plays were removed from the theater repertoires. The plays "Running", "Zoyka's Apartment", "Crimson Island" were banned from staging, and the play "Days of the Turbins" was withdrawn from the show.

In the same year, Bulgakov wrote to his brother Nikolai in Paris about the unfavorable literary and theatrical situation and the difficult financial situation. Then he sends a letter to the government of the USSR with a request to determine his fate - either to give the right to emigrate, or to provide the opportunity to work at the Moscow Art Theater. Bulgakov is called by Joseph Stalin himself, who recommends the playwright to apply with a request to enroll him in the Moscow Art Theater. However, in his speeches, Stalin agreed: "Days of the Turbins" - "An anti-Soviet thing, and Bulgakov is not ours".

In January 1932, Stalin again allowed the production of The Days of the Turbins, and before the war it was no longer banned. True, this permission did not apply to any theater, except for the Moscow Art Theater.

The performance was played before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. During the bombing of Minsk in June 1941, when the Moscow Art Theater was on tour in Belarus, the scenery burned down.

In 1968, the director, People's Artist of the RSFSR Leonid Viktorovich Varpakhovsky, staged The Days of the Turbins again.

In 1991, The White Guard, directed by the People's Artist of the USSR Tatyana Vasilievna Doronina, returned to the stage once again. The performance was a great success with the audience. The genuine acting successes of V. V. Klementyev, T. G. Shalkovskaya, M. V. Kabanov, S. E. Gabrielyan, N. V. Penkov and V. L. Rovinsky revealed to the audience of the 1990s the drama of the revolutionary years, the tragedy of ruin and losses. The merciless cruelty of the revolutionary upheaval, general destruction and collapse broke into life.

The "White Guard" embodies nobility, honor, dignity, patriotism and awareness of one's own tragic end.

Reprinted according to the edition indicated.

Bulgakov's handwritten heritage of the 1920s turned out to be extremely scarce: most of his writings of this time have been preserved in printed or typewritten (plays) form. Apparently, the writer himself, being in difficult conditions, did not attach much importance to his draft autographs, and E. S. Bulgakova, who reverently treated the writer’s manuscripts and tried to preserve his every line, was not next to him. Therefore, difficulties often arise when restoring the history of writing essays in the 1920s. The play "Days of the Turbins" ("White Guard") is no exception in this sense: draft autographs have not been preserved. But three of its typewritten editions have survived. It was about the three editions of the play that the author himself spoke in a conversation with P. S. Popov, who documented the content of this and other conversations. So, Bulgakov noted that “the play has three editions. The second edition is closest to the first; the third one is the most different” (OR RSL, f. 218, no. 1269, item 6, sheets 1, 3). Let us remember these author's instructions and move on to a brief history of writing the play.

Bulgakov excellently depicted how the idea of ​​the play arose in Notes of a Dead Man. We will cite only a few lines from this text.

“A blizzard woke me up once. The blizzard was in March and raged, although it was already coming to an end. And again ... I woke up in tears! .. And again the same people, and again a distant city, and the side of the piano, and shots, and another one defeated in the snow.

These people were born in dreams, came out of dreams and firmly settled in my cell. It was clear that they could not be separated from each other. But what to do with them?

At first I simply talked with them, and yet I had to take the book of the novel out of the drawer. Then it began to seem to me in the evenings that something colored was coming out of the white page. Looking closely, squinting, I was convinced that this was a picture. Moreover, this picture is not flat, but three-dimensional. Like a box, and through the lines you can see in it: the light is on and the same figures that are described in the novel are moving in it. Ah, what an exciting game it was... One could play this game all one's life, look at the page... But how would one fix these figures?.. And one night I decided to describe this magic camera... Therefore, I am writing: the first picture... For three nights I was busy playing with the first picture, and by the end of that night I realized that I was composing a play. In the month of April, when the snow disappeared from the yard, the first picture was developed ... At the end of April, Ilchin's letter arrived ... "

Perhaps everything was so in reality, but the surviving documents show that Bulgakov made the first draft of the play on January 19, 1925. This is clear from his own handwritten entry in the album on the history of The Days of the Turbins (IRLI, f. 362, No. 75 , sheet 1). And a letter from B. I. Vershilov (Studio of the Art Theater) dated April 3, 1925, Bulgakov received, apparently, not at the end of April, but earlier.

