The Master and the Margarita begins. Love is not punished! There is no strength to read the book

This novel is known all over the world. Everyone will consider it an honor to stage a play or release a movie based on the plot of a genius work.
The history of the creation of the novel "The Master and Margarita" is thoroughly imbued with deep feelings, inner drama. In his brainchild, which is the latest creation, the author tried to put the maximum talent and imagination, transferring all the skill that he is capable of.

Start

Bulgakov began work on the novel in 1928. The work remained unfinished. It took exactly 10 years to write it, right up to the last days of the author's life. As the protagonist of the novel The Master, Bulgakov threw the manuscript into hellish flames, but "the manuscripts do not burn." This is what Woland (Satan) said, and he was right.

Two years will pass before Bulgakov returns to the work. The writer will be able to find several burnt pages and from memory again try to recreate all the fragments of the novel. It's a shame to wait for the publication, it was not destined. The disease undermined her strength, making him bedridden. The wife made amendments under dictation. For Elena Sergeevna, work on the novel has become the meaning of life. This was Bulgakov's last will, and in memory of him, she will try to publish the novel for the publishing house for another two decades.

After Bulgakov's death

Elena Sergeevna, Bulgakov's wife, managed to get used to the fact that she hears a refusal everywhere. Chasing from one office to another, the woman was clearly given to understand that the time had not come for such progressive works. The first who took the liberty of publishing the novel was the Moscow magazine. It happened in 1968. Once in their hands, the publishers preferred to cut the work, editing at their own discretion. Many scenes did not reach the reader, depriving him of the opportunity to enjoy the original.

The next will be the Posev publishing house. "The Master and Margarita" will be published with their submission in the original, without editorial notes. This will not happen in the Soviet Union, in Germany. Four years later, the novel will reach our readers. This will happen in 1973, when the taboo on prohibited works will be completely removed.

Our days

Interest in the novel has not faded to this day. Having gone through persecution, censorship, he literally rose from the ashes, having a chance for a second birth. He is discussed, criticized, slandered, looking for hidden subtext in every line. But one thing is invariable - spiritual values. Bulgakov managed to convey to the reader that the main thing in the world is love, freedom, forgiveness, and not evil and greed. As long as these feelings are alive in each of us, the novel and the memory of the genius writer will live on, whose work will forever remain in our hearts.

At the end of the novel, both lines intersect: the Master frees the hero of his novel, and Pontius Pilate, after death for so long languishing on a stone slab with his faithful dog Banga and who wanted all this time to end the interrupted conversation with Yeshua, finally finds peace and sets off on an endless journey through stream of moonlight with Yeshua. The Master and Margarita find in the afterlife the “peace” given to them by Woland (which differs from the “light” mentioned in the novel - another version of the afterlife).

Place and time of the main events of the novel

All events in the novel (in its main narrative) unfold in Moscow in the 1930s, in May, from Wednesday evening to Sunday night, and these days were full moon. It is difficult to establish the year in which the action took place, since the text contains conflicting indications of the time - perhaps consciously, or perhaps as a result of unfinished copyright revisions.

In the early editions of the novel (1929-1931), the action of the novel is pushed into the future, 1933, 1934 and even 1943 and 1945 are mentioned, the events take place in different periods of the year - from early May to early July. Initially, the author attributed the action to the summer period. However, most likely, in order to maintain a kind of narrative outline, the time was moved from summer to spring (see chapter 1 of the novel “Once in the spring ...” And there, further: “Yes, the first strangeness of this terrible May evening should be noted”).

In the epilogue of the novel, the full moon, during which the action takes place, is called festive, and a version suggests itself that the holiday means Easter, most likely Orthodox Easter. Then the action should begin on the Wednesday of Holy Week, which fell on May 1 in 1929. Proponents of this version also put forward the following arguments:

• May 1 is the day of international solidarity of workers, widely celebrated at that time (despite the fact that in 1929 it coincided with Holy Week, that is, with the days of strict fasting). There is a bitter irony in the fact that Satan arrives in Moscow on this very day. In addition, the night of May 1 is Walpurgis Night, the time of the annual sabbath of witches on Mount Brocken, from where, therefore, Satan came directly.
• the master in the novel is "a man of about thirty-eight years of age." Bulgakov turned thirty-eight on May 15, 1929.

However, it should be pointed out that on May 1, 1929, the moon was already on its decline. The Easter full moon never occurs in May. In addition, the text contains direct indications for a later time:

• the novel mentions a trolleybus launched along the Arbat in 1934, and along the Garden Ring in 1936.
• the architects' congress mentioned in the novel took place in June 1937 (I congress of architects of the USSR).
• very warm weather was established in Moscow in early May 1935 (spring full moons then fell in mid-April and mid-May). In 1935, the action takes place in the 2005 film adaptation.

The events of the "Romance of Pontius Pilate" take place in the Roman province of Judea during the reign of the emperor Tiberius and the rule on behalf of the Roman authorities by Pontius Pilate, on the day before the Jewish Passover and the following night, that is, Nisan 14-15 according to the Hebrew calendar. Thus, the time of action is presumably the beginning of April or 30 A.D. NS.

Interpretation of the novel

Considerations were expressed that the idea of ​​the novel came from Bulgakov after visiting the editorial office of the newspaper Atheist.

It was also noted that in the first edition of the novel, the session of black magic was dated June 12 - June 12, 1929, the first congress of Soviet atheists began in Moscow, with reports by Nikolai Bukharin and Emelyan Gubelman (Yaroslavsky).

There are several opinions on how this work should be interpreted.

Responding to Militant Atheist Propaganda

One of the possible interpretations of the novel is Bulgakov's answer to the poets and writers who, in his opinion, organized propaganda of atheism and denial of the existence of Jesus Christ as a historical person in Soviet Russia. In particular, the answer to the publication in the newspaper "Pravda" of that time of the anti-religious poems of Demyan Bedny.

As a result of such actions on the part of the militant atheists, the novel became a response, a rebuke. It is no coincidence that in the novel, both in the Moscow part and in the Jewish part, there is a kind of caricature whitewashing of the image of the devil. It is no coincidence that in the novel the presence of characters from Jewish demonology is, as it were, in opposition to the denial of the existence of God in the USSR.

According to one of the researchers of Bulgakov's work, hieromonk Dimitriy Pershin, the writer got the idea to write a novel about the devil after visiting the editorial office of the Atheist newspaper in 1925. In his novel, Bulgakov tried to construct a kind of apology proving the existence of the spiritual world. This attempt, however, is built on the contrary: the novel shows the reality of the presence in the world of evil, demonic forces. At the same time, the writer poses the question: "How is it that if these forces exist, and the world is in the hands of Woland and his company, then why is the world still standing?"

