Identity and choice in an era of catastrophe: understanding the Civil War through the fates of the intelligentsia in the drama of M.A. Bulgakov

Abstract. The essays presented here offer a comprehensive analysis of the representation of the Russian Civil War in the plays of Mikhail Bulgakov (The White Guard, The Days of the Turbins) as a source for understanding the historical memory, identity, and sociocultural practices of a transformative era. The authors demonstrate that works of fiction created by eyewitnesses to the events can complement and deepen scholarly knowledge: they capture not only facts but also the psychological mechanisms of
individual self-determination, revealing the meaning of the era through the prism of personal experience. The focus is on the fate of the Russian intelligentsia: its role in historical processes, behavioral strategies, and ways of preserving cultural continuity in the face of social catastrophe. Through the images of the Turbin family and their
entourage, Bulgakov demonstrates how the familiar world — from the hearth and home to imperial foundations — is crumbling, and how people seek support amid the chaos of change. The image of the Turbin house is interpreted as a “center of stability” and a buffer between the individual and the turbulence of history, while everyday details acquire symbolic significance, resonating with global meanings. The work combines approaches from memory studies, historical anthropology, and synergetics, focusing on the role of the “little” individual, whose everyday practices (including rituals, forms of loyalty, and adaptation methods) prove to be hidden forms of political activity in the context of civilizational breakdown. Particular attention is paid to the problem of contemporary memorialization of the Civil War: the authors substantiate the need for a deideologized understanding of national trauma to achieve social consensus and trace how collective memory of the past is formed and transformed — from myths and legends to a multidimensional understanding of history through artistic evidence.

Keywords: Civil War, identity, intelligentsia, “Days of the Turbins”, historical memory.