On May 23, 1938, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov completed his novel The Master and Margarita. We offer readers of the Tabloid to get acquainted 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 when work on The Master and Margarita began, Bulgakov in various manuscripts dated either 1928 or 1929. In the first edition, the novel had variants of the names "Black Magician", "Engineer's Hoof", "Juggler with a Hoof", "V.'s Son", "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 The Cabal of Saints. Bulgakov reported 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 then nameless companion, the future Master, already appeared here, and Woland acquired his violent retinue. The second edition, created before 1936, had the subtitle "Fantastic novel" and variants of the titles "The Great Chancellor", "Satan", "Here I am", "The Black Magician", "The Hoof of the Engineer".
And finally, the third edition, begun in the second half of 1936, was originally called "Prince of Darkness", but already in 1937 the title "Master and Margarita" appeared. On June 25, 1938, the full text was reprinted for the first time (printed by O. S. Bokshanskaya, sister of E. S. Bulgakova). The author's editing continued almost until the death of the writer, Bulgakov stopped it at the phrase of Margarita: “So this, then, is the writers going after the coffin?” ...
Bulgakov wrote The Master and Margarita for a total of more than 10 years.
There is also one interesting meteorological correspondence that confirms the internal chronology of The Master and Margarita. Judging by 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, culminating 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 characters in the novel. A master is “a man of about thirty-eight years of age.” Bulgakov himself turned the same age on May 15, 1929. 1929 is also the time when Bulgakov began work on The Master and Margarita.
If we talk about predecessors, then the first impetus for the idea of the image of Satan, as A. Zerkalov suggests in his work, was music - an opera by Charles Gounod, written on the plot of I.V. Goethe and struck Bulgakov in childhood for life. Woland's idea was taken from a 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 repeatedly searched 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 contents of which are unknown to anyone). Despite the mass 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-Notsri, 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, according to him, does not mean that the entire novel should also be considered blasphemous "Master and Margarita".
Woland in the early editions of the novel was called Astaroth. However, this name was later replaced, apparently due to the fact that the name "Astaroth" is associated with a specific demon of the same name, other than Satan.
The Variety Theater does not exist in Moscow and has never existed. But now several theaters sometimes compete for the title at once.
In the penultimate edition of the novel, Woland says the words “He has a courageous face, he does his job right, and in general, everything is over here. We've got to go!" referring to the pilot, a character later omitted 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."
In Moscow there is a house-museum "Bulgakov's House". It is located at st. Bolshaya Sadovaya, 10. In apartment number 50 there is a museum that tells about the life and work of the writer. There are also theatrical performances, original improvisations on the works of Mikhail Bulgakov.
Some oddities begin even during the creation of the novel. An interesting fact is that Bulgakov was prompted to write The Master and Margarita by the novel presented to him by Chayanov A.V. titled "Venediktov or Memorable Events of My Life". The protagonist of the novel is Bulgakov, who is faced with diabolical forces. M.A.'s wife Bulgakova, Elena Belozerova, in her memoirs, wrote 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 motifs was not accepted for publication, and Bulgakov tried to burn his creation. The resumption of work on the novel is attributed to the writer's clash with the forces of the devil, 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.
The novel by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov "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 abbreviated journal version. The fact that this greatest literary work has reached the reader, we owe to the writer's wife, Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova, who managed to save the manuscript of the novel in difficult Stalinist times.
In 2005, director Vladimir Bortko made an attempt to film Bulgakov's artistic canvas. The ten-episode series was shown on the Rossiya TV channel and was viewed by 40 million viewers. Here are some interesting facts about the movie.
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.
The man in the jacket wears the uniform of a major of state security (the rank corresponded to the rank of 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 commander of the Red Army) in the finale. This uniform was worn by employees of the NKVD GUGB in 1937-1943. The man in the jacket is not mentioned in the novel; all the episodes with his participation are a godsend of the authors.
During the main action of the film, the investigator wears the uniform of a junior lieutenant of state security (corresponding 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 the actor Alexander Galibin does not speak in his own voice throughout the entire film.
Oleg Basilashvili, who played Woland, voiced the role of the head of the secret guard of the procurator of Judea Aphranius, played by Lubomiras Laucevičius.
Despite the rather wide running time, some episodes from the original novel were missed in the film, for example, the announcement of the death sentence by Pontius Pilate in front of a crowd of people, the dream of Nikanor Ivanovich, the barman’s consultation with the doctor after visiting the “bad apartment”, the episode with Margarita in a trolley bus on the way to Alexander Garden, Margarita's collision with the illuminated 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 the meeting with Natasha on the hog), a conversation with Goat-foot over a glass of champagne. The details of the Sabbath scene were modestly presented, for example, there were no fat-faced frogs, luminous 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, Woland and the Cat Behemoth play chess (chess pieces, according to Bulgakov's novel, are alive), an episode of Woland and Margarita's observation of what is happening in the globe, a forest with parrots and Margarita's flight at the Ball Satan, episodes with Abaddonna, an enthusiastic conversation between Behemoth, Gella and Woland after the ball, the meeting of Aphranius with Niza, the conversation between Woland, Koroviev and Behemoth after the fire in Griboedovo.
