The Master and Margarita is a cult novel of the 21st century. A huge number of people read the pages of this book to holes. With the same rapture, people watched the film adaptations of this work, including the television series by Vladimir Bortko, which was released in 2005.
However, it is believed that the novel "The Master and Margarita" in a mystical way opposes the transfer of his characters to the screens. They even say that this work is cursed. After all, for example, since the filming of the series, 18 actors who played various roles in this film adaptation have already died.
Let's remember how the shooting of the sensational film Bortko took place, remember the departed, and also find out what happened to those who have safely survived to this day.
Vladimir Bortko received an offer to film The Master and Margarita back in 1987, just at the time when he had just completed work on another Bulgakov work - the film dog's heart". But then the director decided to abandon filming, ceding this right to his friend Elem Klimov, whose plans included a joint project with Italians and Americans, with Claudia Cardinale as Margherita and paired with Fellini, who would direct the "ancient" scenes. But this idea was never realized.
13 years later, Bortko again took up the film adaptation of The Master and Margarita and even managed to approve cast: Galina Tyunina, Dmitry Pevtsov, Sergey Makovetsky and Viktor Sukhorukov. But his plans in 2000 again did not come true: Bulgakov's heir, who owned the film rights, resold them to American producers. I had to curtail the series project and start negotiations to buy the rights to the novel, which dragged on for several years.
Filming resumed when the state television channel Rossiya bought the rights. Vladimir Bortko on the set was constantly haunted by problems with the actors and technical difficulties, even though a priest was invited to consecrate the studio. But the picture, the budget of which amounted to more than $ 5 million, was still filmed in a record short time. Bortko, according to him, set himself the task of most fully and adequately conveying the content cult novel Bulgakov. 
It's hard to believe, but the brilliant cast of the series - Oleg Basilashvili, Alexander Abdulov, Valentin Gaft, Alexander Galibin, Sergey Bezrukov, Alexander Filippenko and others - is a fallback. As the production designer of the picture Vladimir Svetozarov said, almost all the actors approved for the main roles in last moment refused to shoot. Oleg Yankovsky was supposed to play Woland, and Alexander Kalyagin - Berlioz. The latter suddenly suffered two heart attacks in a row, said a firm no. Vladimir Mashkov auditioned for the role of the Master, but a sudden car accident forced him to refuse.
Here is how Oleg Yankovsky, who was initially approved for the role of Woland, justified his refusal:
“I don't know how to play Woland. What suit should he be in? Although his attire is described in detail in the book, this is literature. And when on the screen: why is he like this and not another? And, oddly enough, this is a weak role. Everything happens not with Woland, but around him, but I don’t want to simply puff my eyes so that it turns out convincingly. A main reason: I believe that the devil, like the Lord God, cannot be played. Jesus Christ - you can, he was real person. And you can't touch it. Not to Bulgakov's whole novel - to Woland.
After Yankovsky's refusal, in search of an actor for the role of Woland, Bortko turned his eyes abroad. Yes, negotiations were also held with Western stars. Woland could have been played by Gary Oldman or Jean Reno. But it didn't work out. And then Bortko turned to Basilashvili. 
Bortko himself did not believe in mysticism, but after a while ... he called the priest directly to the site. Father consecrated film crew along with the equipment. After that, the process started. And a little later, another one became known strange story: before the start of filming at Patriarch's Ponds, an unknown passer-by approached Bortko and said: “You won’t succeed!” And went on.
The series was filmed all over the world. The model of ancient Jerusalem was filmed in Israel, and Bulgakov's Yershalaim - in Bulgaria, at the Boyana film studio, where the luxurious scenery of the ancient city, built by the Americans for the film "Spartacus", remained. Golgotha was found in Sudak.
As for Moscow in the 1930s, then Patriarch's Ponds were filmed at the Patriarchs, the Alexander Garden - in Alexander, but Moscow as a whole, according to Vladimir Bortko and cameraman Valery Mulgaut, has changed so much since the 30s that it was filmed in St. Petersburg. There are practically no streets with houses of that time left in Moscow.
According to director Vladimir Bortko, there was still mysticism during the filming. But mostly with a plus sign. On film set there was always the weather that at that moment was necessary for filming. All the actors, no matter what they were sick, recovered just before the start of filming. In this regard, the work went exactly on schedule. 
