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Michael Bulgakov

Master and Margarita

PART ONE

... So who are you, finally?
- I am part of that power
what he always wants
evil and does good forever. Goethe. Faust

Chapter 1

Never talk to strangers

One spring, at an hour of an unprecedented hot sunset, two citizens appeared in Moscow, at the Patriarch's Ponds. The first of them, dressed in a gray summer pair, was short, plump, bald, carried his decent hat with a pie in his hand, and on his well-shaven face were placed supernatural-sized glasses in black horn-rimmed frames. The second - a broad-shouldered, reddish, wavy young man in a checkered cap tucked at the back of his head - was in a cowboy shirt, chewed-up white trousers and black slippers.

The first was none other than Mikhail Aleksandrovich Berlioz, chairman of the board of one of the largest Moscow literary associations, abbreviated as MASSOLIT, and editor of a thick art magazine, and his young companion is the poet Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, who writes under the pseudonym Bezdomny.

Having fallen into the shade of slightly green lindens, the writers rushed first to a colorful booth with the inscription "Beer and Water".

Yes, the first strangeness of this terrible May evening should be noted. Not only at the booth, but in the entire alley parallel to Malaya Bronnaya Street, there was not a single person. At that hour, when, it seemed, there was no strength to breathe, when the sun, heating Moscow, fell in a dry fog somewhere beyond the Garden Ring - no one came under the linden trees, no one sat on the bench, the alley was empty.

- Give the narzan, - asked Berlioz.

- Narzan is not present, - the woman in the booth answered and for some reason was offended.

“The beer will be delivered in the evening,” the woman replied.

- What is there? Berlioz asked.

“Apricot, only warm,” the woman said.

- Well, come on, come on, come on! ..

The apricot tree gave off a copious yellow foam, and the air smelled of a barber shop. After getting drunk, the writers immediately began to hiccup, paid and sat down on a bench facing the pond and with their backs to Bronnaya.

Then a second oddity happened, concerning Berlioz alone. He suddenly stopped hiccuping, his heart beat and for a moment sank somewhere, then came back, but with a blunt needle stuck in him. In addition, Berlioz was seized by an unfounded, but such strong fear that he wanted to immediately flee from the Patriarchs without looking back. Berlioz looked around sadly, not understanding what had frightened him. He turned pale, wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, thought: “What's wrong with me? It never happened ... my heart is naughty ... I'm overtired. Perhaps it's time to throw everything to hell and go to Kislovodsk ... "

And then the sultry air thickened in front of him, and a transparent citizen of a strange appearance was woven from this air. On a small head there is a jockey cap, a checkered, kurgozny airy jacket ... A citizen is a fathom tall, but narrow at the shoulders, incredibly thin, and, please note, his face is mocking.

Berlioz's life developed in such a way that he was not used to extraordinary phenomena. Even paler, he goggled his eyes and thought in dismay: "This cannot be! .."

But this, alas, was, and a long one, through which you can see the citizen, without touching the ground, swayed in front of him both to the left and to the right.

Here terror seized Berlioz so much that he closed his eyes. And when he opened them, he saw that it was all over, the haze dissolved, the checkered one disappeared, and at the same time the dull needle jumped out of the heart.

- Fu you devil! - exclaimed the editor, - you know, Ivan, I just barely had a stroke from the heat! There was even something like a hallucination. ”He tried to grin, but anxiety was still leaping in his eyes, and his hands were trembling.

However, he gradually calmed down, fanned himself with a handkerchief and, saying quite cheerfully: "Well, so ..." - he made a speech, interrupted by a drink of apricot.

This speech, as they later learned, was about Jesus Christ. The fact is that the editor ordered the poet for the next book of the magazine a large anti-religious poem. Ivan Nikolaevich composed this poem, and in a very short time, but, unfortunately, the editor was not at all satisfied with it. Homeless outlined the main character of his poem, that is, Jesus, in very black colors, and nevertheless, according to the editor, the entire poem had to be written anew. And now the editor was giving the poet a kind of lecture on Jesus in order to highlight the poet's fundamental mistake. It is difficult to say what exactly let Ivan Nikolaevich down - whether the pictorial power of his talent or complete ignorance of the issue on which he was going to write - but Jesus in his image turned out well, just like a living, although not attractive character. Berlioz wanted to prove to the poet that the main thing is not what Jesus was like, whether he was bad or good, but that this Jesus, as a person, did not exist at all in the world and that all the stories about him are simple inventions, the most common myth.

It should be noted that the editor was a well-read man and very skillfully pointed out in his speech the ancient historians, for example, the famous Philo of Alexandria, the brilliantly educated Joseph Flavius, who never mentioned a word about the existence of Jesus. Discovery of solid erudition, Mikhail Aleksandrovich informed the poet, among other things, that the place in the 15th book, in chapter 44 of the famous Tacitus Annals, which speaks of the execution of Jesus, is nothing but the later fake insert.

The poet, for whom everything reported by the editor was news, listened attentively to Mikhail Alexandrovich, staring at him with his lively green eyes, and only occasionally hiccupped, cursing the apricot water in a whisper.

- There is not a single Eastern religion, - Berlioz said, - in which, as a rule, the virgin

Very short summary (in a nutshell)

The chairman of Moscow writers, Berlioz, and the poet Ivan Bezdomny, walking on the Patriarch's Ponds and discussing the poet's atheistic poem, met a strange foreigner who introduced himself as a specialist in black magic, Woland. He claims that Jesus exists and predicts that Berlioz will soon die, and that his girlfriend will kill him. Here we are transferred to the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, who interrogates Yeshua, who is accused of trying to persuade the people to destroy the temple. He follows everywhere with his disciple named Matthew Levi. During the interrogation, it turns out that Judas gave him away for money. After interrogation, Pontius Pilate sentences Yeshua to death. The action returns to the Patriarch's Ponds, where the writers decide that Woland is crazy. Berlioz goes to call the psychiatric hospital, but is hit by a tram driven by a girl. A homeless man tries to catch up with Woland, who has already been joined by a cat and a man in a plaid coat. After an unsuccessful chase, he arrives at a literary restaurant in his underwear, where he is twisted and taken to the clinic. We understand that Woland is Satan. The next morning, Woland and his retinue carry the director of the Variety Likhodeev to Yalta, who, like Berlioz, lived in apartment no. 50 in house 302-bis on Sadovaya Street. They move into their apartment, and in a variety show they are going to give a performance. A lot of people gather for the performance. They see various card tricks, the fall of chervonets from the ceiling, then the retinue rips off the head of the entertainer and opens a free exchange of fashionable dresses for women. The play ends, and the fashionable dresses disappear from the women leaving the variety show, and the gold pieces are transformed into paper. Meanwhile, Homeless meets the Master at the clinic. He talks about love with a married girl, as well as that he wrote a novel, but it was screwed up by the critic Latunsky. In addition, his apartment was taken away by his friend with the help of denunciation, he has nowhere to return. With grief, he burned the novel, and he himself got here. With Margarita, the beloved of the Master, Azazello, one of the members of Woland's retinue, meets. He invites her to visit, promising to tell where the Master is, about whose fate she knew nothing, but continued to love him. He gives her a cream to spread on. After she was smeared, she was able to fly. Arriving at apartment number 50, she was offered to be the hostess of one ball, as she is ideal for this. Margarita honorably defended the ball, and after it asked to return the Master to her. Woland returns the Master, and besides this, his burned manuscript, and his apartment. In the meantime, Yeshua is executed, and Matthew Levi buries him. After that, he appears in front of Woland and asks him to give rest to the Master and Margarita. They receive eternal rest, and Woland and his retinue fly away. Moscow is full of rumors and has difficulty moving away from what happened. The investigation is trying to explain to people all these strange events in the city.