Woland in the novel is no more than 50 years old, and Oleg Basilashvili is ~75. Azazello's hair color is red, while Alexander Filippenko in this role is dark. Woland's eyes are of different colors and one of them always looks straight, Basilashvili's eyes in this role are healthy and of the same color.
Some minor edits have been made to the text. In the 9th episode, Pilate is talking to Matthew: “And now I need parchment…”, “And do you want to take away the last one?”, “I didn’t say give it back, I said show it.”. In the scene of Sempliyarov's interrogation, he talks about a magician in a 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 introduces himself as Ga Nozri, not Ga Nozri.
In episode 8, Koroviev gives the Master a clearly metal goblet (according to the text - a glass cup), the Master drops it on the carpet, Koroviev remarks: "fortunately, fortunately ...", although nothing was broken.
Artists Vladimir Svetozarov , Nadezhda Vasilyeva
Do you know that
- The character "man in a jacket" is the idea of the authors of the series.
- Filming of the Moscow scenes took place in St. Petersburg.
- Director Vladimir Bortko borrowed one of the scenes from the film Pilate and Others.
- The film uses footage from the Krasnoyarsk newsreel.
- The role of Woland could be played by Oleg Yankovsky, Jean Reno or Gary Oldman.
- In the series there is a scene of Margarita's initiation into witches, while in Bulgakov's novel it is absent.
- The Bible episodes were filmed in Bulgaria.
More facts (+4)
Plot
Beware, the text may contain spoilers!
In the spring of 1934, Satan (calling himself Woland) appears in Moscow with his retinue. On the very first day, he meets at the Patriarch's Ponds with the literary editor Berlioz and the poet Ivan Bezdomny. They argue about the existence of God. Woland proves that Jesus really existed and tells the story of the Jewish procurator Pontius Pilate, who condemned the philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri to death under pressure from the mob.
The meeting at Patriarch's Ponds opens up a series of strange events: Berlioz gets hit by a tram, exactly as Woland predicted, and Ivan finds himself in a madhouse. There he meets the forty-year-old Master, a talented writer, the author of a novel about Pontius Pilate. The novel was heavily criticized. Unable to withstand the persecution of the critics, the Master fell into despair and ended up in the hospital.
Woland gathers people and, under the guise of a performance, arranges several checks for them. He is interested in the "new people" living under a new social order that denies religion and the old philosophy. But as a result of the check, Woland realizes that people have remained the same, only they were "spoiled by the housing problem."
The "new people" include the Master and his beloved Margarita. For the sake of the Master, she left her rich and unloved husband, whose house was a "golden cage" for her. Woland instructs his retinue to invite Margarita to a satanic ball. Margarita becomes the queen of the ball. At the end of the festival, she asks Woland that her lover return to her alive and unharmed. Her wish is immediately granted, and the lovers are reunited. Woland also restores the novel that the Master burned. In response to his surprise, Woland states that "manuscripts do not burn."
The master has no place in this time, and Woland invites them to reunite forever in another world. The master did not deserve the light, but he "deserved peace." On the way, they meet Pontius Pilate, who is tormented by guilt over the death of Yeshua. Woland offers the Master to release his hero, and he agrees. Pilate finds the long-awaited peace.
Reviews about the TV series "The Master and Margarita"
Reviews of the series "Master and Margarita"
- ksyshe4ka.96 January 22, 2015 Rating of the series 10 out of 10
Master and Margarita
Screen adaptation of literary works is a risky business, especially if it is a well-known work. Everyone strives to immediately criticize this or that film, series. Today, I would like to present to your attention a review of the series by Vladimir Bortko based on the novel of the same name by Mikhail Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita" ... 1 comment 3 - Julia Kryuchkova November 7, 2013 Rating of the series 10 out of 10
"Master and Margarita"
Awesome screencap! Brilliant cast! The characters are very well defined and developed. The film follows the novel in every way, which is nice. The text of the novel is almost 100% preserved. The magnificent musical accompaniment, written by Igor Kornelyuk, emphasizes the most striking and important plot twists ... No comments yet 0 - vlad. October 26, 2013 Rating of the series 10 out of 10
both bitter and light...
