The story "Heart of a Dog": the history of creation and fate. "Heart of a Dog" as a Mirror of Russian Counter-Revolution

The story "Heart of a Dog", the history of which is given in this article, is one of the most famous works of the Russian writer of the early 20th century, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov. The story, written in the first years of the existence of Soviet power, very accurately reflected the mood that reigned in the new society. So accurate that it was forbidden to print until perestroika.

The history of writing a work

The story "Heart of a Dog", the history of which dates back to 1925, was written by Bulgakov in a short time. Literally in three months. Naturally, as a reasonable person, he had little faith that such a work could be printed. Therefore, it diverged only in the lists and was known only to his close friends and associates.

The story "Heart of a Dog" first fell into the hands of the Soviet authorities in 1926. In the history of the creation of this mirror of early Soviet reality, the OGPU played a role, which discovered it during a search of the writer on May 7th. The manuscript was removed. The history of the creation of the "Heart of a Dog" has since been closely connected with the archives of the Soviet special services. All discovered editions of the text are now available to researchers and literary critics. They can be found in the Russian State Library. They are kept in the Department of Manuscripts. If you carefully analyze them, then the history of the creation of Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog" will stand before your eyes.

The fate of the work in the West

It was unrealistic to read this work officially in the Soviet Union. In the USSR, it was distributed exclusively in samizdat. Everyone knew the history of the creation of the "Heart of a Dog", many were so eager to read it that they sacrificed their sleep. After all, the manuscript was handed over for a short period of time (often only for one night), in the morning it had to be given to someone else.

Attempts to publish Bulgakov's work in the West were made repeatedly. The history of the creation of the story "Heart of a Dog" abroad began in 1967. But everything happened not without a flaw. The text was copied hastily and carelessly. The writer's widow Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova was not aware of this at all. Otherwise, she could control the accuracy of the text of the story "Heart of a Dog". The history of the creation of the work in Western publishing houses is such that a very inaccurate manuscript got into them.

It was first officially published in 1968 in the German magazine Grani, which was based in Frankfurt. And also in the magazine "Student", which was published by Alec Flegon in London. In those days, there were unspoken rules, according to which, if a work of art was published abroad, its publication at home automatically became impossible. Such was the history of the creation of Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog". To appear in the Soviet publishing house after that became simply unrealistic.

First publication at home

Only thanks to perestroika and glasnost many key works of the 20th century became available to the Russian reader. Including "Heart of a Dog". The history of creation and the fate of the story are such that in the homeland the work was first published in 1987. It happened on the pages of the Zvezda magazine.

However, the same inaccurate copy from which the story was printed abroad served as the basis. Later, researchers will calculate that it contained at least a thousand gross errors and distortions. However, it was in this form until 1989 that "Heart of a Dog" was printed. The history of creation can briefly fit on just a few pages. In fact, decades passed before the story reached the reader.

original text

This unfortunate inaccuracy was corrected by the well-known textologist and literary critic Lydia Yankovskaya.

She was the first to print the original text in the two-volume edition of the Selected Books, which we know today. This is how Bulgakov himself wrote it in The Heart of a Dog. The history of the creation of the story, as we see, was not easy.

The plot of the story

The action of the work takes place in the capital in 1924. In the center of the story is the famous surgeon, luminary of science Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky. His main research is devoted to the rejuvenation of the human body. In this he achieved unprecedented success. Almost the first persons of the country are registered for consultations and operations with him.

In the course of further research, he decides on a daring experiment. Transplants a dog with a human pituitary gland. As an experimental animal, he chooses an ordinary yard dog Sharik, who somehow nailed to him on the street. The consequences were literally shocking. After a short time, Sharik began to turn into a real person. However, he acquired character and consciousness not from a dog, but from a drunkard and rude Klim Chugunkin, who owned the pituitary gland.

At first, this story was circulated only in scientific circles among professors, but was soon leaked to the press. The whole city knew about it. Colleagues of Preobrazhensky express their admiration, and Sharik is shown to doctors from all over the country. But Philip Philipovich is the first to understand how terrible the consequences of this operation will be.

Sharik's transformation

Meanwhile, a communist activist named Shvonder begins to exert a negative influence on Sharik, who has turned into a full-fledged person. It inspires him that the proletarian who is oppressed by the bourgeois is in the person of Professor Preobrazhensky. That is, exactly what the October Revolution fought against is happening.

It is Shvonder who issues documents to the hero. He is no longer Sharik, but Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. He gets a job in the service for catching and destroying homeless animals. First of all, he, of course, is interested in cats.