The interpretation itself is contained in the hidden allegorical forms of the narrative. Bulgakov presents something related to Freemasonry in a veiled, implicit and half-hidden form. Such a moment is the transformation of the poet Homeless from an ignorant person into an educated and balanced person who has found himself and learned something more than writing poems on an anti-religious theme. This is facilitated by a meeting with Woland, who is a kind of starting point in the poet's quest, passing tests and meeting with the Master, who becomes his spiritual mentor.

The Master is the image of a Master Mason who has completed all stages of Masonic initiation. Now he is a teacher, mentor, guide of those seeking the Light of knowledge and true spirituality. He is the author of a moral work on Pontius Pilate, which relates to the architectural work carried out by the Freemasons in the course of their knowledge of the Royal Art. He judges everything in a balanced way, not allowing emotions to gain the upper hand over him and return him to the ignorant state of a layman.

Margarita is initiated into one of the mysteries. The entire description of what is happening, those images that take place in the series of events of Margaret's dedication, everything speaks of one of the Hellenistic cults, most likely of the Dionysian mysteries, since Satyr appears to be one of the priests performing the alchemical combination of water and fire, which determines the completion of Margaret's dedication. In fact, having passed the Great Circle of Mysteries, Margarita becomes a student and gets the opportunity to go through the Small Circle of Mysteries, for which she is invited to Woland's Ball. At the Ball, she undergoes many tests, which is so characteristic of the initiation rituals of Freemasons. Upon completion of which, Margarita is informed that she was tested and that she passed the tests. The end of the Ball is a candlelit dinner in the circle of loved ones. This is a very characteristic symbolic description of the "Table Lodge" (agapa) of the Freemasons. By the way, women are admitted to membership in Masonic lodges in purely female lodges or mixed ones, such as the International Mixed Masonic Order "Human Right".

There are also a number of smaller episodes that show interpretations and descriptions of Masonic rituals and general initiatory practice in Masonic lodges.

Philosophical interpretation

In this interpretation of the novel, the main idea is highlighted - the inevitability of punishment for acts. It is no coincidence that supporters of this interpretation point out that one of the central places in the novel is occupied by the actions of Woland's retinue before the ball, when bribes, libertines and other negative characters are punished, and Woland's court itself, when everyone is rewarded according to his faith.

Interpretation by A. Zerkalov

There is an original interpretation of the novel proposed by the science fiction writer and literary critic A. Zerkalov-Mirer in the book "Ethics of Mikhail Bulgakov" (published in the city). According to Zerkalov, Bulgakov disguised in the novel a "serious" satire on the mores of Stalin's time, which, without any decryptions, was clear to the first listeners of the novel to whom Bulgakov himself read. According to Zerkalov, Bulgakov, after the caustic "Heart of a Dog", simply could not descend to satire in the style of Ilf-Petrov. However, after the events around the "Heart of a Dog" Bulgakov had to mask the satire more carefully, placing peculiar "notes" for understanding people. It is worth noting that in this interpretation, some inconsistencies and ambiguities in the novel received a plausible explanation. Unfortunately, Zerkalov left this work unfinished.

A. Barkov: "The Master and Margarita" - a novel about M. Gorky

According to the conclusions of the literary critic A. Barkov, "The Master and Margarita" is a novel about M. Gorky, depicting the collapse of Russian culture after the October Revolution. newspapers by the "master of socialist literature" M. Gorky, erected on a pedestal by V. Lenin, but also the events of the October Revolution and even the armed uprising of 1905. As A. Barkov reveals the text of the novel, the prototype of the master was M. Gorky, Margarita - his common-law wife, the Moscow Art Theater artist M. Andreeva, Woland - Lenin, Latunsky and Sempleyarova - Lunacharsky, Matvey Levia - Lev Tolstoy, the Variety Theater - the Moscow Art Theater.

A. Barkov reveals in detail the system of images, citing the novel's indications of prototypes of characters and the connection between them in life. Regarding the main characters, the instructions are as follows:

• Master:

1) In the 1930s, the title "master" in Soviet journalism and newspapers was firmly entrenched in M. Gorky, to which Barkov cites examples from periodicals. The title "master" as the personification of the highest degree of the creator of the era of socialist realism, a writer capable of fulfilling any ideological order, was introduced and promoted by N. Bukharin and A. Lunacharsky.

2) In the novel there are indications of the year of the events taking place - 1936. Despite numerous indications of May as the time of events, in relation to the death of Berlioz and the master, indications are made of June (flowering lindens, lacy shade of acacia, strawberries were present in early editions). In the astrological phrases of Woland, the researcher finds indications of the second new moon of the May-June period, which in 1936 fell on June 19. This is the day when the whole country said goodbye to M. Gorky, who had died the day before. The darkness that covered the city (both Yershalaim and Moscow) is a description of the solar eclipse that occurred on that day, June 19, 1936 (the degree of closure of the solar disk in Moscow was 78%), accompanied by a decrease in temperature and a strong wind (on the night of this the day over Moscow was the strongest thunderstorm), when the body of Gorky was exhibited in the Column Hall of the Kremlin. The novel also contains details of his funeral ("Column Hall", removal of the body from the Kremlin (Alexandrovsky Garden), etc.) (absent in early editions; appeared after 1936).

3) The novel written by the "master", which is an openly Talmudic (and defiantly anti-evangelical) presentation of the life of Christ, is a parody not only of the works and credo of M. Gorky, but also of L. Tolstoy, and also denounces the credo of all Soviet anti-religious propaganda.

• Margarita:

1) "Gothic mansion" of Margarita (the address is easily established from the text of the novel - Spiridonovka) - this is the mansion of Savva Morozov, with whom Maria Andreeva, an artist of the Moscow Art Theater and a Marxist, beloved of S. Morozov, lived until 1903, to whom he transferred huge sums used by her for the needs of Lenin's party. Since 1903, M. Andreeva was the common-law wife of M. Gorky.

2) In 1905, after S. Morozov's suicide, M. Andreeva received S. Morozov's insurance policy bequeathed in her name for one hundred thousand rubles, ten thousand of which she handed over to M. Gorky to pay off his debts, and gave the rest to the needs of the RSDLP (in the novel, the master finds a bond “in a basket of dirty laundry”, according to which he wins one hundred thousand rubles (for which he begins “to write his novel”, that is, develops a large-scale literary activity), “hires rooms from the developer”, and after that the remaining ten thousands are taken by Margarita).

3) The house with a "bad apartment" in all editions of the novel was held with a pre-revolutionary continuous numbering of the Garden Ring, which indicates pre-revolutionary events. The "bad apartment" in the novel originally appeared with number 20, not 50. According to the geographical indications of the first editions of the novel, this is apartment number 20 on Vozdvizhenka, 4, where M. Gorky and M. Andreeva lived during the 1905 uprising, where she was the training base for armed Marxist militants, created by M. Andreeva, and where V. Lenin visited Gorky and Andreeva several times (a memorial plaque on the house: Vozdvizhenka, 4 reports about his several stays in this house in 1905). There was also the "housekeeper" "Natasha" (the party nickname of one of Andreeva's henchmen) and there were episodes of shooting when one of the militants, while practicing with weapons, shot through the wall into the neighboring apartment (episode with Azazello's shot).