... haven't looked yet. More precisely, I watched a couple of episodes on YouTube in crappy quality. But even there, the film leaves a terrific impression. This work of Bulgakov makes you periodically return to one more reading, one more viewing. To remember, to see, to notice something about (y) launched last time ... No comments yet 0 - Sergey July 31, 2013 Rating of the series 9 out of 10
The novel "The Master and Margarita" is a work that reflects philosophical, and therefore eternal themes. Love and betrayal, good and evil, truth and lies, amaze with their duality, reflecting the inconsistency and, at the same time, the fullness of human nature. Mystification and romanticism, framed in the writer's elegant language, captivate with a depth of thought that requires repeated reading.
Tragically and ruthlessly, a difficult period of Russian history appears in the novel, unfolding in such a homespun side that the devil himself visits the halls of the capital in order to once again become a prisoner of the Faustian thesis about a force that always wants evil, but does good.
History of creation
In the first edition of 1928 (according to some sources, 1929), the novel was flatter, and it was not difficult to single out specific topics, but after almost a decade and as a result of difficult work, Bulgakov came to a complexly structured, fantastic, but because of this no less life story.
Along with this, being a man overcoming difficulties hand in hand with his beloved woman, the writer managed to find a place for the nature of feelings more subtle than vanity. Fireflies of hope leading the main characters through diabolical trials. So the novel in 1937 was given the final title: The Master and Margarita. And that was the third edition.
But the work continued almost until the death of Mikhail Afanasyevich, he made the last revision on February 13, 1940, and died on March 10 of the same year. The novel is considered unfinished, as evidenced by numerous notes in the drafts kept by the writer's third wife. It was thanks to her that the world saw the work, albeit in an abridged magazine version, in 1966.
The author's attempts to bring the novel to its logical conclusion testify to how important it was to him. Bulgakov burned out the last of his strength into the idea of creating a wonderful and tragic phantasmagoria. It clearly and harmoniously reflected his own life in a narrow room, like a stocking, where he fought the disease and came to realize the true values of human existence.
Analysis of the work
Description of the artwork
(Berlioz, Ivan the homeless and Woland between them)
The action begins with a description of the meeting of two Moscow writers with the devil. Of course, neither Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz nor Ivan the homeless even suspect who they are talking to on a May day at the Patriarch's Ponds. In the future, Berlioz dies according to Woland's prophecy, and Messire himself occupies his apartment in order to continue his practical jokes and hoaxes.
Ivan the homeless, in turn, becomes a patient in a psychiatric hospital, unable to cope with the impressions of meeting with Woland and his retinue. In the house of sorrow, the poet meets the Master, who wrote a novel about the procurator of Judea, Pilate. Ivan learns that the metropolitan world of critics is cruel to objectionable writers and begins to understand a lot about literature.
Margarita, a childless woman of thirty, the wife of a prominent specialist, yearns for the disappeared Master. Ignorance brings her to despair, in which she admits to herself that she is ready to give her soul to the devil, just to find out about the fate of her beloved. One of the members of Woland's retinue, the waterless desert demon Azazello, delivers a miraculous cream to Margarita, thanks to which the heroine turns into a witch in order to play the role of a queen at Satan's ball. Having overcome some torment with dignity, the woman receives the fulfillment of her desire - a meeting with the Master. Woland returns to the writer the manuscript burned during the persecution, proclaiming a deeply philosophical thesis that "manuscripts do not burn."
In parallel, a storyline develops about Pilate, a novel written by the Master. The story tells of the arrested wandering philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri, who was betrayed by Judas of Kiriath, handing over to the authorities. The procurator of Judea administers judgment within the walls of the palace of Herod the Great and is forced to execute a man whose ideas, disdainful of the power of Caesar, and power in general, seem to him interesting and worthy of discussion, if not fair. Having coped with his duty, Pilate orders Aphranius, the head of the secret service, to kill Judas.
The plot lines are combined in the last chapters of the novel. One of Yeshua's disciples, Levi Matthew, visits Woland with a petition to grant peace to those in love. That same night, Satan and his retinue leave the capital, and the devil gives the Master and Margarita eternal shelter.
Main characters
Let's start with the dark forces appearing in the first chapters.
Woland's character is somewhat different from the canonical embodiment of evil in its purest form, although in the first edition he was assigned the role of a tempter. In the process of processing material on satanic topics, Bulgakov molded the image of a player with unlimited power to decide fate, endowed, at the same time, with omniscience, skepticism and a bit of playful curiosity. The author deprived the hero of any props, such as hooves or horns, and also removed most of the description of the appearance that took place in the second edition.
Moscow serves Woland as a stage on which, by the way, he does not leave any fatal destruction. Woland is called by Bulgakov as a higher power, a measure of human actions. He is a mirror that reflects the essence of other characters and society, mired in denunciations, deceit, greed and hypocrisy. And, like any mirror, messire gives people who think and tend to justice the opportunity to change for the better.
An image with an elusive portrait. Outwardly, the features of Faust, Gogol and Bulgakov himself intertwined in him, since the mental pain caused by harsh criticism and non-recognition caused the writer a lot of problems. The master is conceived by the author as a character whom the reader rather feels as if he is dealing with a close, dear person, and does not see him as an outsider through the prism of a deceptive appearance.