It so happened that two proposals were made to Bulgakov at once to stage the novel The White Guard: from the Art Theater and the Vakhtangov Theater (see: L. Yanovskaya, Mikhail Bulgakov's creative path. M., 1983. P. 141-142). To the chagrin of the Vakhtangovites, Bulgakov chose the Moscow Art Theater, but he consoled the former by writing Zoya's Apartment for them.

Bulgakov worked on the first edition of the play in June-August 1925, but with interruptions (from June 12 to July 7, the Bulgakovs visited the Voloshins in Koktebel). There are colorful author's sketches about this in the same "Notes of the Dead". For example, such: “I don’t remember how May ended. I erased my memory and June, but I remember July. It's been unusually hot. I sat naked, wrapped in a sheet, and composed a play. The further, the more difficult it became ... The heroes grew ... and they were not going to leave, and events developed, but they could not see the end ... Then the heat dropped ... It started to rain, August came. Then I received a letter from Misha Panin. He asked about the play. I plucked up courage and at night stopped the course of events. There were thirteen scenes in the play.

Lacking the necessary dramatic experience and striving to select as much as possible of the most valuable material from the novel, Bulgakov created a very large play, the content of which differed little from the novel. The most difficult moment came - the play had to be thoroughly cut. Let us turn again to the author's text: “... I realized that my play cannot be played in one evening. A night of torment over this issue led me to cross out one painting. This ... did not save the situation ... Something else had to be thrown out of the play, but what is unknown. Everything seemed important to me ... Then I drove one character out, which is why one picture somehow slanted, then completely flew out, and there were eleven paintings. Further ... I could not cut anything ... Having decided that nothing would come of it, I decided to leave the matter to its natural course ... "

On August 15, 1925, the play The White Guard (first edition) was presented to the theater, and in September the first reading took place. However, already in October the situation with the play became more complicated due to the negative feedback received from A. V. Lunacharsky. On October 12, in a letter to V. V. Luzhsky, one of the leading actors and directors of the theatre, he remarks: “I carefully re-read the play The White Guard. personal opinion. I consider Bulgakov a very talented person, but this play of his is exceptionally mediocre, with the exception of the more or less lively scene of the hetman being taken away. Everything else is either military fuss or extraordinarily ordinary, dull, dull pictures of useless philistine. In the end, there is not a single type, not a single amusing situation, and the end directly outrages not only with its indeterminacy, but also with its complete inefficiency ... Not a single average theater would have accepted this play precisely because of its dullness, probably due to complete dramatic weakness or extreme author's inexperience.

This letter requires some explanation, since it played a big role in the further fate of the play. Extremely important is the first phrase of A. V. Lunacharsky that he does not see anything unacceptable in the play from the political point of view. Actually, this is the main thing that the theater required from him - whether the play passes according to political parameters or not. The negative opinion of the people's commissar on this issue immediately closed the way for the play to the stage. And what is important to note, A. V. Lunacharsky did not openly put forward political demands regarding the play, but at the last stage he showed integrity and supported the theater and Stanislavsky in resolving the issue of the play in higher instances.

It was not a formal act of courtesy and his statement that he considers Bulgakov a talented person. Obviously, he was already familiar with many of the writer's stories and short stories, including "Fatal Eggs", a story that tested the reader's attitude towards him. As for the “mediocrity” of the play and other harsh remarks by A. V. Lunacharsky, it must be borne in mind that the People’s Commissar himself wrote quite a few plays that were staged by some theaters, but were not successful (even Demyan Bedny publicly called them mediocre) . Therefore, an element of predilection was undoubtedly present. But after all, the first edition of the play really suffered from many shortcomings, and above all by its lengthiness, which the author was well aware of.

The theater responded to the People's Commissar's remarks immediately. On October 14, an emergency meeting of the repertoire and art board of the Moscow Art Theater took place, which adopted the following resolution: “To recognize that in order to be staged on the Big Stage, the play must be radically altered. On the Small Stage, a play can go on after relatively minor alterations. Establish that if a play is staged on the Small Stage, it must be performed in the current season; the staging on the Big Stage may be postponed until next season. Discuss the stated resolutions with Bulgakov.