But Oleg Basilashvili lost his voice right on the set during Woland's monologue. Suddenly, the actor's throat convulsed, he began to wheeze, and then he could not speak at all. The doctors diagnosed him with a hemorrhage in the right vocal cord. For a long time, doctors poured medicine directly into his larynx and gave him injections.
In the novel, Margarita appears at Satan's ball naked and in shoes "made of pale rose petals", and director Bortko dressed and shod Anna Kovalchuk not at all according to Bulgakov.
Anna Kovalchuk had a hard time working on the image of Margarita. When she was dressed in a corset weighing 16 kg for filming the ball scene, the actress could only lie or stand in this medieval attire. The iron crown left wounds on the forehead, and the metal shoes rubbed heavily on the feet. 
The most terrible moment of filming was, as Kovalchuk says, her arrival at the Sabbath. The scene of the queen's arrival was filmed again in St. Petersburg, in the park of the Forestry Academy, and Margarita was supposed to splash down on the surface of the local pond. But the filming location was infested with rats, and a more determined understudy had to jump into the pond.
During the filming, one curious incident happened to the actress: the actors rehearsed for a long time with the director in the room of the Ukraine Hotel, and when Kovalchuk went out into the street, because of her revealing outfit, she was mistaken for lung girl behavior and taken to the police station. The actress had to prove for a long time who she was, but they did not believe her. Then I had to call for help from fellow actors. 
Four people worked at once on the image of one of the most charismatic characters, Behemoth the Cat. Most time it was Vano Miranyan, actor and president of the Disabled People Foundation vertically challenged. He was filmed in a cat suit with a head stuffed with a variety of techniques that were responsible for the movements of his whiskers, ears, eyes and mouth. The actor Semyon Furman spoke for him. The cat in human form was played by actor Alexander Bashirov. And finally, the role of just a cat was just a cat from Yuri Kuklachev's circus.
Alexander Adabashyan, who played the role of Berlioz, said that some actors jokingly used the curse hanging over the novel as a kind of mitigating factor: “I don’t drink at all, and here in the morning there is a bottle of vodka in front of the bed. How to stay here? or “I set the alarm for 7, and it rang at 10. Damn it!”
Although the actor himself fell ill with a heart attack after filming, he is still not inclined to somehow connect these events.
Actor Alexander Filippenko says that nothing particularly mystical happened to him. Except for the fact that he met Bortko at the Patriarchs. He approached him and said: “You don't know me, but I know you. You have already played Koroviev (in Kara’s film “The Master and Margarita” in 1994), but do you want to play Azazello with me?” 
Alexander Filippenko played in the cinema both Koroviev and Azazello (pictured)
The most complex special effect of the series is the Behemoth cat. The Americans estimated the work on the cat at $1.5 million. And the entire budget of the picture was 5 million. Domestic computer scientists made not only the Behemoth, but also many other special effects.
Anna Kovalchuk and Ksenia Nazarova, who played the housekeeper Natasha, hovered under the ceiling of the Lenfilm pavilion. Then, on the computer, all suspension belts were removed from the bodies, the cables were erased, the girls' bodies were made translucent, and they added a night shot of Moscow. 
Flights of Margarita: the actress was hung up with a corset made using special technologies 
With the help of the same graphics, Koroviev materialized from the air. Alexander Abdulov rode on a platform carousel, which was then erased on a computer, and the actor, as it were, flew into the frame from nowhere.
In the final series, the Masters and Margarita are carried away from the mortal world by the black horses of hell. All of them were played by the seven-year-old horse Caliph, reproduced on a computer.
The Master and Margarita die bodily at the end of the TV series in order to find peace in another world. But in reality, by today, 18 actors who participated in the series in 2005 have died. Usually, when a public person dies, they always look for a secret in this, but when there are many dead? IN last years rumors about the curse of Bulgakov's novel are intensifying.
The first victim of the "curse" on October 2, 2005 was the actor Alexander Chaban, who played the investigator who led the search for Woland. Disappeared shortly before the premiere. Found dead in his apartment. The circumstances of death are unknown. He was 47 years old. On September 28, 2006, the actor Pavel Komarov, who played the thief on the pier, died. It was he who stole the clothes of the bathing poet Ivan Homeless. Komarov was the leading actor of the Tsaritsyno Youth Theater, founded musical group risk group. On December 27, 2006, 67-year-old Stanislav Landgraf, who played the critic Latunsky, died.