The master remembers little about life before meeting his love - Margarita, as if he did not really live. The biography of the hero bears a clear imprint of the events of the life of Mikhail Afanasyevich. Only the ending the writer came up with for the hero is lighter than he himself experienced.
A collective image that embodies the female courage to love in spite of circumstances. Margarita is attractive, brash and desperate in her quest to reunite with the Master. Without her, nothing would have happened, because through her prayers, so to speak, a meeting with Satan took place, her determination led to a great ball, and only thanks to her uncompromising dignity did the two main tragic heroes meet.
If you look back at Bulgakov’s life again, it’s easy to note that without Elena Sergeevna, the writer’s third wife, who worked on his manuscripts for twenty years and followed him during his lifetime, like a faithful, but expressive shadow, ready to put enemies and ill-wishers out of the light, it wouldn’t have happened either. publication of the novel.Woland's retinue
(Woland and his retinue)
The retinue includes Azazello, Koroviev-Fagot, Behemoth Cat and Hella. The latter is a female vampire and occupies the lowest rung in the demonic hierarchy, a minor character.
The first is the prototype of the demon of the desert, he plays the role of Woland's right hand. So Azazello ruthlessly kills Baron Meigel. In addition to the ability to kill, Azazello skillfully seduces Margarita. In some way, this character was introduced by Bulgakov in order to remove characteristic behavioral habits from the image of Satan. In the first edition, the author wanted to name Woland Azazel, but changed his mind.
(Bad apartment)
Koroviev-Fagot is also a demon, and an older one, but a buffoon and a clown. His task is to confuse and mislead the venerable public. The character helps the author provide the novel with a satirical component, ridiculing the vices of society, crawling into such cracks where the seducer Azazello will not get. At the same time, in the finale, he turns out to be not at all a joker in essence, but a knight punished for an unsuccessful pun.
The cat Behemoth is the best of jesters, a werewolf, a demon prone to gluttony, every now and then making a stir in the life of Muscovites with his comical adventures. The prototypes were definitely cats, both mythological and quite real. For example, Flyushka, who lived in the Bulgakovs' house. The writer's love for the animal, on behalf of which he sometimes wrote notes to his second wife, migrated to the pages of the novel. The werewolf reflects the tendency of the intelligentsia to transform, as the writer himself did, receiving a fee and spending it on buying delicacies in the Torgsin store.
"The Master and Margarita" is a unique literary creation that has become a weapon in the hands of the writer. With his help, Bulgakov dealt with the hated social vices, including those to which he himself was subject. He was able to express his experience through the phrases of the characters, which became a household name. In particular, the statement about manuscripts goes back to the Latin proverb "Verba volant, scripta manent" - "words fly away, what is written remains." After all, burning the manuscript of the novel, Mikhail Afanasyevich could not forget what he had previously created and returned to work on the work.
The idea of a novel in a novel allows the author to lead two large storylines, gradually bringing them together in the timeline until they intersect "beyond", where fiction and reality are already indistinguishable. Which, in turn, raises a philosophical question about the significance of human thoughts, against the background of the emptiness of words that fly away with the noise of bird wings during the game of Behemoth and Woland.
Roman Bulgakov is destined to go through time, like the heroes themselves, in order to again and again touch on important aspects of human social life, religion, issues of moral and ethical choice and the eternal struggle between good and evil.
Michael Bulgakov
Master and Margarita
Moscow 1984
The text is printed in the last lifetime edition (manuscripts are stored in the manuscript department of the State Library of the USSR named after V. I. Lenin), as well as with corrections and additions made under the dictation of the writer by his wife, E. S. Bulgakova.
PART ONE
So who are you, finally? “I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good. Goethe. "Faust"
Never talk to strangers
One day in the spring, at the hour of an unprecedentedly hot sunset, two citizens appeared in Moscow, at the Patriarch's Ponds. The first of them, dressed in a summer gray pair, was small, well-fed, bald, carried his decent hat with a pie in his hand, and on his well-shaven face were glasses of supernatural size in black horn-rimmed. The other, a broad-shouldered, reddish, shaggy young man with a checkered cap folded at the back of his head, was wearing a cowboy shirt, chewed white trousers, and black slippers.
The first was none other than Mikhail Aleksandrovich Berlioz, chairman of the board of one of the largest Moscow literary associations, abbreviated as MASSOLIT, and editor of a thick art magazine, and his young companion, the poet Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, writing under the pseudonym Bezdomny.
Once in the shade of slightly green lindens, the writers first rushed to the colorfully painted booth with the inscription "Beer and water."