Summary (detailed by chapter)

PartI

Chapter 1

Never talk to strangers

One spring, there was an unprecedented heat in Moscow. Two were walking on the Patriarch's Ponds. One of them is the chairman of MASSOLIT (one of the largest Moscow literary associations) and the editor of a thick art magazine, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Berlioz. And the other is the young poet Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, who wrote under the pseudonym Homeless.

Noticing the "Beer and Water" booth, they rushed to it to quench their thirst. The alley was surprisingly empty, and they decided to sit on a bench. Suddenly Berlioz's heart beat violently, and said aloud that it was time to go on vacation to Kislovodsk. Then a strange transparent citizen in a plaid jacket, thin and with a mocking face, appeared before him. Berlioz closed his eyes in fear, and when he opened his eyes, the stranger was gone.

Having come to his senses, he continued to talk with Homeless. It was about the latter's anti-religious poem, which had recently been commissioned by the editorial board. In it, he painted Jesus in impartial colors, and he turned out to be just like living. But this was not what worried Berlioz. He wanted to prove that Jesus did not exist in the world at all. While they were talking, a stranger appeared in the alley, whom no one could later accurately describe.

In fact, it was a smooth-shaven brunette of about forty in an expensive suit, with eyes of different colors and a crooked mouth. Looks like a foreigner. He sat on the next bench and listened to their conversation, then he joined them. He openly admired the fact that his interlocutors were atheists, but he was interested in one question: if there is no God, then who controls human lives.

Then he, squinting, looked at Berlioz and said: For example, a man was about to go to Kislovodsk, and then he suddenly slipped and was hit by a tram! Is it not clear that it was not the person himself, but someone else who controlled him? At first, Berlioz wanted to object, but the foreigner said that no one knew what would happen to him in the evening. In addition, Annushka has not only bought but also poured sunflower oil.

The homeless man was outraged by the behavior of the stranger, and he called him a schizophrenic. And he, in response, recommended asking the professor at one time what kind of disease it was. The completely puzzled writers decided to ask the stranger for documents. It turned out that he was a professor of black magic and a historian by the name of Woland. To a homeless man, he quietly whispered that Jesus did exist and there was no need to look for evidence of this. Everything is simple, in a white cloak ...

Chapter 2

Pontius Pilate

In a white cloak with a bloody lining, a shuffling cavalry gait, the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, went out in the palace of Herod the Great. He had a severe headache that day, but he was expecting the accused. Soon two legionnaires brought to him a man of about twenty-seven in an old tunic. The procurator asked him who he was and whether he was going to destroy the Yershalaim temple.

It turned out that the name of the young man was Yeshua Ha-Nozri. He was from Gamala, he did not remember his parents, but his father was a Syrian, he did not have a permanent home, he knew the letter. He did not call to demolish the temple, just someone behind him records everything incorrectly, which created confusion for many centuries. Having met Yeshua, he now followed him everywhere.

The accused also admitted that he had spoken at the market that the temple of the old faith would soon collapse and a new temple of truth would be created. Then Pontius Pilate asked what, in fact, the truth was. To this the accused said that the truth is that the procurator now has an incredible headache. However, don't worry, the pain will go away now.

Convinced of the extraordinary abilities of the prisoner, the procurator decided to pardon him. However, when he read the next parchment, he was shocked. It turns out that the prisoner said something about the great Caesar, but this he could not allow. Yeshua honestly admitted that some kind man named Judas invited him to his place and asked about his views on the existing government.

After that, the procurator approved his death sentence, which was immediately written down by the secretary. Due to the fact that the Sanhedrin had the right to spare only one of the two accused, it was decided to spare Bar-Rabban, whose crime was much worse.

Chapter 3

Seventh proof

It was about ten o'clock in the morning when the professor began his story, and now it was getting dark. The story was quite interesting, but did not coincide with the gospel. In addition, the professor claimed that he himself was personally present. Then he called two of his friends over to him and said that they could confirm everything.

The writers got scared that they were dealing with a madman and decided to call where they should. When they began to look for a telephone set, the foreigner said in parting that the devil still exists and there is seventh proof for that. Berlioz falsely agreed, and he himself rushed to the telephone at the corner of Bronnaya. The professor shouted after him that he could already send a telegram to his uncle in Kiev.

On the way, Berlioz met the very transparent citizen whom he had seen in the morning. He politely directed Berlioz to the turnstile, which he grabbed and stepped forward. The inscription "Beware of the tram!" Although he was standing safely, taking a step back, he lost his balance. The hand slipped, and the leg was carried as if on ice along a slope. Berlioz was thrown onto the tracks, and the tram was already advancing. Then the "Really?" Flashed through his head. In an instant, something round jumped out from under the tram and jumped down Bronnaya. It was the head of a writer.

Chapter 4

Chase

The homeless man witnessed everything that happened and was in a state of bewilderment. When the screams subsided, the screams of the whistles of the police and took away the remains of Berlioz, he sat down on the bench and heard nothing. Two women were passing by, talking among themselves. They talked about some Annushka who had brought here today a liter bottle of sunflower oil, which then broke.

Then the words of a foreign professor began to pop up in Ivan's head. He decided to figure out how he knew. The professor pretended not to understand Russian. And his friend in plaid asked not to disturb the foreign tourist. Then they left, and Ivan could not catch up with them.

After all these oddities, Ivan went to the Moscow River. There, for some reason, he decided to completely undress and plunge into the ice-cold water. When he got ashore, his clothes were gone, as were MASSOLIT's ID. Then he began to sneak along alleys to the Griboyedov House in the hope that the professor had definitely headed there.

Chapter 5

There was a case in Griboyedov

Griboyedov's house was located on the Boulevard Ring and was a two-story mansion. The house had nothing in common with the famous writer, but it was ideal for the meetings of Massolit. The best restaurant in Moscow was located on the ground floor. The institution was famous for its boiled perch for lunch, blackbird fillets, truffles, etc.

