Set in Kiev during the Russian revolution White Guard tells a story about the
war's effect on a middle-class family and was turned into a hugely successful
play on publication. It brought the author overnight success and became 'a new
Seagull ' for the new generation, although it also received hostile reviews for
the sympathetic portrayal of White officers. Paradoxically, The White Guard was
one of Stalin's favorite plays. It was banned in 1929, reinstated in 1932 but
published only in 1955.