Yes, the first strangeness of this terrible May evening should be noted. Not only at the booth, but in the entire alley parallel to Malaya Bronnaya Street, there was not a single person. At that hour, when, it seemed, there was no strength to breathe, when the sun, having heated Moscow, was falling in a dry fog somewhere beyond the Garden Ring, no one came under the lindens, no one sat on the bench, the alley was empty.
"Give me the narzan," Berlioz asked.
“Narzan is gone,” the woman in the booth answered, and for some reason took offense.
“The beer will be delivered by evening,” the woman replied.
– What is there? Berlioz asked.
“Apricot, but warm,” the woman said.
- Come on, come on, come on, come on!
The apricot gave a rich yellow foam, and the air smelled of a barbershop. Having drunk, the writers immediately began to hiccup, paid off and sat down on a bench facing the pond and with their backs to Bronnaya.
Here a second oddity happened, concerning Berlioz alone. He suddenly stopped hiccuping, his heart thumped and fell somewhere for a moment, then returned, but with a blunt needle stuck in it. In addition, Berlioz was seized by an unreasonable, but such a strong fear that he wanted to immediately run away from the Patriarchs without looking back. Berlioz looked around sadly, not understanding what had frightened him. He turned pale, wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, thought: “What is the matter with me? This has never happened... my heart is beating... I'm overtired. Perhaps it's time to throw everything to hell and to Kislovodsk ... "
And then the sultry air thickened in front of him, and a transparent citizen of a most strange appearance was woven from this air. On a small head is a jockey cap, a checkered, short, airy jacket ... A citizen is a sazhen tall, but narrow in the shoulders, incredibly thin, and his physiognomy, please note, is mocking.
Berlioz's life developed in such a way that he was not accustomed to unusual phenomena. Even more pale, he goggled his eyes and thought in dismay: “This cannot be! ..”
But, alas, it was, and a long, through which one can see, a citizen, without touching the ground, swayed in front of him both to the left and to the right.
Here terror seized Berlioz to such an extent that he closed his eyes. And when he opened them, he saw that everything was over, the haze dissolved, the checkered one disappeared, and at the same time a blunt needle jumped out of the heart.
- Damn you! - the editor exclaimed, - you know, Ivan, I just now almost had a stroke from the heat! There was even something like a hallucination,” he tried to grin, but anxiety still jumped in his eyes, and his hands were trembling.
However, he gradually calmed down, fanned himself with a handkerchief and, saying rather cheerfully: “Well, so ...” - he began his speech, interrupted by drinking apricot.
This speech, as they later learned, was about Jesus Christ. The fact is that the editor ordered the poet for the next book of the magazine a large anti-religious poem. Ivan Nikolaevich composed this poem, and in a very short time, but, unfortunately, the editor was not at all satisfied with it. Bezdomny outlined the main character of his poem, that is, Jesus, with very black colors, and yet, according to the editor, the whole poem had to be written anew. And now the editor was giving the poet a kind of lecture about Jesus, in order to emphasize the poet's basic mistake. It is difficult to say what exactly let Ivan Nikolaevich down - whether the pictorial power of his talent or complete ignorance of the issue on which he was going to write - but Jesus in his image turned out to be well, just like a living, although not attracting character. Berlioz wanted to prove to the poet that the main thing was not what Jesus was like, whether he was good or bad, but that this Jesus, as a person, did not exist at all in the world and that all the stories about him were mere inventions, the most common myth.
It should be noted that the editor was a well-read man and very skillfully pointed in his speech to ancient historians, for example, the famous Philo of Alexandria, the brilliantly educated Josephus Flavius, who never mentioned the existence of Jesus in a word. Displaying solid erudition, Mikhail Alexandrovich informed the poet, among other things, that that place in the 15th book, in chapter 44 of the famous Tacitus Annals, which speaks of the execution of Jesus, is nothing more than a later fake insert.
The poet, for whom everything reported by the editor was news, listened attentively to Mikhail Alexandrovich, fixing his lively green eyes on him, and only occasionally hiccupped, cursing apricot water in a whisper.
“There is not a single Eastern religion,” said Berlioz, “in which, as a rule, an immaculate virgin is not
Chapter 1
In Moscow, the poet Ivan Bezdomny and Mikhail Berlioz, chairman of the literary organization MASSOLIT, are walking along the Patriarch's Ponds. They discuss Bezdomny's poem about Jesus Christ. Berlioz tries to prove that Christ did not exist.
A passer-by intervenes in the conversation. He introduces himself as a foreign professor of black magic who came to Moscow on tour. The stranger is interested, if there is no God, then who then controls the fate of man? Writers claim that the man himself. The foreigner objects: a person is mortal and does not even know the date of his death. Regarding the fate of Berlioz, the professor informs that he will soon be cut off his head, because Annushka has already spilled the oil.
The stranger claims that Jesus existed. He begins the story of Pontius Pilate.