That evening, when Berlioz was gone, twelve writers were waiting for him on the second floor. They were already nervous and remembered him with an unkind word. Berlioz's deputy, Zheldybin, was summoned to the morgue to decide how to deal with the severed head. Soon a light began to approach the veranda, everyone thought it was the chairman, but it was just Homeless with a lit candle and an icon.

He came to look for a foreign consultant at Griboyedov. Nobody could understand what was wrong with him. He looked under the tables, said that some foreign professor at the Patriarch's Square had killed Berlioz. Ivan could not even remember the surname of the foreigner, and when he began to describe the "checkered" one in a broken pince-nez and a huge cat walking on its hind legs, he was simply swaddled like a doll, carried out and taken to a psychiatric hospital.

Chapter 6

Schizophrenia, as said

The poet Ryukhin was with him in the hospital. Having come to his senses, Ivan called Riukhin a disguised proletarian and again began to tell the events at the Patriarch's. Then he talked about how his clothes were stolen and about the mysterious professor who knew everything in advance. And when he mentioned that the professor knew Pontius Pilate himself, he was given a sedative injection. The doctor told Riukhin that his comrade might have schizophrenia.

On the way back to Griboyedov, the unlucky poet thought about his fate. He understood that Homeless was right, he was a lousy poet and that his poems were all absurd. In "Griboyedov" he was met by the friendly owner of the restaurant Archibald Archibaldovich. Then Ryukhin began to drink vodka, realizing that nothing could be fixed in this life.

Chapter 7

Bad apartment

Mikhail Bulgakov began work on the novel in the late 1920s. However, a few years later, after he learned that the censorship had not allowed his play "The Cabal of the Saints", with his own hands he destroyed the entire first edition of the book, which had already occupied more than 15 chapters. "Fantastic Novel" - a book under a different title, but with a similar idea - Bulgakov wrote until 1936. The variants of the names were constantly changing: some of the most exotic - "The Great Chancellor", "Here I am" and "Advent".

Bulgakov's office. (wikipedia.org)

The author came to the final title "The Master and Margarita" - it appeared on the title page of the manuscript - only in 1937, when the work was already in its third edition. “The title for the novel was established -“ The Master and Margarita ”. There is no hope of printing it. And yet MA rules him, drives him forward, wants to finish in March. He works at night, ”the third wife of Mikhail Bulgakov, Elena, who is considered to be the main prototype of Margarita, will write in her diary.

Bulgakov with his wife Elena. (wikipedia.org)

The well-known myth - that Bulgakov allegedly used morphine while working on The Master and Margarita - is sometimes spoken about today. However, in fact, according to the researchers of his work, the author did not use drugs during this period: morphine, according to them, remained in the distant past, when Bulgakov was still working as a rural doctor.

Many things that are described in Bulgakov's novel existed in reality - the writer simply transferred them to his partly fictional universe. Therefore, in fact, in Moscow there are a lot of so-called Bulgakov places - Patriarch's Ponds, the Metropol Hotel, a deli on the Arbat. “I remember how Mikhail Afanasevich took me to meet Anna Ilyinichna Tolstoy and her husband Pavel Sergeevich Popov. Then they lived in Plotnikov Lane, on the Arbat, in a cellar, later glorified in the novel The Master and Margarita. I don’t know why Bulgakov liked the basement so much. One room with two windows was, however, nicer than the other, narrow as a gut ... In the corridor lay with his legs outstretched, a boxer puppy Grigory Potapych. He was drunk, "- recalled Bulgakov's second wife, Lyubov Belozerskaya.

Hotel "Metropol". (wikipedia.org)

In the summer of 1938, the full text of the novel was first reprinted, but Bulgakov ruled it until his death. By the way, the traces of morphine that scientists discovered on the pages of manuscripts are connected with this: overcoming excruciating suffering, the writer nevertheless edited his work to the last, sometimes dictating the text to his wife.

Illustrations. (wikipedia.org)

The novel, in fact, was never completed and during the life of the author, as we understand, was not published. It was first published by the Moscow magazine in 1966, and even then in an abridged version.

Michael Bulgakov

Master and Margarita

Moscow 1984

The text is published in the last lifetime edition (the manuscripts are kept in the manuscript department of the V. I. Lenin State Library of the USSR), as well as with corrections and additions made under the dictation of the writer by his wife, E. S. Bulgakova.

PART ONE

... So who are you, finally?
- I am part of that power
what he always wants
evil and does good forever.

Goethe. Faust

Never talk to strangers

One spring, at an hour of an unprecedented hot sunset, two citizens appeared in Moscow, at the Patriarch's Ponds. The first of them, dressed in a gray summer pair, was short, plump, bald, carried his decent hat with a pie in his hand, and on his well-shaven face were placed supernatural-sized glasses in black horn-rimmed frames. The second - a broad-shouldered, reddish, wavy young man in a checkered cap tucked at the back of his head - was in a cowboy shirt, chewed-up white trousers and black slippers.

Having fallen into the shade of slightly green lindens, the writers rushed first to a colorful booth with the inscription "Beer and Water".

- Give the narzan, - asked Berlioz.

- Narzan is not present, - the woman in the booth answered and for some reason was offended.

“The beer will be delivered in the evening,” the woman replied.

- What is there? Berlioz asked.

“Apricot, only warm,” the woman said.

- Well, come on, come on, come on! ..

Then a second oddity happened, concerning Berlioz alone. He suddenly stopped hiccuping, his heart beat and for a moment sank somewhere, then came back, but with a blunt needle stuck in him. In addition, Berlioz was seized by an unfounded, but so strong fear that he wanted to immediately flee from the Patriarchs without looking back. Berlioz looked around sadly, not understanding what had frightened him. He turned pale, wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, thought: “What's wrong with me? It never happened ... my heart is naughty ... I'm overtired. Perhaps it's time to throw everything to hell and go to Kislovodsk ... "

And then the sultry air thickened in front of him, and a transparent citizen of a strange appearance was woven from this air. On a small head there is a jockey cap, a checkered kurgozny airy jacket ... A citizen is a fathom tall, but narrow at the shoulders, incredibly thin, and, please note, his face is mocking.

Berlioz's life developed in such a way that he was not used to extraordinary phenomena. Even paler, he goggled his eyes and thought in dismay: "This cannot be! .."

But this, alas, was, and a long one, through which you can see the citizen, without touching the ground, swayed in front of him both to the left and to the right.

However, he gradually calmed down, fanned himself with a handkerchief and, saying quite cheerfully: "Well, so ..." - he made a speech, interrupted by a drink of apricot.

“There is not a single Eastern religion,” Berlioz said, “in which, as a rule, an immaculate virgin would not have given birth to God. And Christians, without inventing anything new, in the same way created their own Jesus, who in fact never lived. This is what we need to focus on ...