Bulgakov reacted sharply, emotionally and concretely to such a "revolutionary" decision of the theater. The next day, October 15, he wrote a letter to V. V. Luzhsky, which contained ultimatum demands on the theater. However, this letter is so “Bulgakovian” that it is expedient, in our opinion, to reproduce it:

“Dear Vasily Vasilyevich.

Yesterday's meeting, at which I had the honor to be, showed me that the situation with my play was complicated. The question arose about staging on the Small Stage, about the next season, and, finally, about the radical breaking of the play, which, in essence, bordered on the creation of a new play.

While willingly agreeing to some corrections in the process of working on the play together with the director, at the same time I do not feel able to write the play anew.

The deep and sharp criticism of the play at yesterday's meeting made me significantly disappointed in my play (I welcome criticism), but did not convince me that the play should be staged on the Small Stage.

And, finally, the question of the season can have only one solution for me: this season, not the next one.

Therefore, I ask you, dear Vasily Vasilyevich, to urgently put it on discussion in the directorate and give me a categorical answer to the question:

Does the 1st Art Theater agree to include the following unconditional clauses in the contract regarding the play:

1. Staging only on the Big Stage.

2. This season (March 1926).

3. Changes, but not a radical break in the core of the play.

In case these conditions are unacceptable for the Theatre, I will allow myself to ask permission to consider a negative answer as a sign that the play "The White Guard" is free" (MXAT Museum, No. 17452).

The reaction of the theater was prompt, because both actors and directors liked the play. On October 16, the repertoire and art board of the Moscow Art Theater made the following decision: “To recognize it as possible to agree to the author’s demand regarding the nature of the revision of the play and for it to go on the Big Stage” (see: Markov P. A. In the Art Theater. The book is covered. M ., 1976. Section "Materials and Documents"). This decision suited both the author and the theatre, because it was a reasonable compromise. In his memoirs, P. A. Markov successfully formulated the problems that arose with the first edition of the play The White Guard: “M. A. Bulgakov, who subsequently built plays with virtuosity, initially blindly followed the novel in the staging of The White Guard, and already in his work with the theater a harmonious and clear theatrical composition of The Days of the Turbins gradually arose ”(Markov L. A. S. 26) . On October 21, the initial distribution of roles took place ...

Bulgakov was well aware that the play must first of all be changed structurally, "shrink". Losses, of course, could not be avoided. In addition, it was required to remove direct attacks against the living leaders of the state from the text (the name of Trotsky was mentioned too often in the play). It took him more than two months to create a new version of the play - the second. Later, dictating fragmentary biographical notes to P. S. Popov, Bulgakov said something valuable about the work on the play The White Guard, in particular, this: “I merged the figure of Nai-Turs and Alexei in the play for greater clarity. Nai-Tours is a distant, abstract image. The ideal of Russian officers. What a Russian officer should have been like in my mind... I saw Skoropadsky once. This did not affect the creation of the image in the play. In Lariosika, the images of three faces merged. The element of "Chekhovism" was in one of the prototypes ... Dreams play an exceptional role for me ... The scene in the gymnasium (in the novel) was written by me in one night ... I visited the gymnasium building in 1918 more than once. streets of Kiev. He experienced something close to what is in the novel...” (OR RSL, f. 218, no. 1269, item 6, fol. 3-5).

The intensity with which Bulgakov worked on the second edition of the play can be judged from his letter to the writer S. Fedorchenko dated November 24, 1925: “... I am buried under a play with a sonorous name. There is only one shadow left of me, which can be shown as a free supplement to the aforementioned play” (Moscow, 1987, no. 8, p. 53).

In January 1926, Bulgakov presented the second edition of the play to the Art Theater. The text was revised and significantly reduced, from a five-act play turned into a four-act one. But, as the author himself noted, the second edition was very close to the first in content. According to many experts, it is this edition that should be recognized as canonical, since it most of all corresponded to the author's intentions. But this issue remains quite controversial for many reasons, which are more appropriate to talk about in special studies.