4) The museum mentioned in the master's monologue regarding his wife ( " - Were you married? - Well, yes, here I am and click ... on this ... Varenka, Manechka ... no, Varenka ... still a striped dress ... a museum "), refers to the work of Gorky and Andreeva in the post-revolutionary years in the commission for the selection of museum valuables for sale abroad; Andreeva reported on the sale of museum treasures to Berlin personally to Lenin. The names mentioned by the master (Manechka, Varenka) refer to the real women of Gorky - Maria Andreeva, Varvara Shaykevich and Maria Zakrevskaya-Benkendorf.

5) The Falernian wine mentioned in the novel refers to the Italian region of Naples-Salerno-Capri, which is closely related to the biography of Gorky, where he spent several years of his life, and where Lenin repeatedly visited Gorky and Andreev, as well as the activities of the RSDLP militant school in Capri Andreeva, who was often on Capri, took an active part in the work. The darkness that came precisely from the Mediterranean Sea also refers to this (by the way, the eclipse of June 19, 1936 really began over the territory of the Mediterranean Sea and passed through the entire territory of the USSR from west to east).

• Woland - the life prototype of Woland stems from the system of images created in the novel - this is V.I.Lenin, who personally participated in the relationship between M. Andreeva and M. Gorky and used Andreeva to influence Gorky.

1) Woland marries the master and Margarita, at the great ball at Satan's - in 1903 (after Andreeva's acquaintance with Gorky), Lenin in Geneva personally ordered Andreeva to involve Gorky in the work of the RSDLP.

2) At the end of the novel, Woland and his retinue stands on the building of Pashkov's house, reigning over him. This is the building of the State Library named after Lenin, a significant part of which is filled with the works of Lenin (in the early editions of the novel Woland, explaining the reason for his arrival in Moscow, instead of mentioning the works of Herbert Avrilaksky, says: "Here in the state library there is a large collection of works on black magic and demonology."; also in the early editions of the novel in the finale, the fire covered not some buildings, but all of Moscow, and Woland and his company descended from the roof into the building of the state library and went out into the city to observe the fire in Moscow, thus symbolizing the spread of catastrophic events from the building of the library, bearing the name of Lenin and largely filled with his works).

Characters (edit)

Moscow of the 30s

Master

A professional historian who won a large sum in the lottery and got the opportunity to try himself in literary work. Having become a writer, he managed to create a brilliant novel about Pontius Pilate and Yeshua Ha-Nozri, but he turned out to be a man not adapted to the era in which he lived. He was driven to despair by the persecution of colleagues who severely criticized his work. Nowhere in the novel is his name and surname mentioned; when asked direct questions about this, he always refused to introduce himself, saying - "Let's not talk about this." Known only under the nickname "master" given by Margarita. He himself considers himself unworthy of such a nickname, considering it a whim of his beloved. A master is the person who has achieved the highest success in any activity, which may be why he is rejected by the crowd, which is not able to appreciate his talent and abilities. The master, the protagonist of the novel, writes a novel about Yeshua (Jesus) and Pilate. The master writes the novel, interpreting the Gospel events in his own way, without miracles and the power of grace - like in Tolstoy. The master communicated with Woland - Satan, a witness, according to him, of the events of the novel being described.

"From the balcony, a shaven, dark-haired man with a pointed nose, anxious eyes and a lock of hair hanging down on his forehead, a man of about thirty-eight years old cautiously peered into the room."

Margarita

A beautiful, wealthy, but bored wife of a famous engineer, suffering from the emptiness of her life. Accidentally meeting the Master on the streets of Moscow, at first sight I fell in love with him, passionately believed in the success of the novel he had written, and prophesied glory. When the Master decided to burn his novel, she only managed to save a few pages. Then he makes a deal with the devil and becomes the queen of the satanic ball, arranged by Woland to return the missing Master to himself. Margarita is a symbol of love and self-sacrifice in the name of another person. If we call the novel without using symbols, then “The Master and Margarita” is transformed into “Creativity and Love”.

Woland

Satan, who visited Moscow under the guise of a foreign professor of black magic, a "historian". At its first appearance (in the novel "The Master and Margarita"), the first chapter from the novel (about Yeshua and Pilate) narrates. The main feature of the appearance is eye defects. Appearance: the growth was not small and not huge, but simply tall. As for the teeth, he had platinum crowns on the left side, and gold on the right. He wore an expensive gray suit, expensive foreign shoes matching the color of the suit, always had a cane with him, with a black knob in the shape of a poodle's head; the right eye is black, the left one is green for some reason; the mouth is kind of crooked. Shaved smoothly. He smoked a pipe and always carried a cigarette case with him.

Bassoon (Koroviev) and the cat Behemoth. Next to them, a live cat Behemoth poses, taking part in the performances. The sculpture by Alexander Rukavishnikov was installed in the courtyard of the Bulgakov House in Moscow

Bassoon (Koroviev)

One of the characters of Satan's retinue, all the time walking around in ridiculous checkered clothes and pince-nez with one cracked and one missing glass. In his true guise, he turns out to be a knight, forced to pay with his constant stay in Satan's retinue for one unfortunate pun about light and darkness that was once said.

Koroviev-Fagot has some resemblance to the bassoon - a long thin pipe folded in three. Moreover, the bassoon is an instrument that can be played in a high or low key. Either bass or treble. If we recall the behavior of Koroviev, or rather the changes in his voice, then another symbol in the name is clearly visible. Bulgakov's character is thin, tall and in imaginary servility, it seems, is ready to fold three times in front of the interlocutor (so that later he can calmly spoil him).

In the image of Koroviev (and his constant companion Behemoth), the traditions of folk laughter culture are strong, the same characters retain a close genetic connection with the heroes - picaro (rogues) of world literature.

There is a possibility that the names of the characters in Woland's retinue are associated with the Hebrew language. So, for example, Koroviev (in Hebrew karov- close, that is, close), Behemoth (in Hebrew hippo- cattle), Azazello (in Hebrew azazel- daemon).

Azazello

Member of Satan's retinue, demon-killer with a repulsive appearance. The prototype of this character was the fallen angel Azazel (in Jewish beliefs - who later became the demon of the desert), mentioned in the apocryphal book of Enoch - one of the angels whose actions on earth provoked the wrath of God and the Flood. By the way, Azazel is a demon who gave weapons to men and cosmetics and mirrors to women. It is no coincidence that he is the one who goes to Margarita to give her the cream.

Cat hippo

The character of Satan's retinue, a playful and restless spirit, appearing either in the form of a giant cat walking on its hind legs, or in the form of a complete citizen, resembling a cat's physiognomy. The prototype of this character is the demon of the same name Behemoth, a demon of gluttony and debauchery, who could take the forms of many large animals. In its true form, the Behemoth turns out to be a thin young man, a page demon.