The high tenor of Berlioz resounded in the deserted alley, and as Mikhail Alexandrovich climbed into the jungle into which only a very educated person could climb without risking breaking his neck, the poet learned more and more interesting and useful things about the Egyptian Osiris , the blessed god and son of Heaven and Earth, and about the Phoenician god Tammuz, and about Marduk, and even about the less famous formidable god Witzliputsli, who was once highly revered by the Aztecs in Mexico.

The novel "The Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov (1928-1940) is a book within a book. The story about Satan's visit to Moscow at the beginning of the twentieth century contains a short story based on the New Testament, which was allegedly composed by one of Bulgakov's characters - a master. At the end, the two works are combined: the master meets his protagonist - the procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate - and mercifully decides his fate.

Death prevented Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov from completing work on the novel. The first journal publications of "The Master and Margarita" are dated 1966-1967, in 1969 a book with a large number of abbreviations was published in Germany, and in the writer's homeland the full text of the novel was published only in 1973. You can familiarize yourself with its plot and main ideas by reading the online chapter summary of The Master and Margarita.

main characters

Master- an unnamed writer, author of a novel about Pontius Pilate. Unable to bear the harassment from Soviet criticism, he goes crazy.

Margarita- his beloved. Having lost the master, he yearns for him and, hoping to see him again, agrees to become a queen at the annual ball of Satan.

Woland- a mysterious black magician who eventually turns into Satan himself.

Azazello- a member of Woland's retinue, a short, red-haired, fanged subject.

Koroviev- Woland's companion, a tall, thin type in a checkered jacket and pince-nez with one broken glass.

hippopotamus- Woland's jester, turning from a huge talking black cat into a short fat man "with a cat's face" and back.

Pontius Pilate- the fifth procurator of Judea, in which human feelings are struggling with official duty.

Yeshua Ha-Nozri- a wandering philosopher, condemned to crucifixion for his ideas.

Other characters

Mikhail Berlioz- Chairman of MASSOLIT, the trade union of writers. He believes that a person himself determines his fate, but dies as a result of an accident.

Ivan Homeless- a poet, a member of MASSOLIT, after meeting with Woland and the tragic death of Berlioz, he goes crazy.

Hella- Woland's maid, an attractive red-haired vampire.

Styopa Likhodeev- Director of the Variety Theater, Berlioz's neighbor. Mysteriously moves from Moscow to Yalta to vacate an apartment for Woland and his retinue.

Ivan Varenukha- Variety administrator. Woland's retinue turns him into a vampire as a edification for his impoliteness and addiction to lies.

Gregory of Rome- the financial director of Variety, who almost fell victim to the attack of the vampire Varenukha and Gella.

Andrey Sokov- barman for the Variety.

Vasily Lastochkin- Accountant Variety.

Natasha- Margarita's housekeeper, a young attractive girl, after the mistress turns into a witch.

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy- the chairman of the housing association in the house where the "damned apartment" No. 50 is located, a bribe-taker.

Aloisy Mogarych- a traitor to the master, pretending to be a friend.

Levi Matvey- a Yershalaim tax collector who is so carried away by Yeshua's speeches that he becomes his follower.

Judas of Kiriath- a young man who betrayed Yeshua Ha-Notsri, who trusted him, being flattered by the reward. As a punishment for this, he was stabbed to death.

High Priest Kaifa- the ideological opponent of Pilate, destroying the last hope for the salvation of the convicted Yeshua: instead of him, the robber Bar-Rabban will be released.

Afranius- the head of the secret service of the procurator.

Part one

Chapter 1. Never Talk to Strangers

At Patriarch's Ponds in Moscow, Mikhail Berlioz, chairman of the MASSOLIT trade union of writers, and Ivan Bezdomny, a poet, are talking about Jesus Christ. Berlioz reproaches Ivan that in his poem he created a negative image of this character instead of refuting the very fact of his existence, and gives many arguments to prove the non-existence of Christ.

A stranger who looks like a foreigner intervenes in the conversation of the writers. He asks the question, who, since God does not exist, governs human life. Disputing the answer that "the man himself controls", he predicts death for Berlioz: his head will be cut off by a "Russian woman, a Komsomol member" - and very soon, because a certain Annushka has already spilled sunflower oil.

Berlioz and Homeless suspect a spy of the stranger, but he shows them the documents and says that he was invited to Moscow as a specialist consultant in black magic, after which he declares that Jesus did exist. Berlioz demands proof, and the foreigner begins to talk about Pontius Pilate.

Chapter 2. Pontius Pilate

A beaten and poorly dressed man of about twenty-seven is brought to the trial of the procurator Pontius Pilate. Pilate, suffering from migraines, must approve the death sentence passed by the Holy Sanhedrin: the accused Yeshua Ha-Nozri allegedly called for the destruction of the temple. However, after a conversation with Yeshua, Pilate begins to sympathize with an intelligent and educated prisoner, who, as if by magic, saved him from a headache and considers all people to be good. The procurator is trying to lead Yeshua to reject the words that are attributed to him. But he, as if not feeling danger, easily confirms the information contained in the denunciation of a certain Judas from Kiriath - that he opposed all authority, and therefore the authority of the great Caesar. After this, Pilate is obliged to approve the verdict.
But he makes another attempt to save Yeshua. In a private conversation with the high priest Kaifa, he interceded that of the two prisoners under the authority of the Sanhedrin, it was Yeshua who should be pardoned. However, Kaifa refuses, preferring to give life to the rebel and murderer Bar-Rabban.

Chapter 3. Seventh proof

Berlioz tells the consultant that it is impossible to prove the reality of his story. The foreigner claims that he was personally present at these events. The head of MASSOLIT suspects that he is a madman, especially since the consultant intends to live in Berlioz's apartment. Having entrusted the strange subject to Homeless, Berlioz goes to a pay phone to call the Bureau of Foreigners. Following the consultant asks him to believe at least in the devil and promises some reliable proof.

Berlioz is about to cross the tram lines, but he slips on spilled sunflower oil and flies onto the tracks. The tram wheel, driven by a female tram driver in a Komsomol red kerchief, cuts off Berlioz's head.

Chapter 4. The Pursuit

The poet, struck by the tragedy, hears that the oil on which Berlioz slipped was poured out by a certain Annushka and Sadovaya. Ivan compares these words with those spoken by the mysterious foreigner and decides to call him to account. However, the consultant, who previously spoke excellent Russian, pretends that he does not understand the poet. A cheeky subject in a plaid jacket stands in his defense, and a little later Ivan sees them together in the distance and, moreover, accompanied by a huge black cat. Despite all the efforts of the poet to catch up with them, they hide.