The series has become one of recent works For People's Artist USSR Kirill Lavrov, who played Pontius Pilate (pictured). On April 27, 2007, he died of leukemia.
On April 27, 2007, Yevgeny Merkuriev (accountant) fell through the ice while fishing and died. In the series, the bookkeeper and Pilate did not intersect. But Merkuriev and Lavrov left the life on the same day.
Another famous actor, whose death is associated with Bulgakov's curse, is Alexander Abdulov, who played in the series Fagot (Koroviev) - one of Woland's demonic servants. On January 3, 2008, at the age of 54, the actor died of lung cancer.
On April 7, 2008, Andrei Tolubeev, who voiced Aloisy Mogarych, died. Like Kirill Lavrov, his senior comrade in the St. Petersburg theater BDT, Tolubeev was brought to the grave by oncology. Diagnosis: pancreatic cancer.
On February 25, 2010, under strange circumstances, Vladislav Galkin died in his apartment. In the series, he played the poet Ivan Ponyrev. At the time of his death he was only 38 years old.
2 years after Galkin, Ilya Oleinikov died. The actor who played the financial director of the Variety Rimsky died due to lung cancer. He was only 65.
The following year, Valery Zolotukhin died of an inoperable brain tumor. He played in the television series Nicanor Barefoot.
In recent years, some other actors of the TV series The Master and Margarita, who were not as famous as those listed above, have also died. These are Yuri Oskin (porter), Galina Barkova (saleswoman), Valentina Egorenkova (nurse in a mental hospital), Stanislav Sokolov (Pilate's secretary), Dmitry Poddubny (NKVD spy) and others. Although the number of deaths is indeed large, it is worth considering that most of the other actors in this and previous film adaptations are still alive and well.
Anna Kovalchuk and Alexander Galibin remained alive and well. But after filming, he got into an accident, and she divorced, writes Bigpicture.ru.
As for the survivors, they do not believe in mysticism, although they admit that something strange happened to them. For example, Anna Kovalchuk, who played Margarita, says that the novel for a long time didn't want to let her go. In addition to her role in the series, she also starred in the 3D musical The Master and Margarita. In general, the actress notes that she loves the number 13 and black cats.
People have different attitudes to the curses associated with the novel "The Master and Margarita". So, the number of dead actors who participated in the filming of the series "Streets of Broken Lanterns" is much larger, but no one talks about the curse. In general, everyone has the right to decide whether to believe in the curse of the novel The Master and Margarita.
This May marks 76 years since Mikhail Bulgakov completed work on his masterpiece and, perhaps, one of the main novels of his era. Say what you like, "Master and Margarita" is loved by everyone - and schoolgirls of the senior classes, who like it at the same time silver Age and large soft toys; both students and adults. And no wonder. The novel, being both a symbol and a scourge new country, literally entwined with mystical coincidences and amazing stories.
Let's start, perhaps, with the fact that Mikhail Afanasyevich personally made sure that the manuscripts are not grief. He began work on the novel in 1928, during which time the drafts had different titles - "Engineer's Hoof", "Tour", "Black Magician". In parallel, Bulgakov continued to work on other works. And when in 1930 the writer received a notice about the ban on the Cabal of Saints, he personally sent the outline of the novel into the fire.
But a year later, Bulgakov realized: manuscripts do not burn. And the work began to boil new force: Margarita was born and, as a result, the nameless Master, Woland "overgrown" with a retinue ... By the way, Bulgakov initially called Woland Astaroth. This is a direct reference to Western demonology - that, according to the Lemegeton, is the name of one of the most powerful demons in the hierarchy of Hell. But when it became clear that the "devilry" in the novel would have to be masked, Astaroth was removed, replacing the relatively neutral Woland.
Some interesting facts from a chronological point of view. Meteorologists conducted a small study and found that on May 1, 1929, the capital sharply warmed up to +30 Celsius, and a storm began a few days later. The weather is the same in the novel itself: on May 1, it is unusually warm in the evening, and a few days later, when the last flight begins, a thunderstorm breaks out over the city. Bulgakov also made a surprise gift for his birthday to himself: the novel says that the Master is 38 years old. This is a reference to the biography of the author himself: the hero was “born” on May 15, that is, on the birthday of Mikhail Afanasyevich.
