Plays of Bulgakov

This edition includes the plays of the renowned Russian prose writer and playwright Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (1891–1940): «The Days of the Turbins», «The Running», «Zoykina's Apartment», «Crimson Island», and «Ivan Vasilyevich». In them, the writer vividly depicted the reality of the early twentieth century, captured his hopes and experiences, and touched on a number of important, eternal themes. The texts are accompanied by colorful illustrations by the talented artist Alexey Anatolyevich Shevchenko (1962).

Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (1891–1940) was born in Kyiv into a large family of a spiritual academy teacher and a women’s gymnasium teacher. From childhood, he read extensively and engaged in music, and in 1901 he enrolled in the prestigious First Kyiv Gymnasium. The carefree youth of the future writer was overshadowed when his father passed away in 1906, leaving his mother alone with the children; wanting to help the family, Mikhail began tutoring. After graduating from school, the young man entered the medical faculty, partially because he thought that medicine could provide a good income. In 1916, at the height of World War I, Bulgakov received the title of doctor with distinction and volunteered for the front. Together with his first wife, Tatyana Lappa, he tirelessly worked in field hospitals and was later appointed the only doctor of a zemstvo hospital. During the Civil War, Mikhail Afanasyevich found himself at the front again. He contracted typhus and was unable to emigrate. Recovering with difficulty from the illness, Bulgakov decided to leave medicine to become a writer. In 1921, he moved to Moscow, where he worked for various newspapers, wrote feuilletons, novellas, stories, and essays, and published his first major works. Gradually, the writer became increasingly prominent in intellectual circles; many literati, including Zamyatin and Gorky, spoke positively about his work. With the publication of the novel «The White Guard», Bulgakov caught the interest of theatrical figures: he was offered to write a script for the staging of «The White Guard» at the Moscow Art Theatre (MХAT). The adaptation, titled «The Days of the Turbins», enjoyed immense success, and Bulgakov continued to compose plays—for MХAT and other Moscow theaters. His scripts, vibrant, lively, and witty, consistently garnered the audience's favor, and theaters eagerly signed contracts with the playwright for new productions. Soon, however, a challenging period began in the writer's life: he faced a media campaign against him, his prose ceased to be published, and in 1929 all his plays were banned for performance—he was accused of sympathizing with the White Guards. Mikhail Afanasyevich's financial situation became extremely difficult. Later, Bulgakov managed to secure a position in the theater as an assistant director, though he was heavily burdened by the pressure exerted on his creativity. Many of Bulgakov's works did not see the light until the end of his life; he received well-deserved recognition posthumously.

This edition includes five plays by Mikhail Bulgakov: «The Days of the Turbins», «The Running», «Zoykina's Apartment», «Crimson Island», and «Ivan Vasilyevich». Remarkable color illustrations for the texts were done by a member of the Artists' Union of the Russian Federation, Alexey Anatolyevich Shevchenko (1962).