Belozerskaya wrote about the dog Buton, named after Molière's servant. “She even hung another card on the front door under Mikhail Afanasyevich’s card, where it was written:“ Buton Bulgakov ”. This is an apartment on Bolshaya Pirogovskaya. There Mikhail Afanasevich began work on The Master and Margarita.

Hella

A witch and a vampire from Satan's retinue, who embarrassed all his visitors (from among people) with the habit of not wearing practically anything. The beauty of her body is spoiled only by a scar on her neck. In Woland's retinue he plays the role of a maid. Woland, recommending Gella to Margarita, says that there is no service that she could not provide.

Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz

The chairman of MASSOLIT is a literary man, a well-read, educated and skeptical person. He lived in a "bad apartment" on Sadovaya, 302-bis, where Woland settled later during his stay in Moscow. He died, not believing Woland's prediction about his sudden death, made shortly before her. At the ball of Satan, his future fate was determined by Woland according to the theory, according to which everyone will be given according to his faith .... Berlioz appears before us at the ball in the form of his own severed head. Subsequently, the head was turned into a skull-shaped bowl on a golden leg, with emerald eyes and pearl teeth .... the skull lid was folded back on a hinge. It was in this bowl that the spirit of Berlioz found nonexistence.

Ivan Nikolaevich Homeless

Poet, member of MASSOLIT. The real name is Ponyrev. He wrote an anti-religious poem, one of the first heroes (along with Berlioz) who met with Koroviev and Woland. I ended up in a clinic for the mentally ill, and was also the first to meet the Master. Then he recovered, stopped studying poetry and became a professor at the Institute of History and Philosophy.

Stepan Bogdanovich Likhodeev

Director of the Variety Theater, Berlioz's neighbor, who also lives in a "bad apartment" on Sadovaya. A slacker, a womanizer and a drunkard. For "service inconsistency" he was teleported to Yalta by Woland's henchmen.

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy

Chairman of the housing association on Sadovaya Street, where Woland settled during his stay in Moscow. Zhaden, the day before committed the theft of funds from the cash desk of the housing association.

Koroviev entered into an agreement with him for the temporary lease of housing and gave a bribe, which, as the chairman later asserted, “She crawled into his portfolio”. Then Koroviev, on the orders of Woland, turned the transferred rubles into dollars and, on behalf of one of the neighbors, reported the hidden currency to the NKVD.

Trying to somehow justify himself, Bossy confessed to bribery and announced similar crimes on the part of his assistants, which led to the arrest of all members of the housing association. Due to his further behavior during interrogation, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital, where he was haunted by nightmares associated with demands to surrender the available currency.

Ivan Savelievich Varenukha

Administrator of the Variety Theater. He fell into the clutches of Woland's gang when he carried to the NKVD a printout of the correspondence with Likhodeev, who was in Yalta. As punishment for "lying and rudeness on the phone", he was turned into a vampire gunner by Gella. After the ball, he was turned back into a human and released. At the end of all the events described in the novel, Varenukha became a more good-natured, polite and honest person.

An interesting fact: the punishment of Varenukha was a “private initiative” of Azazello and Behemoth.

Grigory Danilovich Rimsky

Director of the Variety Theater. He was shocked by the attack on him by Gella, along with his friend Varenukha, so much that he completely turned gray, and then chose to flee from Moscow. During interrogation by the NKVD, he asked for an "armored cell".

Georges Bengalsky

Entertainer of the Variety Theater. He was severely punished by Woland's retinue - his head was torn off - for the unsuccessful comments that he made during the performance. After returning the head to the place, he could not recover and was taken to the clinic of Professor Stravinsky. The Bengalsky figure is one of many satirical figures whose purpose is to criticize Soviet society.

Vasily Stepanovich Lastochkin

Accountant Variety. While I was handing over the cash register, I found traces of Woland's retinue in the institutions he visited. During the checkout, I unexpectedly discovered that the money had turned into a variety of foreign currencies.

Prokhor Petrovich

Chairman of the entertainment commission of the Variety Theater. Behemoth the cat temporarily kidnapped him, leaving an empty suit sitting at his workplace. For occupying an inappropriate position for him.

Maximilian Andreevich Poplavsky

Yershalaim, 1st c. n. NS.

Pontius Pilate

The fifth procurator of Judea in Jerusalem, a cruel and domineering man, who nevertheless managed to feel sympathy for Yeshua Ha-Nozri during his interrogation. He tried to stop the well-oiled execution mechanism for insulting Caesar, but failed to do so, which he later repented of all his life. He suffered from a severe migraine, from which he was relieved during the interrogation of Yeshua Ha-Nozri.

Yeshua Ha-Nozri

A wandering philosopher from Nazareth, described by Woland at the Patriarch's Ponds, as well as by the Master in his novel, compared with the image of Jesus Christ. The name Yeshua Ha-Nozri denotes in Hebrew Jesus (Yeshua ישוע) of Nazareth (Ha-Nozri הנוצרי). However, this image is significantly at odds with the biblical prototype. It is characteristic that he tells Pontius Pilate that Levi-Matthew (Matthew) wrote down his words incorrectly and that "this confusion will continue for a very long time." Pilate: “But what did you say about the temple to the crowd in the bazaar?” Yeshua: “I, hegemon, said that the temple of the old faith would collapse and a new temple of truth would be created. He said so that it would be clearer. “A humanist who denies resistance to evil by violence.

Levi Matvey

The only follower of Yeshua Ha-Nozri in the novel. He accompanied his teacher until his death, and later took him down from the cross to bury him. He also had the intention of stabbing the slave to execute Yeshua in order to save him from torment on the cross, but in the end he failed. At the end of the novel, he comes to Woland, sent by his teacher Yeshua, with a request for the granting of peace for the Master and Margarita.

Joseph Kaifa

Jewish high priest, head of the Sanhedrin, who condemned Yeshua Ha-Nozri to death.

Judas of Kiriath

A young inhabitant of Yershalaim who handed over Yeshua Ha-Nozri into the hands of the Sanhedrin. Pontius Pilate, outliving his involvement in the execution of Yeshua, organized the secret murder of Judas in order to revenge.

Mark Rat Slayer

Centurion, Pilate's guard, crippled once in a battle with the Germans, acting as a guard and directly carrying out the execution of Yeshua and two more criminals. When a severe thunderstorm began on the mountain, he stabbed Yeshua and other criminals to be able to leave the place of execution. Another version says that Pontius Pilate ordered to stab the condemned (which is not allowed by law) in order to alleviate their suffering. Perhaps he got the nickname "Rat-Slayer" because he was a German himself.

Afranius

Head of the secret service, associate of Pilate. He supervised the execution of the murder of Judas and planted the money received for the betrayal at the residence of the high priest Kaifa.