Interesting Facts from the life of Bulgakov.
The Master and Margarita - a story about a writer.
Few people know that the novel "The Master and Margarita" was dedicated to the writer's beloved Elena Sergeevna Nurenberg. It was his last love and the strongest, she brought much suffering and happiness to both. By the time they met, they already had families that had to be destroyed in order to unite their destinies forever by marriage. In the article "Interesting facts from the life of Bulgakov" we will talk about this.
In Riga in 1893 in the family school teacher Elena Sergeevna Nuremberg was born. When the girl graduated from high school, the family decided to move to Moscow. And in 1918, three years after that, Elena meets Yuri Neyelov, whose father was famous artist Mammoth Dalsky, and marries him. The marriage was not long, after two years it broke up. And then Elena met Lieutenant General Yevgeny Shilovsky, with whom they became engaged at the end of 1920.
One can only say good things about Shilovsky, he was an extremely patient and decent husband. A year after the wedding, Elena gave birth to his son. However, calm family life With loving spouse did not bring happiness to the young girl. In her letters to her sister, she told about what a wonderful husband she had, noble, that there probably were none, and also that in spite of all this she was unhappy. That she feels lonely. Eugene works hard, and she has to be left alone with her thoughts, inventions and fantasies. Time passed, nothing changed, only doubts tormented Elena with even greater force.
Elena Sergeevna is 35 years old. On February 28, 1929, on an excellent sunny day, she meets and gets acquainted with Mikhail Bulgakov. By that time, he was already an accomplished person. Bulgakov was born in Kyiv, graduated from the medical faculty and worked as a doctor. At the age of 30, having moved to Moscow, he took up literary activity. The writer was married to Belozerskaya Lyubov Evgenievna, who was a good wife, always took care of her husband and helped in his work. Elena Shilovskaya noted in Bulgakov his masculinity, purposefulness and intelligence
Their unforgettable meeting took place in the apartment of the artists Moiseenko. 40 years after that, Elena recalls: “... When I met Bulgakov by chance in the same house, I realized that this was my destiny, despite everything, despite the insanely difficult tragedy of the gap ... we met and were close. It was fast, extraordinarily fast, at least on my part, the love of a lifetime. Elena was lost in doubt. She could not leave her husband and two sons. A lot of suffering and torment fell on her lot, in the end, she decides not to meet with the writer anymore. For a long 20 months, she avoids Mikhail Afanasyevich in every possible way. And when, once going out alone on the street, she meets him. The first phrase that the poet dropped at the meeting was: "I can't live without you." The answer was: "Me too." Then they decided to be together no matter what.
When Shilovsky found out about his wife's affair with the writer, a long and emotional explanation took place between the men. At gunpoint, Bulgakov was ordered to leave his wife, and she was told that if they divorced, then the sons would stay with their father. Elena was forced to stay for a while with her husband. A year and a half later, she meets the poet again, this time they finally decide not to part anymore. This time, Shilovsky did not interfere with his beloved, he signed the divorce papers and wanted to remain friends with her. This noble man and after the divorce, he justified “beloved Lucy” and wrote to his parents that they simply exhausted each other ...
In early September 1936, The Master and Margarita was finished. prototype main character became the wife of the poet, with whom they lived happily for 8 years. For Elena Sergeevna Nurengberg, who became Bulgakova, these were the most happy years in her life. Sometime in the early 1930s, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov told her about one request: "Give me your word that I will die in your arms." The wife devoted herself entirely to her husband and fulfilled this promise.
The writer's health began to deteriorate at the end of 1939, and on March 10, 1940 great writer died. After his death, Elena Sergeevna barely made ends meet. She began selling things, translating and reprinting handwritten texts, but this did not bring tangible income. Only in the post-war years, she began to receive good fees by publishing the works of her lover. Elena survived her husband for a long thirty years. She died at the age of 76 on July 18, 1970. She was buried next to her beloved husband at the Novodevichy Cemetery.Original: 
One of Bulgakov's hobbies was mysticism: demons, devils, teachings about God. All this occupied his mind and therefore traces of mysticism are present in his works. One of the writer's favorite works as a child was "Faust", the opera was viewed by him 41 times. Maybe the novel "The Master and Margarita" is a kind of Goethe's opera, such as Bulgakov saw it. 
