For a three-act plot analysis, put on your screenwriter’s hat. Moviemakers know the formula well: at the end of Act One, the main character is drawn in completely to a conflict. During Act Two, she is farthest away from her goals. At the end of Act Three, the story is resolved.
Act I
Here's Vladimir's childhood and adolescence: he skates around relatively carefree with a carousel of tutors, relatives, and friends to spice things up. He begins his three major obsessions: butterfly hunting, reading and writing, and girls.
Act II
Politically, things change quickly in Russia: Vladimir's liberal, outspoken dad is against the dominating Bolshevik forces (and the Germans, when they come) and the family is forced to flee. Together, they run to Crimea, then Greece, France and England. The family splinters and Vladimir learns what it's like to be a young, lonely émigré writer.
Act III
Vladimir, having fallen in love, married, and had a son, lives in Berlin and Paris, and eventually gets a visa to head to the U.S., where he'll become a really famous writer and a decently accomplished butterfly hunter.