Under the influence of Shvonder and communist propaganda literature, Sharikov begins to be rude to the professor. Requires self-registration. Ultimately, he writes a denunciation of the doctors who turned him from a dog into a man. Everything ends in scandal. Preobrazhensky, unable to endure it any longer, performs a reverse operation, returning Sharikov's canine pituitary gland. He eventually loses his human appearance and returns to the animal state.

political satire

This work is a vivid example of acute. The most common interpretation is associated with the idea of ​​awakening the proletarian consciousness as a result of the victory of the October Revolution. Sharikov is an allegorical image of the classical lumpen proletariat, which, having received an unexpectedly large number of rights and freedoms, begins to show purely selfish interests.

At the end of the story, the fate of the creators of Sharikov looks predetermined. In this, according to many researchers, Bulgakov predicted the coming mass repressions of the 1930s. As a result, many loyal communists who won victory in the revolution suffered. As a result of the internal party struggle, some of them were shot, and some were sent to camps.

The ending, invented by Bulgakov, seems artificial to many.

Sharikov is Stalin

There is another interpretation of this story. Some researchers believe that it was a sharp political satire on the country's leadership, which worked in the mid-20s.

The prototype of Sharikov in real life is Joseph Stalin. It is no coincidence that both have an "iron" surname. Remember that the original name of the person who was transplanted with the dog's pituitary gland is Klim Chugunkin. According to these literary critics, the leader of the revolution, Vladimir Lenin, was the prototype. And his assistant, Dr. Bormenthal, who is constantly in conflict with Sharikov, is Trotsky, whose real name is Bronstein. Both Bormental and Bronstein are Jewish surnames.

There are prototypes for other characters. Preobrazhensky's assistant Zina is Zinoviev, Shvonder is Kamenev, and Daria is Dzerzhinsky.

Soviet censorship played an important role in the history of the creation of this work. The first edition of the story contained direct references to the political characters of that time.

One of the copies of the manuscript fell into the hands of Kamenev, who imposed a strict ban on the publication of the story, calling it "a sharp pamphlet on the present." In samizdat, the work began to spread from hand to hand only from the 1930s. It gained fame throughout the country much later - during perestroika.

The film "Heart of a Dog", filmed by Vladimir Bortko in 1988, is today considered one of the best pictures of Soviet cinema. The director not only brought the story of Mikhail Bulgakov to the screen, but also managed to breathe the spirit of the times into his film. "Heart of a Dog" is a brilliant film based on a brilliant work. We invite you to learn the history of the creation of the film "Heart of a Dog".

As you know, it was never published in the USSR because of the satirical content of the story. It was published only during perestroika in 1987 in the Znamya magazine. And just a year later, a film was made on it. According to the director Vladimir Bortko Sergey Mikaelyan, who at that time headed the television department of Lenfilm, pushed him to the idea of ​​​​creating this picture:

“Having met me in the corridor of the studio that time, Mikaelyan held out a magazine. I came home, started reading, got to the professor's monologue and realized that I would shoot, and I even know how. This should be a black and white movie…”

But later Bortko decided to use a Sepia filter for the camera to stylize it like a movie of the 30s. Later, he also used this technique in the films The Idiot and The Master and Margarita.

By the way, the movie Vladimir Bortko- This is the second film adaptation of Bulgakov's story. The first film was filmed in 1976 in Italy. It was directed by Alberto Lattuada, and the role of Professor Preobrazhensky was played by Max von Sydow.

Frame from the film Heart of a Dog (1976)

Bortko decided not to dwell only on the story and borrowed some elements from other Bulgakov's works. For example, Professor Persikov, whom Preobrazhensky invited to examine Sharik, was the main character in the story "Fatal Eggs". And the janitor, who read two volumes of the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary, is taken from the story "Gemstone Life". Also, the well-known scene in which the newborns are named Rosa and Clara is taken from the feuilleton “Golden Correspondences of Ferapont Ferapontovich Kaportsev”, and the professor’s neighbors, evoking the spirit of the emperor, are from the story “Séance”.

Filming began immediately. Actors such as Leonid Bronevoy, Mikhail Ulyanov, Yuri Yakovlev, and Vladislav Strzhelchik auditioned for the role of Professor Preobrazhensky. But the role went to a man who never even read - Evgeny Evstigneev. For him, this role was a real salvation, because then he was already retired in the theater. The actor's son recalls:

“This film came into my father's life at the right time and literally saved him. Dad was going through a difficult period when he was retired at the Moscow Art Theater. Difficulty agreeing to work in the "Heart of a Dog", he then just lived it. I don’t know what was on the set, but he constantly talked about his role, played something, showed some scenes ... At that moment, the picture became a support for him.

As for the role of Sharikov, then Vladimir Bortko remembers it like this:

“There were eight applicants for the role of Sharikov, including my favorite actor and friend Nikolai Karachentsov. But Tolokonnikov, discovered by us in Alma-Ata, killed me completely. At the test, he acted out a scene with vodka: “I wish that everything!” He grunted so convincingly, hacked, the throat traveled so surprisingly along his neck, the Adam's apple twitched so predatory that I approved it immediately.

