Bulgakov, Mikhail

The Russian prose writer and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov was born in Kiev and grew up in a snug middle class environment – his father was a professor of theology. Shortly after obtaining his medical degree in 1916, Bulgakov registered as a volunteer for the Red Cross. He worked at a field hospital, where he mainly carried out amputations. After this, he became a district medical officer in a rural town, where he worked under difficult conditions. In 1918, he returned to Kiev, where he set up a private practice, but the war wreaked great havoc in the city, which was conquered by alternately German, white, and finally red forces. At one occasion, Bulgakov was recruited by force, but he managed to desert. In 1919, he went to the Caucasus, where he started his career as a writer and soon left the medical profession. In 1921, he moved to Moscow and wrote reportages, light articles, and stories in various periodicals – among other things for the influential Gudok, where he got to know authors such as Babel, Katayev, and Olesha.