A real theatrical work began with the play, which many of its participants recalled with admiration. M. Yanshin (Lariosik): “All participants in the performance felt the events and life described by Bulgakov so well with their own skin and nerves, the anxious and stormy time of the civil war was so close and vivid in their memory that the atmosphere of the performance, its rhythm, the well-being of each hero the plays were born as if by themselves, born from life itself” (Skill of the director. M., 1956, p. 170). P. Markov: “When you return with memories to the Days of the Turbins and Bulgakov’s first appearance at the Art Theater, these memories remain among the best not only for me, but for all my comrades: it was the spring of the young Soviet Art Theater. , to be honest, The Days of the Turbins became a kind of new The Seagull of the Art Theater... The Days of the Turbins were born from the novel The White Guard. This huge novel was filled with the same explosive power that Bulgakov himself was full of.. He not only attended rehearsals - he staged a play "(Memoirs of Mikhail Bulgakov. M., 1988. S. 239-240).

The performance was directed by I. Sudakov. Alexei Turbin was rehearsed by Nikolai Khmelev, whose game Stalin was so keen on later, the role of Myshlaevsky was prepared by B. Dobronravov. Young people were involved in rehearsals (M. Yanshin, E. Sokolova, M. Prudkin, I. Kudryavtsev and others), who later became a brilliant successor to the great generation of actors of the past.

But all this was ahead, in the spring of 1926, after intense rehearsals, the performance (the first two acts) was shown to Stanislavsky. Here are the dry but precise lines from the "Rehearsal Diary":

"TO. S., after watching two acts of the play, said that the play was on the right track: he really liked the "Gymnasium" and "Petlyurov's stage". He praised some performers and considers the work done important, successful and necessary ... K. S. inspired everyone to continue working at a fast, brisk pace along the intended path ”(Moscow. 1987. No. 8. P. 55). And here is how it all seemed to the then head of the Moscow Art Theater Pavel Markov:

“Stanislavsky was one of the most direct spectators. At the show of the Turbins, he openly laughed, wept, closely followed the action, gnawed his hand as usual, threw off his pince-nez, wiping his tears with a handkerchief - in a word, he completely lived the performance ”(Markov P. A. S. 229).

It was a short happy time of the inner creative life of the Art Theatre. K. S. Stanislavsky enthusiastically took part in the rehearsals of the play, and some scenes of the play were staged on his advice (for example, the scene in the Turbinsky apartment, when the wounded Nikolka reports the death of Alexei). The great director remembered the time of joint work with Bulgakov for a long time and then often characterized him as an excellent director and potential actor. So, on September 4, 1930, he wrote to Bulgakov himself: “Dear and dear Mikhail Afanasyevich! You have no idea how happy I am for you to join our theatre! (This was after the massacre organized by the writer in 1928-1930! - V.L.). I had to work with you only at a few rehearsals of the Turbins, and then I felt in you - a director (or maybe an artist ?!) ”. , prompted: "A director can come out of him. He is not only a writer, but he is also an actor. I judge by the way he showed the actors at the rehearsals of the Turbins." Actually - he staged them, at least gave those sparkles that sparkled and created a success for the performance. And a few years later, Stanislavsky, in a letter to the director V. G. Sakhnovsky, claimed that the entire “internal line” in the play “Days of the Turbins” belongs to Bulgakov (see: Bulgakov M. Diary. Letters. 1914-1940. M., 1997. P. 238; Yanovskaya L. Creative way of Mikhail Bulgakov. M., 1983. P. 167-168).

And it is impossible not to note one more extremely important fact in the writer's creative biography, about which for some reason nothing has been written anywhere. In March 1926, the Art Theater entered into an agreement with Bulgakov to stage The Heart of a Dog! Thus, the Moscow Art Theater decided to stage two plays by Bulgakov at the same time, the content of which was the sharpest for that time. It can be assumed that it was this fact (an agreement to stage a banned unpublished story!) that attracted the attention of the political investigation and ideological control bodies, and from that moment they began to interfere in the process of creating the play "The White Guard" (the agreement to stage "Heart of a Dog" was canceled by mutual agreement of the author and the theater; that the reason for this was politically motivated - there is no doubt).

