As the Finnish Civil War started in January 1918, Bulatsel was the Commander of the 1st Brigade of the 106th division in Tampere. In late February, Hugo Salmela replaced Mikhail Svechnikov as the Commander-in-Chief of the Red Guards. Salmela did not have any kind of military training, so Bulatsel became his advisor. After the Battle of Tampere, Bulatsel was arrested by the Whites and executed on 28 April. He was buried at the Kalevankangas Cemetery. Bulatsel's two sons, 13-year-old Woldemar and 15-year-old Nikolai, were shot just a couple of days later in the Vyborg massacre.