Ivan's further actions look strange. He invades an unfamiliar apartment, being sure that the insidious professor is hiding there. Having stolen a small icon and a candle from there, Homeless continues the pursuit and moves to the Moscow River. There he decides to swim, after which he discovers that his clothes have been stolen. Having dressed in what he has - a torn sweatshirt and underpants - Ivan decides to look for a foreigner "at Griboyedov's" - in the MASSOLIT restaurant.

Chapter 5. There was a case in Griboyedov

"House of Griboyedov" - the building of MASSOLIT. Being a writer - a member of a trade union is very profitable: you can apply for housing in Moscow and summer residences in a prestigious village, go on "sabbatical", eat tasty and cheap in a luxurious restaurant "for your friends."

The 12 writers who have gathered at the MASSOLIT meeting are waiting for Chairman Berlioz, and without waiting, they go down to the restaurant. Having learned about the tragic death of Berlioz, they grieve, but not for long: "Yes, he died, he died ... But we are still alive!" - and continue to eat.

Ivan Homeless appears in the restaurant - barefoot, in underpants, with an icon and a candle - and begins to look under the tables for a consultant whom he blames for Berlioz's death. Colleagues try to calm him down, but Ivan becomes furious, starts a fight, the waiters tie him with towels, and the poet is taken to a psychiatric hospital.

Chapter 6. Schizophrenia, as stated

The doctor is talking with Ivan Bezdomny. The poet is very glad that they are finally ready to listen to him, and tells him his fantastic story about a consultant who is familiar with evil spirits, "attached" Berlioz under the tram and personally knows Pontius Pilate.

In the middle of the story, Homeless recalls that it is necessary to call the police, but they do not listen to the poet from the insane asylum. Ivan tries to escape from the hospital, knocking out the window, but the special glass withstands, and Homeless is placed in the ward with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Chapter 7. Bad apartment

The director of the Moscow Variety Theater, Styopa Likhodeev, wakes up with a hangover in his apartment, which he shares with the late Berlioz. The apartment has a bad reputation - there are rumors that its former tenants have disappeared without a trace and that evil spirits are allegedly involved in this.

Styopa sees a stranger in black, who claims that Likhodeev made an appointment with him. He calls himself a professor of black magic Woland and wants to clarify the details of the concluded and already paid contract for performances in the Variety, about which Styopa does not remember anything. Calling the theater and confirming the guest's words, Likhodeev finds him not alone, but with a checkered type in pince-nez and a huge talking black cat drinking vodka. Woland announces to Styopa that he is superfluous in the apartment, and a short, red-haired, fanged person named Azazello, emerging from the mirror, offers to "throw him out of Moscow to hell."

Styopa finds himself on the seashore in an unfamiliar city and learns from a passer-by that this is Yalta.

Chapter 8. Duel between professor and poet

Doctors, headed by Doctor Stravinsky, come to Ivan Bezdomny in the hospital. He asks Ivan to repeat his story again and asks what he will do if he is released now from the hospital. The homeless man replies that he will go straight to the police to report on the damned consultant. Stravinsky convinces the poet that he is too upset by the death of Berlioz to behave adequately, and therefore they will not believe him and immediately return to the hospital. The doctor invites Ivan to rest in a comfortable ward, and formulate a statement to the police in writing. The poet agrees.

Chapter 9. Koroviev's tricks

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosogo, chairman of the housing association in the house on Sadovaya, where Berlioz lived, is besieged by applicants for the vacated square of the deceased. Barefoot visits the apartment himself. In the sealed office of Berlioz sits a subject who introduces himself as Koroviev, the translator of the foreign artist Woland, who lives with Likhodeev with the permission of the owner who left for Yalta. He invites Barefoot to hand over Berlioz's apartments to the artist and immediately gives him a rent and a bribe.

Nikanor Ivanovich leaves, and Woland expresses the wish that he does not appear again. Koroviev calls by phone and says that the chairman of the housing association is illegally keeping currency at home. They come to Bosom with a search and instead of the rubles that Koroviev gave him, they find dollars. Barefoot is arrested.

Chapter 10. News from Yalta

In the office of the financial director, Variety Rimsky, he and the administrator Varenukha are sitting. They wonder where Likhodeev disappeared. At this time, an urgent telegram from Yalta comes to Varenukha's name - someone has appeared in the local criminal investigation department, claiming that he is Stepan Likhodeev, and confirmation of his identity is needed. The administrator and the financial director decide that this is a joke: Likhodeev called four hours ago from his apartment, promising to come to the theater soon, and since then he could not move from Moscow to Crimea.

Varenukha calls Stepa's apartment, where he is informed that he has left for a drive outside the city. The new version: "Yalta" - cheburek, where Likhodeev got drunk with the local telegraph operator and has fun by sending telegrams to work.

Rimsky orders Varenukha to take the telegrams to the police. An unfamiliar nasal voice on the phone orders the administrator not to carry the telegrams anywhere, but he still goes to the department. On the way, he is attacked by a fat cat-like man and a short, fanged subject. They deliver their victim to Likhodeev's apartment. The last thing Varenukha sees is a naked red-haired girl with burning eyes, who approaches him.

Chapter 11. Bifurcation of Ivan

Ivan Bezdomny in the hospital is trying to draw up a statement to the police, but he cannot clearly explain what happened. In addition to this, he is worried about the thunderstorm outside the window. After a soothing injection, the poet lies and talks “in his mind” to himself. One of the internal "interlocutors" continues to worry about the tragedy with Berlioz, the other is sure that instead of panic and chase, it was necessary to politely ask the consultant more about Pilate and find out the continuation of the story.

Suddenly, a stranger appears on the balcony outside the window of Homeless's ward.

Chapter 12. Black magic and its exposure

The findirector of the Variety Rimsky wonders where Varenukha has disappeared. He wants to call the police about this, but all the telephones in the theater are broken. Woland arrives at the Variety, accompanied by Koroviev and a cat.

Entertainer Bengalsky introduces Woland to the public, declaring that, of course, no black magic exists, and the artist is only a magician-virtuoso. Woland begins his "session with exposure" with a philosophical conversation with Koroviev, whom he calls Fagot, about how Moscow and its inhabitants have changed greatly outwardly, but the question of whether they have become different internally is much more important. Bengalsky explains to the audience that the foreign artist is delighted with Moscow and Muscovites, but the artists immediately object that they did not say anything like that.

Koroviev-Fagot shows a trick with a deck of cards, which is found in the wallet of one of the spectators. The skeptic, who decides that this spectator is in cahoots with a magician, finds a wad of money in his own pocket. After that, the gold pieces begin to fall from the ceiling, and people catch them. The entertainer calls what is happening "mass hypnosis" and assures the audience that the pieces of paper are not real, but the artists again refute his words. Bassoon declares that he is tired of Bengalsky and asks the audience what to do with this liar. An offer is heard from the audience: "Tear off his head!" - and the cat rips off Bengal's head. The audience regrets the entertainer, Woland argues out loud that people, in general, remain the same, “the housing issue has only spoiled them,” and orders him to put his head back. Bengalsky leaves the stage and is taken away by an ambulance.