On May 7, 1926, the OGPU officers searched the Bulgakovs' apartment and seized the manuscripts of The Heart of a Dog (!) and the writer's diary, which was called Under the Heel. The search was preceded by extensive undercover work, as a result of which Bulgakov was recognized as an extremely dangerous figure from a political point of view.

In this regard, the task was set to prevent the staging of Bulgakov's plays in the theaters of Moscow and, above all, of course, his "White Guard" in the Art Theater (see: the volume "Diaries. Letters" present. Collected Works).

Pressure was exerted both on Bulgakov (search, surveillance, denunciations) and on the theater (demands by political detectives through the Repert Committee to stop rehearsals of The White Guard). Meetings of the repertory and art board of the Moscow Art Theater resumed again, at which questions about the title of the play, the need for new abbreviations, etc. began to be debated. the following content:

“I have the honor to inform you that I do not agree to the removal of the Petliura scene from my play The White Guard.

Motivation: The Petlyura scene is organically connected with the play.

Also, I do not agree that when the title is changed, the play should be called "Before the End".

I also do not agree with the transformation of a 4-act play into a 3-act one.

I agree, together with the Theater Council, to discuss a different title for the play The White Guard.

If the Theater does not agree with what is stated in this letter, I ask you to remove the play The White Guard as a matter of urgency” (Museum of the Moscow Art Theater, No. 17893).

Obviously, the management of the Art Theater was already aware of the political terror that had begun against Bulgakov (for now!) (the writer’s statement to the OGPU about the return of his manuscripts and diary to him remained unanswered, which was a bad omen) and such a harsh letter was taken rather calmly. V. V. Luzhsky answered the writer in detail and in a friendly tone (an undated letter):

“Dear Mikhail Afanasyevich!

What is it, what kind of fly, excuse me, has bitten you yet ?! Why, how? What happened after yesterday's conversation in front of K.S. and me ... After all, yesterday we said and we decided that no one throws out the "Petliura" scene yet. You yourself gave your consent to the marking of two scenes by Vasilisa, to the alteration and combination of two gymnasiums into one, too, to the parade parade of Petliurovsky (!) with Bolbotun, you did not raise any big objections!(highlighted by us. - V. L.) And suddenly come on! Your title remains “The Turbin Family” (in my opinion, it’s better than the Turbins ...). How will the play become three-act? - four!..

What are you, dear and our Moscow Art Theater Mikhail Afanasyevich? Who turned you on so much?..” (IRLI, f. 369, no. 48).

But soon the whole theater had to “wind up”, and first of all, all those who participated in the production of the play. On June 24, the first closed dress rehearsal took place. The head of the theatrical section of the Repert Committee, V. Blum, and the editor of this section, A. Orlinsky, who were present at it, expressed their dissatisfaction with the play and declared that it could be staged that way "in five years." The next day, at a “conversation” held at the Repertoire Committee with representatives of the Moscow Art Theater, art officials formulated their attitude towards the play as a work that “represents a complete apology for the White Guards, starting from the scene in the gymnasium and up to the scene of Alexei’s death, inclusive,” and she “absolutely unacceptable, and in the interpretation given by the theater, it cannot go. The theater was required to make the scene in the gymnasium in such a way that it would discredit the white movement and that the play should contain more episodes that humiliate the White Guards (introduce servants, porters and officers acting as part of Petliura's army, etc.). Director I. Sudakov promised the Repert Committee to more clearly show the "turn to Bolshevism" that was emerging among the White Guards. Ultimately, the theater was asked to finalize the play (see: Bulgakov M.A. Plays of the 20s. Theatrical Heritage. L., 1989. P. 522).

Characteristically, Bulgakov responded to this clearly organized pressure on the theater from the Repert Committee (in fact, from the OGPU, where the "Bulgakov case" grew by leaps and bounds) with a repeated statement addressed to the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (June 24) demanding that the diary and manuscripts seized be returned to him. employees of the OGPU (there was no answer).

The play and its author gradually began to attract more and more attention from both its opponents and supporters. On June 26, Bulgakov's friend N. N. Lyamin wrote an emotional letter to the playwright, in which he asked him not to give up anything else, since "the theater had already distorted the play enough", and begged him not to touch the stage in the gymnasium. “Do not agree to sacrifice her for any good of the world. It makes an amazing impression, it makes all the sense. The image of Alyosha cannot be modified in any way, it is blasphemous to touch it ... ”(Creativity of Mikhail Bulgakov. St. Petersburg, 1995. Book 3. P. 208).