Chapter 2. Pontius Pilate
The procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, is suffering from a severe headache, but not all the work is completed for today. The legionnaires bring in a new accused, a poorly dressed man named Yeshua Ha-Nozri. He, according to many townspeople, wanted to destroy the Yershalaim temple.
The arrested man denies his guilt. Levi Matthew is to blame for everything, who follows Yeshua and incorrectly writes down his words. Ga-Notsri makes strange, but surprisingly reasonable speeches, notices that the procurator suffers from a headache and easily relieves it.
Pontius Pilate decides to abolish the death penalty for the wandering philosopher, but it turns out that Yeshua received a denunciation from Judas from Kiriath. He claims that Ha-Nozri opposed the power of Caesar.
Now the procurator cannot cancel the execution, but he hopes to persuade the Sanhedrin for pardon. This council of Jewish high priests has the right to set free one of the condemned in honor of the Passover holiday. But the Sanhedrin bestows its mercy on the murderer Barravan.
Chapter 3
The foreigner's story is interrupted by Berlioz, who remarks that no one can confirm the reality of those events. The professor, in turn, admits that he was present there personally.
Writers step aside to consult. They decide that the stranger has gone mad and should report it to the foreigners' bureau. The homeless man stays with the visitor, while Berlioz goes to the nearest telephone. In a hurry, he runs across the tram tracks, slips on oil, and the tram cuts off his head.
Chapter 4
Ivan Bezdomny is shocked by what he sees. Onlookers gather around the deceased Berlioz to discuss the tragedy. It turns out that Annushka and Sadova spilled the oil. Ivan, who has just heard a prediction from a foreigner, rushes to him for an explanation.
But the professor of black magic pretends not to understand Russian and leaves, accompanied by a strange person in a plaid jacket and a huge black cat. The homeless man tries to catch up with them, but in vain.
Chapter 5
The writers of MASSOLIT chose "Griboyedov's house" for their meetings. The best restaurant in Moscow is located on the ground floor of this mansion. Twelve workers of the pen are waiting for their chairman Berlioz, who is late for the meeting.
Suddenly, Homeless appears. He behaves very strangely: he looks under the tables in search of a huge black cat that walks on its hind legs. The poet claims that Berlioz was killed by a foreign professor, along with an unpleasant citizen in a plaid jacket and a broken pince-nez. Considering Ivan crazy, he is taken to a psychiatric hospital.
Chapter 6
The homeless man tries to explain to the doctors what danger the professor and his company pose, but no one wants to take the poet's words seriously.
Ivan is rowdy and demands to call the police. To calm him down, the doctor allows him to make a phone call. The homeless man demands to provide motorcyclists with machine guns to capture a spy and a criminal - a professor of black magic. The police hang up. Then Ivan tries to escape through the window, but after the injection he calms down. He is diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Chapter 7
The director of the Variety Theater Stepan Likhodeev occupies the same apartment as the late Berlioz. In the morning, he discovers a stranger in the house, who introduces himself as a professor of black magic named Woland. In addition to the foreigner, a strange gentleman in a broken pince-nez and a huge talking cat turn out to be in the apartment. A red-haired and fanged Azazello appears from the mirror. He declares that Stepan is superfluous in the apartment, he needs to be thrown out of Moscow.
The next minute, Likhodeev finds himself on the seashore in Yalta.
Chapter 8
A homeless man wakes up in a hospital. He understands that it is useless to rage and talk about his suspicions. Therefore, Ivan decides to remain silent, then he will be considered normal and released. But the doctor deftly asks Bezdomny about everything, starting from birth. The psychiatrist professor explains: Ivan will be released, but he will again end up in a "psychiatric hospital" if he starts looking for talking cats and black magicians. The Doctor suggests Homeless to calm down and describe everything that happened to him. And then they will think together what can be done.
Chapter 9
The chairman of the housing association, Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, after the tragic death of Berlioz, was tortured by applicants for the vacant housing. He decides to run away from the petitioners and take a look at apartment number 50 personally.
In the sealed room, Barefoot is surprised to find a citizen in a plaid jacket. He introduces himself as Koroviev and works as a translator for a foreign professor. His patron came on tour to the Variety Theater and, at the invitation of Likhodeev, temporarily lives in apartment No. 50.
Koroviev offers Nikanor Ivanovich to draw up a contract for the rent of the entire apartment. Bosoy agrees. In addition to the amount under the contract, he receives an impressive bundle of new banknotes from the translator. As soon as the door closes behind Nikanor Ivanovich, Koroviev informs the police by phone that the chairman of the housing association is speculating in currency. Five minutes later Bosogo is arrested.
Chapter 10
The financial director of the Variety Theater, Rimsky, and the administrator, Varenukha, cannot understand where Likhodeev has gone. Telegrams arrive from Yalta asking to confirm Stepan's identity. Rimsky and Varenukha decide that this is a prank on the drunken Likhodeev.