Niza

A resident of Jerusalem, agent Afrania, pretending to be the beloved of Judas, in order to lure him into a trap on the orders of Afranius.

Versions

First edition

Bulgakov dated the time of the beginning of work on "The Master and Margarita" in different manuscripts to 1929. In the first edition, the novel had variants of the titles "Black Magician", "Engineer's Hoof", "Juggler with a Hoof", "Son V.", "Tour". The first edition of "The Master and Margarita" was destroyed by the author on March 18, 1930 after receiving news of the ban on the play "Cabal the Sanctifier". Bulgakov said this in a letter to the government: “And personally, with my own hands, I threw a draft of a novel about the devil into the stove ...”.

Work on The Master and Margarita resumed in 1931. Rough sketches were made for the novel, and here they already appeared Margarita and her then nameless companion - the future Master, a Woland acquired his own exuberant retinue.

Second edition

The second edition, which was created before 1936, had the subtitle "Fantastic Novel" and variants of the titles "The Great Chancellor", "Satan", "Here I am", "Black Magician", "The Engineer's Hoof".

Third edition

The third edition, launched in the second half of 1936, was originally called "The Prince of Darkness", but already in 1937 the title "The Master and Margarita" appeared. On June 25, 1938, the full text was first reprinted (it was printed by O.S. Bokshanskaya, ES Bulgakova's sister). The author's editing continued almost until the writer's death, Bulgakov stopped it with Margarita's phrase: “So this is, therefore, the writers are following the coffin?” ...

The history of the publication of the novel

During his lifetime, the author read certain passages at home to close friends. Much later, in 1961, philologist A. Z. Vulis wrote a work on Soviet satirists and remembered the half-forgotten author of Zoyka's Apartment and Crimson Island. Woolis learned that the writer's widow was alive and established contact with her. After an initial period of mistrust, Elena Sergeevna gave the manuscript of The Master to be read. Shocked, Vulis shared his impressions with many, after which rumors about a great novel began to circulate in literary Moscow. This led to the first publication in the Moscow magazine in 1966 (circulation of 150 thousand copies). There were two prefaces: Konstantin Simonov and Vulis.

The full text of the novel, at the request of K. Simonov, was published after the death of E. Bulgakova in the 1973 edition. In 1987, access to Bulgakov's collection in the Department of Manuscripts of the Lenin Library for the first time after the death of the writer's widow was opened to textologists preparing a two-volume edition published in 1989, and the final text was published in the 5th volume of the collected works, published in 1990.

Bulgakov studies offers three concepts of reading the novel: historical and social (V. Ya. Lakshin), biographical (M. O. Chudakova) and aesthetic with a historical and political context (V. I. Nemtsev).

Adaptations of the novel

Theatrical performances

In Russia

70 years ago, on February 13, 1940, Mikhail Bulgakov finished his novel The Master and Margarita.

Mikhail Bulgakov wrote his novel "The Master and Margarita" for a total of 12 years. The idea of ​​the book took shape gradually. Bulgakov himself dated the time of the beginning of work on the novel in various manuscripts either in 1928 or in 1929.

It is known that the idea of ​​the novel originated with the writer in 1928, and in 1929 Bulgakov began the novel The Master and Margarita (which did not yet have this title).

After Bulgakov's death, eight editions of the novel remained in his archive.

In the first edition, the novel "The Master and Margarita" had variants of the titles "Black Magician", "Engineer's Hoof", "Juggler with a Hoof", "Son V", "Tour".

On March 18, 1930, after receiving news of the ban on the play "Cabal of the Sanctifiers", the first edition of the novel, brought to the 15th chapter, was destroyed by the author himself.

The second edition of The Master and Margarita, created up to 1936, had the subtitle Fantastic Novel and variants of the titles The Great Chancellor, Satan, Here I Am, Hat with a Feather, The Black Theologian, He appeared, "The Horseshoe of a Foreigner," "He Appeared," "The Coming," "The Black Magician," and "The Hoof of the Consultant."

The second edition of the novel already featured Margarita and the Master, and Woland acquired his own retinue.

The third edition of the novel, begun in the second half of 1936 or in 1937, was initially called "The Prince of Darkness." In 1937, returning once again to the beginning of the novel, the author first wrote on the title page the title "The Master and Margarita", which became final, set the dates 1928-1937 and never left work on it.

In May - June 1938, the full text of the novel was reprinted for the first time, copyright editing continued almost until the writer's death. In 1939, important changes were made to the end of the novel and the epilogue was added. But then the terminally ill Bulgakov dictated to his wife, Elena Sergeevna, amendments to the text. The extensiveness of the insertions and corrections in the first part and at the beginning of the second suggests that no less work was to be done further, but the author did not have time to complete it. Bulgakov stopped work on the novel on February 13, 1940, less than four weeks before his death.

The novel "The Master and Margarita" was not completed and was not published during the life of the author.

The novel was first published only in 1966 in the magazine "Moscow" in an abridged magazine version. The fact that this greatest literary work reached the reader is the merit of the writer's wife, Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, who managed to save the manuscript of the novel.

Bulgakov places in Moscow

The main events of Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita" unfold in Moscow, which is presented in the novel in such episodes as "An Evening at the Writers' House", "Events in the Household Partnership", "On Sadovaya", "A Session of Magic at the Variety."

Bulgakov's Moscow is the Patriarch's Ponds, Ryabushinsky's mansion - the Literary Institute, and Margarita's mansion on Ostozhenka, and the "Master's basement" - Pashkov's House, and the Metropol hotel, and a variety show, and the famous "Griboyedov House", and, of course, " bad apartment on Sadovaya, 302-bis ", and a grocery store on Arbat, Aleksandrovsky garden, Dorogomilovskoye cemetery, Lubyanka, a house near Kamenny bridge, Torgsin on the Smolensk market, Children's Puppet Theater in Zamoskvorechye, Bryusov Lane, etc.

Patriarch's Ponds. Mikhail Bulgakov's famous novel "The Master and Margarita" begins from the alleys near the Patriarch's Ponds.

Back in the 17th century. there were three ponds in the patriarch's estate on the Goat Marsh. At the beginning of the XIX century. two ponds were filled up. Since then, the surviving pond keeps in its name the memory of "its brothers".

Torgsin. The word "torgsin" is an abbreviation for "trade with foreigners". Then these stores were called "Birch". The house, where the first floor was occupied by the largest Moscow Torgsin, appeared after the revolution, it was built from 1928 to 1933 (architects Mayat and Oltarzhevsky) with elements of constructivism.

Mansurovsky per., 9. The house where the Master lived. According to the recollections of contemporaries, this house once belonged to the artist of the Maly Theater Topleninov, whom Mikhail Afanasyevich often visited and to whom, one of the first, he read his novel.