Nevertheless, the theater understood perfectly well (and the author, too, with great irritation) that in order to save the play, alterations were necessary. In a letter to the director A. D. Popov (the director of Zoya's Apartment at the Vakhtangov Theatre), Bulgakov touched on the problems of the Moscow Art Theater in passing: “There really is overwork. In May, all sorts of surprises not related to the theater (the search was closely “connected with the theater.” - V.L.), in May, the Guards race at the 1st Moscow Art Theater (viewing by the authorities!), In June, continuous work ( perhaps Bulgakov shifts time somewhat due to forgetfulness. - V. L.) ... In August, everything at once ... "

On August 24, with the arrival of Stanislavsky, rehearsals of the play resumed. A new plan for the play, insertion and alteration was adopted. On August 26, in the "Diary of rehearsals" it was written:, "M. A. Bulgakov wrote a new text for the gymnasium according to the plan approved by Konstantin Sergeevich. The play was called "Days of the Turbins". The scene with Vasilisa was removed, and two scenes in the gymnasium were combined into one. Other significant amendments were also made.

But the opponents of the play increased the pressure on the theater and on the author of the play. The situation became tense and became extremely nervous. After another rehearsal for the Repert Committee (September 17), its management stated that “the play cannot be released in this form. The issue of permission remains open. Even Stanislavsky could not stand it after that and, meeting with the actors of the future performance, said that if the play was banned, he would leave the theater.

On September 19, the dress rehearsal of the performance was canceled, new lines were introduced into the text of the play, and then, to please the Repert Committee and A. V. Lunacharsky, the scene of the torture of a Jew by the Petliurists was filmed ... with this decision for many years), and already on September 22 he was summoned for interrogation at the OGPU (interrogation protocol, see: present meeting, vol. 8). Of course, all these actions were coordinated: the OGPU and the Repertoire Committee insisted on removing the play. Bulgakov was intimidated during interrogation: after all, a dress rehearsal was scheduled for September 23.

The general rehearsal went well. In the "Diary of rehearsals" it was written: "Full general with the public ... Representatives of the USSR, the press, representatives of the Glavrepertkom, Konstantin Sergeevich, the Supreme Council and the Director's Office are watching.

At today's performance, it is decided whether the play is going on or not.

The performance goes on with the latest blotches and without the "Jew" scene.

After this dress rehearsal, Lunacharsky declared that in this form the performance could be allowed to be shown to the audience.

But the ordeal with the play not only did not end there, but entered a decisive phase. On September 24, the play was allowed at the collegium of the People's Commissariat for Education. A day later, the GPU banned the play (here it is, the real Cabal!). Then A.V. Lunacharsky turned to A.I. Rykov with the following telegram:

“Dear Alexei Ivanovich.

At a meeting of the collegium of the People's Commissariat of Education with the participation of the Repertoire Committee, including the GPU, it was decided to allow Bulgakov's play to only one Art Theater and only for this season. At the insistence of the Glavrepertkom, the collegium allowed him to produce some banknotes. On Saturday evening the GPU informed the People's Commissariat of Education that it was banning the play. It is necessary to consider this issue in the highest instance or confirm the decision of the board of the People's Commissariat for Education, which has already become known. The cancellation of the decision of the board of the People's Commissariat for Education of the GPU is extremely undesirable and even scandalous.

On September 30, this issue was decided at a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. The following decision was made: "Do not cancel the decision of the collegium of the People's Commissariat of Education on Bulgakov's play." (Literary newspaper. 1999. July 14-20).

This was the first decision of the Politburo on Bulgakov's play, but by no means the last.

The then well-known German correspondent Paul Schaeffer wrote in the Riga newspaper Segodnya (November 18, 1926): “While members of the party majority (meaning Stalin, Voroshilov, Rykov. - V. L.) , the opposition acted as a resolute opponent of it.

Below we publish this particular version of the play (third edition), which passed through so many trials, but was played by the brilliant troupe of the Art Theater from 1920 to 1941.