Several attempts at writing a novel
The novel "The Master and Margarita" the writer began to write in 1929, but it was not at all the work that is known now. The first edition had a completely different title and the story was about the Devil. And the book was called "The Black Magician", "The Juggler with a Hoof". The impetus for writing this novel was A. Chayanov's story "Venediktov, or Memorable Events of My Life." And here, too, it was about Satan. The writer personally burned this version of the novel after he learned that he was denied the publication of his play "The Cabal of the Saints."
Then there was a second attempt to write "Masters ..." and the same fate awaited her. Only some pages of the manuscripts of these two works remain, which are stored in the Russian state library. the fall of the spiritual and moral life in those years, the rejection of religion, the destruction of churches and religious houses served. The review could not allow publication of a novel in which openly goes description Jesus, his unjust execution and the veneration of a demon.
And finally, the writer set about writing a novel for the third time, the title for which at first was " prince of darkness».
Who is represented by the characters of the novel
In each character, a real-life character is veiled. Those who knew Bulgakov personally or in absentia.
The main character - Woland - the devil, demon, prince of darkness, great magician. Some compare him with Stalin and provide evidence that it was he who served as the prototype for Woland. Sometimes it seems that he is justice itself. He fights human vices, patronizes love and creativity, exposes injustice and self-interest. It is interesting that in the first manuscript Woland's description occupied fifteen handwritten pages. 
The Master appeared in the third manuscript. Who is this? Could it be Bulgakov himself? Age converges, writing too. They seem to echo each other in their failures: their works are not published, they are criticized by literary critics, they both burn their novel. And the beloved woman saves the work in both cases. Why didn't Bulgakov give him a name? Some argue that the description of the Master is similar to Gogol.
margarita- the beloved of the Master, she is a witch, she is also the queen of the ball. Perhaps the image was copied from last wife Bulgakov.
The nameless fat sideburner whom Margarita met is very similar in description to Yesenin. And what he does and how he behaves confirms this.
- Bulgakov's dog was called Behemoth, black, big and very smart. 
- the fifth procurator of Judea - in his image the problem of conscience is revealed. Sometimes events are committed not according to conscience and there comes a moment when repentance comes, and then they look for the guilty. 
There are many characters in the novel, mysterious and mystical, who need to be deciphered. How many people - so many opinions.
Chess game
"King on square G-2". So goes the description of Woland's chess game with the cat Behemoth. According to historians of chess games, Bulgakov describes the game between Ryumin and Botvinnik in 1935 at the International Moscow Tournament. The description of this game attracted the attention of even those who were not at all interested in chess. Maybe Bulgakov was so strongly etched into the memory of this game that he could not get around it.
Riddle - time
There are no dates in the novel by which a time period can be determined. It seems that the Moscow events and the events in Yershalaim are one time period, as if adjoining each other. Same weather, same time of day. The events taking place in the novel covered the description of four days. It all starts on Wednesday and ends on Sunday night. This night is happening resurrection of the dead. Isn't it Easter week? 
The resurrection of Jesus takes place on the night before Easter. Events in Yershalaim take place in 29, while in Moscow - in 1929. It seems the same, but no. Pontius Pilate has been carrying out his punishment for more than two thousand years. This means the time interval of 1900 years, between 29 and 1929. Everything converges. But the feast of the witches, which Margarita falls on, is Walpurgis Night - from April 30 to May 1.
If you look at the chronology, it is reliably known that in 1929 the Easter week fell on May 1. That's where the coincidence with the coven of witches in one day. But here comes the description of the fourteenth day of the seventh month. It seems that the author is trying to confuse us or, on the contrary, hints at something and draws attention to the time issue, so that we compare events and try to guess something. Maybe you need to solve some riddle that Bulgakov encrypted?
To know, to know...
He was in a hurry and kept repeating: "To know ...". Until his death, Bulgakov worked on the novel and, according to his wife's recollections, he said that he reckoned with everyone in the new novel. In every image, in every word and events, there is a clue to that time, who was objectionable to the authorities, who wrote, but published little, who was offended. He knew that he would die, so he hurried to finish writing before death came. "To know, to know..." What did he want to convey with his work? 
Influence on Russian rock
Even in modern world the novel had an impact not only on lovers of reading. fans hard rock more than once bowed before the legendary works of the Aria group. Recall "The Ball at the Prince of Darkness", "Blood for Blood", "Balance of Powers". Group Master with the works "Annushka's Song", "The Death of Berlioz".