House of Dramlit. Lavrushinsky lane, 17. Bulgakov moved the Dramlit house from Lavrushensky lane to Arbat. But it is precisely this house that is described in the novel, where the official, nomenklatura writers and critics lived, including a certain Lithuanian, through whose efforts Bulgakov's plays were banned. Lithuanian became the prototype of the critic Latunsky, whose apartment was destroyed by Margarita.

The Variety Theater is a fictional theater in the novel "The Master and Margarita", where a session of Woland's black magic takes place, followed by exposure. The prototype of the Variety Theater was the Moscow Music Hall, which existed in 1926-1936 and was located not far from the Bad apartment at the address: B. Sadovaya, 18. Today, the Moscow Theater of Satire is located here. Until 1926, the Nikitin brothers' circus was located, and the building was specially built for this circus in 1911 by the architect Nilus.

There is also a garden "Aquarium" nearby, where Varenukha met the Behemoth and Azazello.

"House of Griboyedov" - in the novel "The Master and Margarita" - is the building where MASSOLIT, headed by Mikhail Aleksandrovich Berlioz, is located - the largest literary organization. Bulgakov captured the so-called Herzen House (Tverskoy Boulevard, 25), where a number of literary organizations were located in the 1920s: RAPP (Russian Association of Proletarian Writers) and MAPP (Moscow Association of Proletarian Writers), on the model of which the fictional MASSOLIT was created. The restaurant "Griboyedov's House" reflected not only the features of the Herzen House restaurant, but also the restaurant of the Theater Workers' Club.

A bad apartment - apartment no. 50 in 302 bis on Sadovaya Street - an apartment in the center of Moscow, where the "devilish" characters of Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita" settled. The "prototypes" of the "bad apartment" were two apartments (50 and 34) in house 10 on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street, where Bulgakov lived with his first wife (interior details were borrowed from the respectable house 13 on Prechistenka, where two apartments on the top floor were occupied by a relative the famous jeweler Faberge, and where Bulgakov visited more than once, admiring the high ceiling with a chandelier, on which the Behemoth will swing). The house is described as "302 bis". There has never been a house with such a large number on any of the Sadovyh streets in Moscow. This fictional large number was supposed to emphasize the unreality of what is happening.

The building was built in 1903 by the architect Milkov for the Moscow merchant and owner of the Dukat tobacco factory Ilya Pigit. The building is marked with a memorial plaque reminding that the action of the famous novel took place here and that its creator himself lived for several years.

Since the 1980s. "Bulgakov's apartment" has become one of the favorite places of literary pilgrimage to Moscow. On May 15, 2004, the Cultural and Educational Center, the Bulgakov House Museum, was opened on the first floor in house No. 10 at Bolshaya Sadovaya Street.

« Of all the writers of the 20s - 30s. of our century, which is now reaching the end, Mikhail Bulgakov is probably preserved to the greatest extent in the Russian public consciousness. It is preserved not so much by its biography, from which one usually recalls his letters to Stalin and his only telephone conversation with the tyrant, as his ingenious works, the main of which is "The Master and Margarita". The novel opens with new facets for each subsequent generation of readers. Let us recall at least "sturgeon of the second freshness", and the sad thought comes to mind that forever in Russia everything is second freshness, everything except literature. Bulgakov proved this brilliantly. " - So, in a few words, Boris Sokolov, a well-known researcher of Bulgakov's work, was able to show what a tangible contribution the writer made to Russian and world literature. Prominent creative minds recognize The Master and Margarita as one of the greatest creations of the twentieth century. In Soviet times, Chingiz Aitmatov put this novel next to the "Quiet Don" by M. Sholokhov, distinguishing them according to the degree of accessibility to the general reader. Not everyone is able to comprehend "The Master and Margarita" in the ideological philosophical key that the author suggests. Of course, in order to delve into, to understand all the details of the novel, a person must have a high cultural level and historical awareness on many issues, but the phenomenon of perception of the work is that the "Masters ..." are re-read by young people, finding in it something fabulous and mysterious for themselves that helps to work their tender childish fantasy.
HISTORY OF CREATION OF THE NOVEL.
Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita was not completed and was not published during the author's lifetime. It was first published only in 1966, 26 years after Bulgakov's death, and then in an abridged magazine version. The fact that this greatest literary work reached the reader is due to the writer's wife Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, who managed to preserve the manuscript of the novel during the difficult Stalinist times.
The time of the beginning of work on "The Master and Margarita" Bulgakov dated in different manuscripts either 1928 or 1929. In the first edition, the novel had variants of the titles "Black Magician", "Engineer's Hoof", "Juggler with a Hoof", "Son V." "Tour". The first edition of "The Master and Margarita" was destroyed by the author on March 18, 1930 after receiving news of the ban on the play "Cabal of the Sanctified". Bulgakov said this in a letter to the government: "And personally, with my own hands, I threw a draft of a novel about the devil into the stove ..."
Work on The Master and Margarita resumed in 1931. Rough sketches were made for the novel, and Margarita and her unnamed companion, the future Master, already appeared here, and Woland acquired his own exuberant retinue. The second edition, created before 1936, had the subtitle "Fantastic Novel" and variants of the titles "The Great Chancellor", "Satan", "Here I am", "Black Magician", "The Hoof of the Consultant".
The third edition, begun in the second half of 1936, was originally called "The Prince of Darkness", but already in 1937 the now well-known title "The Master and Margarita" appeared. In May - June 1938 the full text was reprinted for the first time. The author's editing continued almost until the writer's death, Bulgakov stopped it with Margarita's phrase: “So this is, therefore, the writers are following the coffin?” ...
Bulgakov wrote The Master and Margarita for over 10 years in total. Simultaneously with the writing of the novel, work was going on on plays, staging, libretto, but this novel was a book with which he could not part, a novel-destiny, a novel-testament. The novel absorbed almost all of the works written by Bulgakov: Moscow life, captured in the essays "On the Eve", satirical fantasy and mysticism, tested in the novels of the 20s, motives of knightly honor and troubled conscience in the novel "The White Guard", dramatic the theme of the fate of the persecuted artist, unfolded in Moliere, a play about Pushkin and Theatrical Novel ... In addition, the picture of the life of an unfamiliar eastern city captured in The Run prepared a description of Yershalaim. And the very way of moving back in time - to the first century of the history of Christianity and forward - to the utopian dream of "peace" reminded of the plot of "Ivan Vasilyevich".
From the history of the creation of the novel, we see that it was conceived and created as a "novel about the devil." Some researchers see in him an apology for the devil, admiration for dark power, surrender to the world of evil. Indeed, Bulgakov called himself a "mystical writer", but this mysticism did not darken his reason and did not intimidate the reader ...
The novel "The Master and Margarita"
I must say that when writing the novel, Bulgakov used several philosophical theories: some compositional moments were based on them, as well as mystical episodes and episodes of the Yershalaim chapters. So, in the Roma, there is no interaction of three worlds: human (all people in the novel), biblical (biblical characters) and cosmic (Woland and his retinue). The most important world is the cosmic one, the Universe, the all-embracing macrocosm. The other two worlds are private. One of them is human, microcosm; the other is symbolic, i.e. the world is biblical. Each of the three worlds has two "natures": visible and invisible. All three worlds are woven of good and evil, and the biblical world acts, as it were, as a link between the visible and invisible natures of the macrocosm and microcosm. A person has two bodies and two hearts: perishable and eternal, earthly and spiritual, and this means that a person is “external” and “internal”. And the latter never dies: dying, he only loses his earthly body. In the novel The Master and Margarita, duality is expressed in dialectical interaction and the struggle between good and evil (this is the main problem of the novel). Good cannot exist without evil, people simply will not know that it is good. As Woland told Levi Matvey: "What would your good do if there were no evil, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared from it?" There must be some kind of balance between good and evil, which was violated in Moscow: the scales tipped sharply towards the latter and Woland came as the main punisher to restore him.
Chapter 2 - "Pontius Pilate"
Most of the characters in the Yershalaim chapters of the novel "The Master and Margarita" go back to the Gospels. But this cannot be fully asserted about Pontius Pilate, the fifth procurator of Judea. He had a reputation for being a "ferocious monster." But, nevertheless, Bulgakov's Pontius Pilate is greatly ennobled in comparison with the prototype. In his image, the writer depicts a man tormented by pangs of conscience for having sent an innocent to death, and in the finale of the novel, Pontius Pi-lat is granted forgiveness.
Pilate is faced with a dilemma: to save his career, and maybe his life, over which the shadow of the decrepit empire of Tiberias hangs, or to save the philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Bulgakov persistently (five times!) Refers to the procurator as a horseman, apparently due to his belonging to a certain class.
Ha-Nozri never once deviated from the Truth, from the ideal, and therefore deserved the light. He himself is the ideal - the personified conscience of humanity. The tragedy of the hero is in his physical death, but morally he wins the victory. But Pilate, who sent him to his death, was tormented for almost two thousand years, "twelve thousand moons." Conscience does not give rest to the procurator ...
Pilate's difficult decision, the macro-choice he made at the level of consciousness, is preceded by a micro-choice at the level of the subconscious. This unconscious choice anticipates the actions of the procurator, which influenced not only his subsequent life, but also the fate of all the heroes of the novel.
Going out into the colonnade of the palace, the procurator senses that a cursed pink stream is mixed with the "smell of leather and convoy," the smell that the procurator "never saw more than anything else." Neither the smell of horses, nor the smell of bitter smoke coming from the centuriums irritate Pilate, do not cause him such suffering as the "fat pink spirit", which also portends a "bad day." What's behind this? Why does the procurator hate the scent of flowers, the scent of which most of humanity finds pleasant?
It can be assumed that the matter is as follows. Roses have been considered one of the symbols of Christ and Christianity since ancient times. For Bulgakov's generation, roses were associated with the teachings of Christ. And Blok in The Twelve has a similar symbolism:

In a white corolla of roses -
Ahead is Jesus Christ.
Whether a certain smell is pleasant or not, a person decides not on a conscious level, but on a subconscious level. What will he choose? Will it follow the direction of the horse smells, or will it head towards the direction where the scent of roses comes from? Preceding the smell of "skin and convoy", the pagan Pilate anticipates the fateful choice that he will make at the level of consciousness.
M. Bulgakov also repeatedly mentions that the trial of Yeshua takes place near the "Yershalaim hippodrome", "lists". The closeness of the horses is constantly felt. Let's compare two passages:
“... the procurator looked at the arrested man, then at the sun, steadily rising above the equestrian statues of the hippodrome, suddenly, in some sickening torment, thought that the easiest way would be to expel this strange robber from the balcony, saying only two words:“ Hang him ".
“... all those present set off down the wide marble staircase between the walls of roses, exuding a stupefying aroma, going down lower and lower to the palace wall, to the gate leading to a large, smoothly paved square, at the end of which were visible columns and statues of the Yershalaim stadium ".
Simultaneously with the thought of the execution of Yeshua, equestrian statues appear before Pilate's eyes; the members of the Sanhedrin, having endured the death sentence, move past the rose bushes towards the same horses. Symbolic horses each time emphasize the choice that the heroes make. Moreover, the possible decision of the procurator corresponds only to a look towards the place where passions are raging, and to the actual decision of the Sanhedrin, who has just passed the death sentence, the physical movement of its members in the same direction.
In the Gospel chapters of the novel, there is a kind of battle between good and evil, light and darkness. Pilate's torment lasts twelve thousand moons, it is difficult for him with a sick conscience, and in the finale, forgiven, he quickly runs along the lunar road to "talk with the prisoner Ha-Notsri." And this time he chooses the right path - the righteous.

On May 23, 1938 Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov completed his novel The Master and Margarita. We invite readers of the Tabloid to familiarize themselves with interesting facts, as well as illustrations for the legendary novel made by the Samara artist Nikolai Korolev. Let's begin with that…

... the time of the beginning of work on "The Master and Margarita" Bulgakov in various manuscripts dated 1928, then 1929. In the first edition, the novel had variants of the titles "Black Magician", "Engineer's Hoof", "Juggler with a Hoof", "Son V.", "Tour". The first edition of "The Master and Margarita" was destroyed by the author on March 18, 1930 after receiving news of the ban on the play "Cabal of the Sanctified". Bulgakov said this in a letter to the government: “And personally, with my own hands, I threw a draft of the novel about the devil into the stove ...”.

Work on The Master and Margarita resumed in 1931. Rough sketches were made for the novel, and Margarita and her then unnamed companion, the future Master, already appeared here, and Woland acquired his own exuberant retinue. The second edition, created before 1936, had the subtitle "Fantastic Novel" and variants of the titles "The Great Chancellor", "Satan", "Here I Am", "Black Magician", "Engineer's Hoof".

And finally, the third edition, launched in the second half of 1936, was originally called "The Prince of Darkness", but already in 1937 the title "The Master and Margarita" appeared. On June 25, 1938, the full text was first reprinted (it was printed by O.S. Bokshanskaya, ES Bulgakova's sister). The author's editing continued almost until the writer's death, Bulgakov stopped it with Margarita's phrase: “So this is, therefore, the writers are following the coffin?” ...

Bulgakov wrote The Master and Margarita for over 10 years in total.

There is also one interesting meteorological correspondence that confirms the internal chronology of The Master and Margarita. According to press reports, on May 1, 1929, there was a sharp warming in Moscow, unusual for this time of year, as a result of which the temperature rose from zero to thirty degrees in one day. In the following days, an equally sharp cooling was observed, which ended in rains and thunderstorms. In Bulgakov's novel, the evening of May 1 turns out to be unusually hot, and on the eve of the last flight, as once over Yershalaim, a strong thunderstorm with a downpour sweeps over Moscow.