The tragedy of the Civil War is one of the most important themes of Russian literature of the 20th century. Bulgakov did not ignore her either. The "Great Schism", the disintegration of the nation into warring camps, was often depicted in the 1920s and 1930s. through family breakdown. For example, in "Don stories" and "Quiet Don" by M.A. Sholokhov, the civil war separates brothers, fathers and their children into different warring camps. And yet, for most writers, the home and family remain the main hope for a return to normal life, for the preservation of culture. A man and a formidable epoch that breaks his fate - these are the two conflicting sides in the drama Days of the Turbins (1926, published in 1955).

Such a conflict - the conflict of a private, normal, harmonious life and an impersonal harsh Time - determined both the figurative structure and the genre features of the play. The focus of Bulgakov's attention is not just a civil war, but the way of life blown up by it, people deprived of their familiar and native world. The tragic leitmotif in Days of the Turbins is the theme of the uselessness, the "lostness" of an honest, intelligent, strong man - Alexei Turbin.

House and City are the traditional components of Bulgakov's artistic world. Just as it will be in the writer's prose - "The Heart of a Dog" and "The Master and Margarita", - the space of the Days of the Turbins is made up of two qualitatively different spheres. The first is the Kiev apartment of the Turbins. The most important components of this space are comfort, harmony, spirituality, divine warmth. In the center of this world is a beautiful woman, Alexei's sister Elena. Cream-colored curtains, a snow-white tablecloth, flowers, the gentle music of an old clock and, of course, a fireplace with its gentle, even warmth - these are the subject components of the turbine life. This life is not just a comfortable environment for pampered nobles. He is the condition of their spiritual life, their being. Here, witty dialogues flare up, the emotions of the characters are deep, but not strained: psychologism is fused with an easy game, with artistry, with panache of style. Being, that is, a life filled with high meaning, is unthinkable without culture, including without the culture of everyday life and without the culture of speech. The spirituality of those who are deprived of a normal life is doubtful: their home, their family, their music, their language.

The Turbin family is an island of culture in the raging element of lack of culture, bitterness and meanness. Such an element captured the City - the second spatial sphere of the play. The time of action, the playwright points out, is “a terrible year”, around the turbine house is “winter night”. What is there, outside the cozy turbine "harbour"? There, according to Aleksey, there is the "damn comedy" of the Hetmanate, there is the "black fog" of Petliurism, there the meaningless existence of the "coffee army", as Turbin ironically calls his fellow officers. Three scenes of the play immediately following the introductory dinner scene at the Turbins' house are sustained in a tragicomic tone. The playwright's sarcasm is personified in the grotesque images of the Germans von Schratt and von Dust, in the farcical figure of the hetman, in the personas of the Petliurists' operetta villains.

The behavior of the junkers subordinate to Turbine is not without farce: the romance “The night breathed the delight of voluptuousness” sounds extremely ridiculous in their mouths, the gymnasium watchman Maxim calls them “Tatars” after they break desks and light a fire in the school lobby.

Alas, the comedy of situations and the grotesque mixture of languages ​​(Russian with German or Russian with Ukrainian) not only do not defuse the severity of the conflict, but, on the contrary, contrastly set off the tragedy of the situation in which the Turbins and their friends find themselves. Farcical elements give the depicted era a diabolical-demonic, infernal flavor. What is happening around the House is an orgy of violence provoked by the revolution. Cowardice, betrayal and the reverse side of these qualities - predation and banditry - reign in the "new" world. In this world, Bulgakov believes, a person cannot survive. To survive, you need to lose, as Alexander Blok would say, "part of the soul" - to lose comfort, music, creativity, love. That is why the protagonist of the drama Alexei Turbin goes to his death, committing, in fact, suicide. The epoch of culture is coming to an end, and Nikolka and Studzinsky speak about it in the last lines of the play. The time experienced by the characters is a prologue to life without culture and an epilogue to life in the "nightingale garden" of culture, comfort, humanity.

In the genre form of a tragic farce, Bulgakov embodied in Days of the Turbins the idea of ​​farewell to the "cherry orchard" of Russian culture, to the former Russia, which was lost forever by the Turbins.