The angry director tells Varenukha to take the telegram to the police. On the way, the administrator is attacked by a red-haired fanged citizen and a fat man who looks like a cat. They deliver Varenukha to Likhodeev's apartment.
Chapter 11
The homeless man tries to describe the incident at the Patriarch's Ponds, but he fails. Ivan begins to regret that he did not finish listening to the story of Pontius Pilate. Suddenly, a stranger appears on the balcony of the ward, who puts his finger to his lips, urging Ivan to be silent.
Chapter 12
In the Variety Theater, the performance "Session of Magic with Subsequent Exposure" begins. Woland sits down in an armchair on the stage and looks at the Moscow audience with curiosity. He comes to the conclusion that people remained the same, but they were spoiled by the housing problem.
Koroviev fires his pistol upwards, and money is pouring from the ceiling into the auditorium. The audience rushes for banknotes, the hall begins to turmoil. Entertainer Bengalsky tries to defuse the situation, assuring that this is mass hypnosis. But the translator claims that the money is real. Someone from the audience advises to tear off Bengalsky's head, which is immediately performed by a huge black cat. One woman asks Woland to take pity on the entertainer, and Bengalsky's head is returned.
Koroviev announces the opening of a women's shop of Parisian fashion on stage. In it, the latest novelties of the season can be exchanged for free for old clothes. Women rush onto the stage to dress up in Parisian chic.
Chapter 13
The Stranger enters Homeless's room through the balcony door. This is a patient from the next room, who introduces himself as a master. It turns out that both ended up in a mental hospital because of Pontius Pilate. Bezdomny's guest wrote a novel about him.
The stranger was called the master by his beloved, who was delighted with his work. But the novel was not accepted for publication, only a small excerpt was published in the magazine. Critics immediately attacked the master, a certain Latunsky was especially raging. Desperate, the author burned his manuscripts. Beloved managed to snatch out of the fire only a few pages. The master was evicted from the apartment, and then he ended up in a hospital.
Chapter 14
After the professor's speech, complete confusion begins. Parisian ladies' outfits suddenly disappear, and half-naked women rush to hide from shame.
Rimsky decides to somehow deal with this devilry. But at this time, the phone rings, and he is advised not to go anywhere and do nothing. The financial director hurries to leave the theater in fear, but Varenukha enters the office and locks the door. A naked girl appears in the window, holding out her hands to Rimsky. She breaks the glass and almost touches the financier, but then the rooster crows three times. The woman and Varenukha disappear, and Rimsky, who has turned gray with horror, urgently leaves for Leningrad.
Chapter 15
Bosoy, who was arrested for currency speculation, also ends up in a psychiatric clinic, because he talks nonsense during interrogation. In the hospital, he has a dream: Nikanor Ivanovich is sitting in the theater hall, and on the stage the artist offers to hand over the currency. None of the audience is not burning with such a desire.
A man named Dungil is invited to the stage. He and his wife claim to have handed over all the currency. Then a girl comes out with a tray on which lies a diamond necklace and a bundle of money. This is Dungil's mistress, and she kept the currency. The entertainer announces that the punishment for the liar will be the wrath of his wife.
One by one, the men rise up onto the stage and hand over the money. When it's Barefoot's turn, he wakes up with a terrible scream.
Chapter 16
Those sentenced to death are brought to the mountain. The procurator puts up a cordon, fearing popular unrest. But the few spectators soon disperse to hide from the unbearable heat. Only Matthew Levi remains. On the way to the place of execution, he tried to save Yeshua from a painful death and for this he stole a knife from a bakery. But Levi did not succeed in carrying out his plan. Now he begs God to give the teacher a quick death, but the torment in the sun continues. Then Levi curses God. As if in response, a thunderstorm is gathering. By order of the procurator, the crucified are killed with a blow of a spear. A terrible downpour begins, the hill is empty. The former tax collector removes corpses from the pillars and carries away the body of Ha-Notsri.
Chapter 17
From the very morning, people have been crowding near the Variety Theater, waiting for the box office to open. But the entire management of the theater disappeared. Have to call the police. Law enforcement officers with a search dog can explain little. Gone are the posters for the performance, as well as the contract with the foreign magician. Therefore, the next session is cancelled.
The accountant Lastochkin goes to hand over the proceeds, but an incredible thing happens in the office: his suit sits in the place of the chairman and talks. A specialist in choral singing in a plaid jacket showed up at the branch, after which all the employees were taken to a psychiatric hospital.
Lastochkin tries to hand over the proceeds, but it turns out that the rubles have turned into currency, and the accountant is immediately arrested.
Chapter 18
The uncle of the late Berlioz Poplavsky receives a telegram from his nephew with a summons to his own funeral. He has views of the living space of Berlioz, and therefore urgently leaves.