"Tapericha, when this annoying one has been fused, let's open a ladies' store!" - says Koroviev. Showcases, mirrors and rows of clothes appear on the stage, and the exchange of old dresses of spectators for new ones begins. When the store disappears, a voice from the audience demands the promised revelation. In response, Fagott reveals its owner - that yesterday he was not at work at all, but at his mistress's. The session ends with a scandal.

Chapter 13. Appearance of the hero

A stranger from the balcony enters Ivan's room. This is also a patient. He has a bunch of keys stolen from a paramedic, but when asked why he, having them, will not run away from the hospital, the guest replies that he has nowhere to escape. He informs Homeless about a new patient who keeps repeating about currency in ventilation, and asks the poet how he got here himself. Learning that “because of Pontius Pilate,” he demands details and tells Ivan that he met with Satan at the Patriarch's Ponds.

The stranger was also brought to the hospital by Pontius Pilate - Ivan's guest wrote a novel about him. He introduces himself to Homeless as a “master” and, as proof, presents a hat with the letter M, which a certain “she” sewed for him. Further, the master tells the poet his story - how he once won a hundred thousand rubles, quit his job in a museum, rented an apartment in the basement and began to write a novel, and soon met his beloved: “Love jumped out in front of us, like a murderer jumps out of the ground in an alley, and amazed both of us at once! This is how lightning strikes, this is how the Finnish knife strikes! " ... Just like the master himself, his secret wife fell in love with his novel, saying that her whole life was in it. However, the book was not taken to print, and when the passage was still published, the reviews in the newspapers turned out to be a failure - critics called the novel "Pilatchina", and the author was branded a "bogomaz" and "a militant Old Believer." Particularly zealous was someone Latunsky, whom the beloved master promised to kill. Soon after that, the master made friends with a fan of literature named Aloisy Mogarych, who did not like his beloved very much. Meanwhile, reviews continued to appear, and the master began to go crazy. He burned his novel in the oven - the woman who came in managed to save only a few charred sheets - and on the same night he was evicted and he ended up in a hospital. The master has not seen his beloved since then.
A patient is placed in the next ward, who complains of an allegedly torn off head. When the noise dies down, Ivan asks his interlocutor why he did not let his beloved know about himself, and he replies that he does not want to make her unhappy: “Poor woman. However, I have a hope that she has forgotten me! " ...

Chapter 14. Glory to the rooster!

From the window, the findirector of the Variety Rimsky sees several ladies whose clothes suddenly disappeared in the middle of the street - these are the unlucky clients of Fagot's shop. He has to make several calls about today's scandals, but he is forbidden by the "depraved female voice" on the phone.

By midnight Rimsky remains alone in the theater, and then Varenukha appears with a story about Likhodeev. According to him, Styopa really got drunk in a cheburek "Yalta" with a telegraph operator and arranged a joke with telegrams, and also perpetrated many ugly antics, ending up in a sobering-up center. Rimsky begins to notice that the administrator is behaving suspiciously - he covers himself from the lamp with a newspaper, has acquired the habit of smacking his lips, has turned strangely pale, and has a scarf around his neck, despite the heat. And finally the findirector sees that Varenukha is not casting a shadow.

The exposed vampire closes the office door from the inside, and a red-haired naked girl enters through the window. However, these two do not have time to deal with Rimsky - a cock crow is heard. The findirector who miraculously escaped, turned gray overnight, hastily leaves for Leningrad.

Chapter 15. Dream of Nikanor Ivanovich

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, in response to all the questions of law enforcement officers about currency, repeats about evil spirits, a villain-translator and his complete innocence to the dollars found in his ventilation system. He admits: "He took it, but took it with our Soviets!" ... He is referred to psychiatrists. A squad is sent to apartment no. 50 to check the words of Barefoot about the translator, but they find it empty, and the seals on the doors are intact.

In the hospital Nikanor Ivanovich has a dream - he is again interrogated about dollars, but this happens in the premises of some strange theater, in which, in parallel with the concert program, the audience is required to hand over currency. He screams in his sleep, the paramedic calms him down.

Barefoot's screams woke up his hospital neighbors. When Ivan Homeless falls asleep again, he begins to dream about the continuation of the story about Pilate.

Chapter 16. Execution

Those sentenced to death, including Yeshua, are being taken to Bald Mountain. The place of the crucifixion is cordoned off: the procurator fears that they will try to recapture the convicts from the servants of the law.

Soon after the crucifixion, spectators leave the mountain, unable to withstand the heat. The soldiers stay and suffer from the heat. But one more person lurked on the mountain - this is Yeshua's disciple, the former Yershalaim tax collector Matthew Levi. When the suicide bombers were taken to the place of execution, he wanted to get to Ha-Nozri and stab him with a knife stolen from a bread shop, saving him from a painful death, but he failed. He blames himself for what happened to Yeshua - he left the teacher alone, fell ill at the wrong time - and asks the Lord to give Ha-Nozri death. However, the Almighty is in no hurry to fulfill the request, and then Matthew Levi begins to murmur and curse him. As if a thunderstorm is gathering in response to the blasphemy, the soldiers leave the hill, and the commander of the cohort in a crimson robe rises to meet them. By his order, the sufferers on the pillars were killed with a spear prick in the heart, and ordered to praise the magnanimous procurator.

A thunderstorm begins, the hill becomes empty. Levi Matthew approaches the pillars and removes all three corpses from them, after which he steals the body of Yeshua.

Chapter 17. A Troubled Day

Variety's accountant Lastochkin, who remains in charge of the theater, has no idea how to react to the rumors that Moscow is full of, and what to do with the incessant phone calls and investigators with a dog who have come to look for the missing Rimsky. The dog, by the way, behaves strangely - at the same time it is angry, afraid and howling, like an evil spirits - and does not bring any benefit to the search. It turns out that all the documents about Woland in the Variety have disappeared - even the posters are gone.

Lastochkin is sent with a report to the commission of spectacles and amusements. There he discovers that in the office of the chairman, instead of a man, an empty suit is sitting and signing papers. According to the tear-stained secretary, her boss was visited by a fat man who looked like a cat. The accountant decides to visit the branch of the commission - but there a certain checkered type in a broken pince-nez organized a choir singing circle, he disappeared, but the singers still cannot shut up.

Finally, Lastochkin arrives at the financial entertainment sector, wanting to hand over the proceeds from yesterday's performance. However, instead of rubles, his portfolio contains currency. The accountant is arrested.

Chapter 18. Unlucky Visitors

The uncle of the late Berlioz Maxim Poplavsky arrives in Moscow from Kiev. He received a strange telegram about the death of a relative, signed with the name of Berlioz himself. Poplavsky wants to claim an inheritance - housing in the capital.