Hidden dating is also contained in the indication of the age of the Master - the most autobiographical of all the heroes of the novel. A Master is "a man of about thirty-eight years of age." Bulgakov himself turned the same number of years on May 15, 1929. 1929 is also the time when Bulgakov began his work on The Master and Margarita.

If we talk about predecessors, then the first impetus to the idea of ​​the image of Satan, as A. Zerkalov suggests in his work, was the music - the opera by Charles Gounod, written on the plot of I.V. Goethe and who amazed Bulgakov as a child for life. Woland's idea was taken from the poem by I.V. Goethe's Faust, where she is mentioned only once and is omitted in Russian translations.

It is believed that Bulgakov's apartment was searched many times by the NKVD, and they were aware of the existence and content of the draft version of The Master and Margarita. Bulgakov also had a telephone conversation with Stalin in 1937 (the content of which is not known to anyone). Despite the massive repressions of 1937-1938, neither Bulgakov nor any of his family members were arrested.

In the novel, at the time of the death of Yeshua Ha-Nozri, unlike the Gospel, he pronounces the name not of God, but of Pontius Pilate. According to Deacon Andrei Kuraev, for this reason (and not only for it) the Yershalaim story (a novel in a novel) from the point of view of Christianity should be perceived as blasphemous, but this, in his words, does not mean that the entire novel should also be considered blasphemous. "The Master and Margarita".

Woland was named Astaroth in the early editions of the novel. However, later this name was changed, apparently due to the fact that the name "Astaroth" is associated with a specific demon of the same name, different from Satan.

The Variety Theater does not exist in Moscow and has never existed. But now several theaters at once sometimes vie for the title.

In the penultimate edition of the novel, Woland says the words “He has a courageous face, he is doing his job right, and in general, everything is over here. We have to go! ”, Referring to the pilot, the character, then excluded from the novel.

According to the writer's widow, Elena Sergeevna, Bulgakov's last words about the novel “The Master and Margarita” before his death were: “To know ... To know”.

There is a house-museum "Bulgakov's House" in Moscow. It is located at st. Bolshaya Sadovaya, 10. Apartment No. 50 houses a museum that tells about the life and work of the writer. Also there are theatrical performances, a kind of improvisation on the works of Mikhail Bulgakov.

Some oddities begin when the novel is being written. An interesting fact is that Bulgakov's novel, presented to him by A.V. Chayanov, pushed Bulgakov to write The Master and Margarita. entitled "Venediktov or memorable events of my life." The protagonist of the novel is Bulgakov, who faces devilish forces. M.A.'s wife Bulgakova, Elena Belozerova, wrote in her memoirs about the strong impact of the coincidence of surnames on the writer.

Bulgakov wrote his novel in the atmosphere of Moscow in the 1930s: the destruction of religion and religious institutions and, as a result, the fall of spiritual and moral life. Naturally, in such years, the novel with biblical motives was not accepted for publication, and Bulgakov tried to burn his creation. The resumption of work on the novel is attributed to the collision of the writer with devilish forces, namely, the conversation between Mikhail Afanasyevich and Stalin on the phone. After that, during the mass repressions of 1937-1938, neither Bulgakov nor his family members were arrested.

Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita was not completed and was not published during the author's lifetime. It was first published only in 1966, 26 years after Bulgakov's death, and then in an abridged magazine version. The fact that this greatest literary work reached the reader is due to the writer's wife Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, who managed to preserve the manuscript of the novel during the difficult Stalinist times.

In 2005, director Vladimir Bortko made an attempt to film Bulgakov's artwork. The ten serial series was shown on the Rossiya TV channel and was viewed by 40 million viewers. Here are some interesting facts about the film.

Valentin Gaft, who played several minor roles in the television series, played Woland himself in the unreleased Kara film. In turn, Alexander Filippenko, who played the role of Azazello in that film, was another representative of the dark forces - Koroviev.

A man in a jacket wears the uniform of a major of state security (the rank corresponded to the rank of the brigade commander of the Red Army) during the main action of the film and the uniform of a senior major of state security (corresponds to the division commander of the Red Army) in the final. This uniform was worn by employees of the GUGB NKVD in 1937-1943. A man in a jacket is not mentioned in the novel, all episodes with his participation are a find of the authors.

During the main action of the film, the investigator wears the uniform of a junior lieutenant of state security (corresponds to a senior lieutenant of the Red Army). In the final, he has insignia - four cubes in buttonholes - which have never been in either the Red Army or the NKVD GUGB in the entire history of their existence.

Sergei Bezrukov, who played Yeshua, voiced the role of the Master, so that the actor Alexander Galibin does not speak in his own voice throughout the film.

Oleg Basilashvili, who played Woland, voiced the role of the head of the secret guard of the procurator of Judea Afranii, played by Lubomiras Laucevicius.

Despite the rather wide timing, the film missed some episodes from the original novel, for example, Pontius Pilate's announcement of the death sentence in front of a crowd of people, Nikanor Ivanovich's dream, a barman's consultation with a doctor after visiting a "bad apartment", an episode with Margarita in a trolleybus on the way to Alexandrovsky Garden, Margarita's collision with a lighted disk during the flight, Margarita's conversation with the boy after the destruction of Latunsky's apartment (most of the details of Margarita's flight from Latunsky's apartment to the lake were also missed, except for meeting Natasha on the hog), a conversation with Goat Legs over a glass of champagne. The details of the Sabbath scene were modestly presented, so, for example, there were no fat-faced frogs, glowing rotten, Margarita's flight to the other side.

There is no episode of Margarita's initiation into a witch in the novel, this is a find by the authors of the film, the game of Woland and the Cat Behemoth in chess (chess pieces, according to Bulgakov's novel, are alive), an episode of Woland and Margarita observing what is happening in the globe, a forest with parrots and Margarita's flight at the Ball Satan, episodes with Abadonna, an enthusiastic conversation between Behemoth, Gella and Woland after the ball, Afrania's meeting with Niza, a conversation between Woland, Koroviev and Behemoth after the fire in Griboyedov.

Woland in the novel is no more than 50 years old, and Oleg Basilashvili is ~ 75. Azazello's hair color is red, and Alexander Filippenko's in this role is dark. Woland's eyes are of different colors and one of them always looks straight, Basilashvili in this role has healthy eyes of the same color.

In some places, illogical edits were made to the text. In episode 9, Pilate talks to Matthew: "And now I need parchment ...", "And the last thing you want to take away?" In the scene of the interrogation of Sempliyarov, he talks about the magician in the mask (as it was in the novel), although in the film Woland appears in the theater without it.

In the interrogation scene of Yeshua, he appears to be Ga Nozri, not Ga Nozri.

In episode 8, Koroviev gives the Master a clearly metal goblet (in the text - a glass glass), the Master drops it on the carpet, Koroviev remarks: “Fortunately, fortunately ...”, although nothing was broken.