And not only rock performers touched on the novel in their performances. Igor Nikolaev with the song "Master and Margarita", Larisa Dolina "Cat Behemoth", Rosenbaum "Master and Margarita". And this list goes on and on.
In some of Bulgakov's manuscripts, the beginning of work on the novel "The Master and Margarita" is indicated by the author in 1928, in others in 1929. Initially, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov tried on different titles for the novel. Among the tried options were such as "Juggler with a Hoof", "Tour", "Black Magician" and some others.
When on March 18, 1930, Bulgakov's play "The Cabal of the Hypocrites" was banned from being staged, the author himself destroyed the first edition of the novel "The Master and Margarita" in the fire and informed the government about it. A year later, the writer returned to work on the novel. He created new drafts, in which he provided Woland with an unrestrained retinue. Margarita and her then-nameless lover, later called the Master, appeared in the new sketches.
Work on the second edition went on until 1936. The work had a draft working title " fantasy novel". As spares, the writer also considered other titles of the book, such as "The Hoof of the Engineer", "Satan", "The Great Chancellor". Started in the second half of 1936, the third edition famous work was called "Prince of Darkness". final version title of the novel "The Master and Margarita" appeared in 1937.
In 1938, the sister of Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, the writer's wife, O. S. Bokshanskaya, first published full text extraordinary work. Bulgakov has been creating his immortal literary brainchild for more than ten years. Until his death, he continued to make changes to the novel.
There is plenty of evidence for the unique internal chronology of Bulgakov's novel. For example, it clearly states that on May 1st the weather was unusually hot. The following describes the events of the novel on the eve of the last flight. And then a powerful thunderstorm suddenly broke out in the sky above the capital, accompanied by a downpour. According to the press of those early years, on May 1, 1929, the weather in Moscow became unusually warmer - up to 30 degrees above zero. Following this, a cold snap came to the capital with rains and thunderstorms just as abruptly.
The protagonist of the novel, the Master, is certainly endowed with some features of Bulgakov himself. This indirectly confirms the age of the Master indicated in the novel. It says he is about thirty-eight years old. May 15, 1929 Bulgakov was just thirty-eight years old. And in this year he began the first version of the novel.
The novel is by no means a direct retelling of the gospel. This is evidenced by very significant differences in the most important details of both stories. exposed death penalty Yeshua in The Master and Margarita pronounces the name of Pontius Pilate. In the Gospel, the crucified Jesus Christ pronounces the name of God. This gave deacon Andrei Kuraev a reason to declare the Yershalaim story described by Bulgakov blasphemous in relation to Christian religion. However, the deacon made a reservation at the same time that he did not consider the novel The Master and Margarita itself sacrilegious.
In the first versions of the novel, Woland had the name Astaroth. Perhaps due to the comparison of this name with a specific demonic creature, the writer abandoned it, replacing it with Woland. There has never been a Variety Theater in Moscow. But after the novel gained wide popularity, the rights to this name were presented by several theaters at once.
The words that Woland says in the penultimate edition of the novel: “He has a courageous face, he does his job right, and in general, everything is over here. It is time!" were directed to acting person, which was no longer in the final edition of the work.
According to the memoirs of the writer's widow, the last thing he said about the novel during his lifetime was the words: "To know ... To know." The writing of the novel was accompanied by mysticism. The very idea of creating such a work came to Bulgakov after one gift made to him. It was a book by A.V. Chayanov "Venediktov or Memorable Events of My Life", which describes the clash of the hero with demonic forces. The writer was shocked by the coincidence of the main character's surname with his surname.
The novel was created by the writer in Moscow in the thirties, when all the religious and moral foundations of society were violated. The writer burned the first version of the work, since the echoes of the gospel motifs contained in it would not then be printed by any edition.
Bulgakov began to revive the novel to life after a telephone conversation with Joseph Stalin, that is, when he came into close contact with devilish forces. Paradoxically, the most severe repressions of 1937 did not affect the writer's family.
Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov did not have time to complete the novel during his lifetime, nor to publish it. For the first time, the work saw the light only in 1966, 26 years after the death of its author.
The Master and Margarita was published in an abridged magazine version thanks to Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, the widow of the writer. Despite the harsh Stalinism of those years, she managed to save an invaluable manuscript.