In the apartment of his nephew, Poplavsky meets with Koroviev, who sobs and paints the death of Berlioz. The cat speaks to Poplavsky, reports that it was he who gave the telegram, and demands the guest's passport, and then informs him that his presence at the funeral is canceled. Azazello expels Poplavsky out, telling him not to dream of an apartment in Moscow.

Immediately after Poplavsky, the barman Variety Sokov comes to the "bad" apartment. Woland voiced him a number of complaints about his work - green cheese, sturgeon "second freshness", tea "looks like slop". Sokov, in turn, complains that the gold pieces at the checkout have turned into cut paper. Woland and his retinue sympathize with him and, incidentally, predict death from liver cancer in nine months, and when Sokov wants to show them his former money, the paper turns out to be gold pieces again.

The barman rushes to the doctor and begs him to heal the disease. He pays for the visit with the same chervonets, and after he leaves, they turn into wine labels.

Part two

Chapter 19. Margarita

The master's beloved, Margarita Nikolaevna, did not forget him at all, and a secure life in her husband's mansion was not dear to her. On the day of strange events with the barman and Poplavsky, she wakes up with the feeling that something will happen. For the first time during the time of separation, the master dreamed of her, and she goes to sort through the relics associated with him - this is his photograph, dried rose petals, a passbook with the remnants of his winnings and the charred pages of the novel.

Walking around Moscow, Margarita sees Berlioz's funeral. A small, red-haired citizen with a protruding fang sits down next to her and tells her about the head of the deceased, stolen by someone, after which, calling her by name, invites her to visit “a very noble foreigner”. Margarita wants to leave, but Azazello quotes lines from the master's novel after her and hints that, by agreeing, she can find out about her lover. The woman agrees, and Azazello hands her some magic cream and gives her instructions.

Chapter 20. Cream of Azazello

Having smeared with cream, Margarita becomes younger, prettier and acquires the ability to fly. “Forgive me and forget about it as soon as possible. I leave you forever. Don't look for me, it's useless. I became a witch because of the grief and calamity that struck me. I have to go. Goodbye, ”she writes to her husband. Her maid Natasha enters, sees her and learns about the magic cream. Azazello calls Margarita and says that it's time to fly out - and a revived broom rushes into the room. Having saddled her, Margarita flies out the window in front of Natasha and his neighbor below, Nikolai Ivanovich.

Chapter 21. Flight

Margarita becomes invisible and, flying around Moscow at night, has fun with petty pranks, frightening people. But then she sees a luxurious house in which writers live, and among them - the critic Latunsky, who killed the master. Margarita enters his apartment through the window and arranges a pogrom there.

As she continues her flight, Natasha catches up with her on a hog. It turns out that the housekeeper rubbed herself with the remnants of the magic cream and smeared her neighbor Nikolai Ivanovich with it, as a result of which she became a witch, and he became a hog. After swimming in the night river, Margarita sets off back to Moscow in a flying car given to her.

Chapter 22. By candlelight

In Moscow, Koroviev escorts Margarita to a "bad" apartment and talks about Satan's annual ball, at which she will be the queen, mentioning that royal blood flows in Margarita herself. In an incomprehensible way, ballrooms are placed inside the apartment, and Koroviev explains this by using the fifth dimension.

Woland lies in his bedroom playing chess with the cat Behemoth, and Gella is rubbing ointment on his sore knee. Margarita replaces Gella, Woland asks the guest if she is also suffering from something: "Perhaps you have some kind of sadness that poisons your soul, longing?" , but Margarita replies in the negative. It’s not long before midnight, and they’ll take her out to get ready for the ball.

Chapter 23. Satan's Great Ball

Margarita is bathed in blood and rose oil, the queen's regalia is put on her and she is led to the stairs to meet guests - long dead, but for the sake of a ball of criminals who have resurrected for one night: poisoners, pimps, counterfeiters, murderers, traitors. Among them is a young woman named Frida, whose story Koroviev tells Margarita: “When she was serving in a cafe, the owner once called her into the pantry, and nine months later she gave birth to a boy, took him into the forest and put a handkerchief in his mouth. and then buried the boy in the ground. At the trial, she said that she had nothing to feed the child. " Since then, for 30 years now, Frida has been brought that very handkerchief every morning.

The reception ends, and Margarita must fly around the halls and pay attention to the guests. Woland came out, to whom Azazello offered Berlioz's head on a platter. Woland releases Berlioz into oblivion, and his skull turns into a bowl. This vessel is filled with the blood of Baron Meigel, who was shot by Azazello, a Moscow official, the only living guest at the ball, in which Woland tracked down a spy. The cup is brought to Margarita, and she drinks. The ball ends, everything disappears, and in the place of the huge hall there is a modest living room and a slightly open door to Woland's bedroom.

Chapter 24. Retrieving the Master

Margarita has more and more fears that there will be no reward for Satan's presence at the ball, but the woman herself does not want to remind of her out of pride, and even to a direct question from Woland replies that she does not need anything. “Never ask for anything! Never and nothing, and especially with those who are stronger than you. They themselves will offer and they themselves will give everything! " - says Woland, pleased with her, and offers to fulfill any wish of Margarita. However, instead of solving her problem, she demands that Frida stop serving the handkerchief. Woland says that the queen can do such a little herself, but his proposal remains in force - and then Margarita finally wishes that she "this very second returned her lover, the master."

The Master appears in front of her. Woland, hearing about the novel about Pilate, becomes interested in him. The manuscript, which the master burned, turns out to be completely intact in Woland's hands - "the manuscripts do not burn."
Margarita asks to return her and her lover to his basement, and so that everything becomes as it was. The master is skeptical: others have lived in his apartment for a long time, he has no documents, they will look for him for escaping from the hospital. Woland solves all these problems, and it turns out that the master's living space was occupied by his "friend" Mogarych, who wrote a denunciation against him that the master keeps illegal literature.

At the request of her and Margarita, Natasha is left a witch. Neighbor Nikolai Ivanovich, to whom his appearance was returned, demands a certificate for the police and his wife that he spent the night at Satan's ball, and the cat immediately composes it for him. Administrator Varenukha appears and begs to release him from vampires, because he is not bloodthirsty.

In parting, Woland promises the master that his work will still bring him surprises. The lovers are taken to their basement apartment. There the master falls asleep, and the happy Margarita rereads his novel.

Chapter 25. How the procurator tried to save Judas

A storm is raging over Yershalaim. The head of the secret service, Afranius, comes to the procurator and reports that the execution has taken place, there is no disorder in the city, and the general mood is quite satisfactory. In addition, he talks about the last hours of Yeshua's life, citing the words of Ha-Nozri that "among human vices, he considers cowardice to be one of the most important."