In the nephew's apartment, the astonished relative meets Koroviev, who talks with sobs about the ridiculous death of Mikhail. When asked who sent the telegram, they point to the cat. Having studied Poplavsky's passport, the cat announces that his uncle does not belong at the funeral and in the apartment. Poplavsky is pushed out the door.
On the landing, the uncle meets the Variety barman, who comes to Woland with a complaint that all the money in the cash register has turned into labels.
Part two
Chapter 19
The master's beloved Margarita yearns for her husband's rich apartment. She dreamed of her beloved, whom the woman had been looking for for a long time and unsuccessfully.
Walking around Moscow, Margarita sees the funeral of Berlioz. Azazello comes up to her and talks about the stolen head of the deceased. He invites a woman to visit a foreigner, from whom she can learn about her lover. Margaret agrees. The red-haired man gives her a magic cream with instructions on how to use it.
Chapter 20
Naked Margarita at the specified time is smeared with cream and turns into a beautiful witch. She writes a farewell note to her husband, gives her outfits to the housekeeper Natasha, sits on the floor brush and flies out the window, as Azazello advised.
Chapter 21
Flying past the house where the critic Latunsky lives, Margarita organizes a pogrom in his apartment. Soon Natasha catches up with the woman on a fat boar. She admits that she smeared herself with the remaining cream. Borov is their neighbor Nikolai Ivanovich, who saw the girl and began to seduce her with money. Naughty Natasha smeared the cream on him too.
Soon Margarita arrives at the Sabbath, where she is greeted with great respect. A car is sent for the woman, which carries the newly-minted witch to Moscow by air.
Chapter 22
Koroviev escorts the guest to a "bad apartment" and tells that every year Satan arranges a ball in one of the capitals. This year the celebration will take place in Moscow, and Margarita will be the hostess here. Huge ballrooms unfold inside the apartment.
Woland is playing chess with the cat Behemoth in the bedroom. The woman meets Koroviev and the witch Gella, helps to rub Woland's sore knee with ointment.
Chapter 23
Margarita is bathed in blood and then in rose oil. Naked, in heavy jewelry, she meets guests. Through the fireplace, skeletons tumble into the hall, which turn into brilliant ladies and gentlemen. The guests take turns kissing Margarita's knee, and soon it swells, bringing unbearable pain. But the prom queen continues to smile sweetly.
Margarita's attention is attracted by a guest with sad eyes. Behemoth explains that the woman's name is Frida. She was seduced by her master and she gave birth to a child. But then she strangled the baby with a handkerchief. Now Frida is served this handkerchief every morning.
The ball continues, Margarita pays attention to the guests. Then Woland appears in the hall with the head of Berlioz, which turns into a bowl.
An employee of the Spectacular Commission, Baron Meigel, appears, a spy and an earpiece. He himself asked to visit Woland in order to sniff out everything about the mysterious foreigner. Meigel is killed by Azazello with a shot in the heart, and Woland fills the cup with blood and drinks. Midnight comes, the guests disperse.
Chapter 24
Dinner is served in the bedroom of apartment No. 50. Margarita, Woland and his retinue are resting after a tiresome ball. Woland promises to fulfill one wish of Margarita as a reward for the role of the queen of the ball. The woman asks that Frieda no longer be given a handkerchief. Her wish is granted, but Woland offers to ask for something for herself. And Margarita asks to return her beloved.
The master immediately appears in the room. From the basement where he used to live, Aloisy Mogarych, who informed about the madness of the former tenant, is expelled in order to occupy his living space. Woland returns the master's burnt manuscript, releases Varenukha, who did not like being a vampire, and leaves Natasha a witch at her request.
Soon the master is sleeping in his cellar, and Margarita is rereading the restored manuscript.
Chapter 25
The head of the secret service, Aphranius, comes to Pontius Pilate and reports that the execution has taken place. The procurator orders urgently and in secret to bury the executed, and also to take care of the safety of Judas from Kiriath, who can be slaughtered at night. So Pontius Pilate hints that he would like to see the informer dead.
Chapter 26
Aphranius executes the order of the procurator and reports on the death of Judas. They find Levi Matvey with the body of Yeshua, and bury all the executed.
Pontius Pilate bitterly regrets that he could not save Ha-Notsri. He has a dream in which Yeshua did not die. The procurator wants to see Levi Matthew. He offers a former tax collector a position as his librarian, but he refuses.
Chapter 27
The investigation into the Woland case is very active. Many witnesses were interrogated, including Varenukha and Likhodeev. Entertainers Bengalsky, Bosoy and Bezdomny were found in Stravinsky's clinic.
It was decided to take the gang that had settled in apartment No. 50. Behemoth fooled the police officers for a while, then he set fire to the apartment. In the smoke, people see three male and one female silhouettes that fly out of the window.