Pilate orders Afranius to urgently and secretly bury the bodies of all three executed and to take care of the safety of Judas from Kiriath, whom, as he allegedly heard, “secret friends of Ha-Nozri” are to slaughter that night. In fact, the procurator himself right now allegorically orders the head of the secret guard for this murder.

Chapter 26. Burial

The procurator understands that he missed something very important today and that no orders of this will return. He finds some consolation only in communication with his beloved dog Banga.

Afranius, meanwhile, is visiting a young woman named Niza. Soon she meets in the city with Judas from Kiriath, who is in love with her, who has just received payment from Kaifa for betraying Yeshua. She makes an appointment with the young man in a garden near Yershalaim. Instead of a girl, Judas is met there by three men, they kill him with a knife and take a purse with thirty pieces of silver. One of these three - Afranius - returns to the city, where the procurator, awaiting the report, has forgotten himself. In his dreams, Yeshua is alive and walking with him along the lunar road, both of them are happy to argue about necessary and important things, and the procurator understands that, indeed, there is no vice worse than cowardice - and it was cowardice that he showed, being afraid to justify the free-thinker philosopher to the detriment of their career.

Aphranius says that Judas is dead, and a package with silver and a note "I return the damned money" was thrown to the high priest Kaifa. Pilate tells Aphranius to spread a rumor that Judas himself committed suicide. Further, the head of the secret service reports that Yeshua's body was found near the place of execution at a certain Levi Matthew, who did not want to give it up, but when he learned that Ha-Nozri would be buried, he resigned himself.

Levi Matthew is brought to the procurator, who asks him to show him the parchment with the words of Yeshua. Levi reproaches Pilate for the death of Ha-Nozri, to which he notes that Yeshua himself did not blame anyone. The former tax collector warns that he is going to kill Judas, but the procurator informs him that the traitor is already dead and he, Pilate, did it.

Chapter 27. End of Apartment No. 50

In Moscow, the investigation into the Woland case continues, and the police once again go to the "bad" apartment, where all ends lead. There is a talking cat with a primus stove. He provokes a firefight, which, however, dispenses with casualties. The voices of Woland, Koroviev and Azazello are heard, saying that it is time to leave Moscow - and the cat, apologizing, disappears, spilling burning gasoline from the primus. The apartment is ablaze, and from its window four silhouettes - three men and one woman - fly out.

A subject in a checkered jacket and a fat man with a primus in his hands, looking like a cat, come to the store that sells currency. The fat man eats tangerines, herring and chocolate from the window, and Koroviev calls on the people to protest against the fact that scarce goods are sold to foreigners for foreign currency, and not for their own - for rubles. When the police appear, the partners hide, setting up a fire beforehand, and move to Griboyedov's restaurant. Soon it will light up too.

Chapter 29. The fate of the master and Margarita is determined

Woland and Azazello are talking on the terrace of one of the Moscow buildings, looking at the city. Levi Matthew comes to them and says that "he" - meaning Yeshua - has read the master's novel and asks Woland to give the author and his beloved a well-deserved peace. Woland tells Azazello "to go to them and arrange everything."

Chapter 30. It's time! It's time!

Azazello visits the master and Margarita in their basement. Before that, they talk about the events of the past night - the master is still trying to comprehend them and convince Margarita to leave him and not ruin herself with him, she absolutely believes Woland.

Azazello sets fire to the apartment, and all three, riding on black horses, are carried away into the sky.

On the way, the master says goodbye to Homeless, whom he calls a disciple, and bequeaths to him to write a continuation of the story about Pilate.

Chapter 31. On Sparrow Hills

Azazello, the master and Margarita reunite with Woland, Koroviev and Begemot. The master says goodbye to the city. “In the first moments, an aching sadness crept up to my heart, but very quickly it was replaced by a sweetish anxiety, a wandering gypsy excitement. […] His excitement turned, as it seemed to him, into a feeling of bitter resentment. But that was unstable, disappeared and for some reason was replaced by a proud indifference, and it - a foreboding of constant peace. "

Chapter 32. Farewell and Eternal Refuge

Night comes, and in the light of the moon, the riders flying across the sky change their appearance. Koroviev turns into a gloomy knight in purple armor, Azazello into a desert demon-killer, Behemoth into a slender young page, "the best jester that has ever existed in the world." Margarita does not see her transformation, but the master acquires a gray scythe and spurs before her eyes. Woland explains that today is such a night when all the scores are settled. In addition, he informs the master that Yeshua has read his novel and noted that, unfortunately, it is not finished.

A person sitting in a chair and a dog next to them appear before the eyes of the riders. For two thousand years Pontius Pilate has seen the same dream - the lunar road, which he cannot follow. “Free! Free! He is waiting for you!" - shouts the master, letting go of his hero and completing the novel, and Pilate finally leaves with his dog along the lunar road to where Yeshua awaits him.

The very same master and his beloved awaits, as promised, peace. “Do you really not want to walk with your friend during the day under the cherries that are starting to bloom, and listen to Schubert's music in the evening? Wouldn't it please you to write with a goose pen by candlelight? Don't you want, like Faust, to sit over a retort in the hope that you will be able to mold a new homunculus? There, there. There is already a house and an old servant waiting for you, the candles are already burning, and soon they will go out, because you will immediately meet the dawn, "Woland describes him in this way. “Look, ahead of you is your eternal home, which you were given as a reward. I can already see the Venetian window and the climbing grapes, it rises to the very roof. I know that in the evening those whom you love, whom you are interested in and who will not disturb you will come to you. They will play for you, they will sing to you, you will see what kind of light is in the room when the candles are burning. You will fall asleep, putting on your greasy and eternal cap, you will fall asleep with a smile on your lips. Sleep will strengthen you, you will begin to reason wisely. And you won't be able to drive me away. I will take care of your sleep, ”says Margarita. The master himself feels that someone is releasing him, as he himself had just released Pilate.

Epilogue

The investigation into the Woland case reached a dead end, and as a result, all the oddities in Moscow were explained by the intrigues of a gang of hypnotists. Varenukha stopped lying and rude, Bengalsky gave up the entertainer, preferring to live on his savings, Rimsky resigned from the position of findirector of the Variety, and his place was taken by the enterprising Aloisy Mogarych. Ivan Homeless left the hospital and became a professor of philosophy, and only on full moons he is disturbed by dreams about Pilate and Yeshua, the master and Margarita.

Conclusion

The novel "The Master and Margarita" Bulgakov originally conceived as a satire about the devil called "The Black Magician" or "The Great Chancellor". But after six editions, one of which Bulgakov burned with his own hand, the book turned out to be not so much satirical as philosophical, in which the devil in the form of the mysterious black magician Woland became only one of the characters. The first place was taken by the motives of eternal love, mercy, the search for truth and the triumph of justice.

A brief retelling of "The Master and Margarita" by chapters is sufficient only for an approximate understanding of the plot and the main ideas of the work - we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the full text of the novel.

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