Bortko himself also starred in "Dog Heart", however, only in the episode. He was one of the onlookers in Obukhov lane, refuting the rumors about the Martians.

Even the role of the dog Sharik was casting. It was performed by a mongrel named Karay, selected from 20 applicants. It was his film debut, but the dog turned out to be quite talented and continued his film career in the films "Reexamination", "Rock and Roll for a Princess", "Forever 19" and "Wedding March".

Karay even had to make up for the film, as he had a smooth coat, and Bulgakov wrote that Sharik was shaggy. The make-up artist of the painting, Elena Kozlova, recalls:

“They used starch, but as soon as Karay ran out into the street, he immediately began to wallow in the snow and washed everything off himself. Then they guessed to use gelatin, and it turned out to be more resistant.

Despite frequent misconceptions, almost all the songs were written specifically for the film by bard Julius Kim. And the ditties performed by Sharikov (“... come, bourgeois, I’ll gouge out your eye”), and the march of the Red Army (“The White Guard is utterly defeated, and no one will break the Red Army!”) And the song “Harsh years are leaving”, which was performed by the Shvonder choir.

In 2009, the heroes of the film, Professor Preobrazhensky and Polygraph Sharikov, were even erected a monument in Kharkov near the entrance to the Sharikoff restaurant.

The film, which today is considered a classic, was received not only very coldly, but criticized to the nines.

“I opened the newspapers and was stunned. I can’t vouch for the authenticity of the quotes, but you can open the archive, and you will see that I am close to the text ... It was written something like this: “No one has ever filmed such crap as Heart of a Dog. For this, the director needs to cut off not only his hands, but also his legs and throw him off the bridge. But I still survived (laughs). I felt that I did everything right. Abroad, we were received favorably: the film was awarded prizes in Italy, Poland, and Bulgaria. And two years after the release of "The Heart of a Dog" on the screen, Evgeny Evstigneev and I were awarded the State Prize.

But more important than any award for Vladimir Bortko was that his film received immortality. And today it can often be found on television and it is difficult to find a person who has not watched at least once, and quotes from the film have become classics.

The story "Heart of a Dog" was written by Bulgakov in 1925, but due to censorship it was not published during the life of the writer. Although, it was known in the literary circles of that time. For the first time, Bulgakov reads "Heart of a Dog" at Nikitsky Subbotniks in the same 1925. The reading took 2 evenings, and immediately the work received admiring reviews from those present.

They noted the courage of the author, the artistry and humor of the story. An agreement has already been concluded with the Moscow Art Theater on staging "Heart of a Dog" on stage. However, after an assessment of the story by an OGPU agent who secretly attended the meetings, it was banned from publication. The general public was able to read Heart of a Dog only in 1968. The story was first published in London and only in 1987 became available to residents of the USSR.

Historical background for writing the story

Why was Heart of a Dog so severely criticized by the censors? The story describes the time immediately after the 1917 revolution. This is a sharply satirical work, ridiculing the class of "new people" that appeared after the overthrow of tsarism. Bad manners, rudeness, narrow-mindedness of the ruling class, the proletariat, became the object of denunciation and ridicule of the writer.

Bulgakov, like many enlightened people of that time, believed that creating a person by force was a road to nowhere.

It will help to better understand the "Heart of a Dog" summary by chapter. Conventionally, the story can be divided into two parts: the first tells about the dog Sharik, and the second about Sharikov, a man created from a dog.

Chapter 1

The Moscow life of the stray dog ​​Sharik is described. Let's give a brief summary. “Heart of a Dog” begins with the dog talking about how near the dining room they scalded his side with boiling water: the cook poured out hot water and hit the dog (the name of the reader has not yet been reported).

The animal reflects on its fate and says that although it experiences unbearable pain, its spirit is not broken.

Desperate, the dog decided to stay to die in the gateway, he cries. And then he sees the "master", the dog paid special attention to the stranger's eyes. And then, only in appearance, he gives a very accurate portrait of this person: confident, “he will not kick with his foot, but he himself is not afraid of anyone,” a man of mental labor. In addition, the stranger smells like a hospital and a cigar.

The dog smelled the sausage in the man's pocket and "creeped" after him. Oddly enough, the dog gets a treat and takes on a name: Sharik. That is how the stranger began to address him. The dog follows his new comrade, who beckons him. Finally, they reach Philip Philipovich's house (we learn the stranger's name from the mouth of the porter). Sharik's new acquaintance is very courteous to the gatekeeper. The dog and Philipp Philippovich enter the mezzanine.

Chapter 2

In the second and third chapters, the action of the first part of the story “Heart of a Dog” develops.

The second chapter begins with Sharik's memories of his childhood, how he learned to read and distinguish colors from the names of shops. I recall his first unsuccessful experience, when instead of meat, having confused, the then young dog tasted insulated wire.

The dog and his new acquaintance enter the apartment: Sharik immediately notices the wealth of Philip Philipovich's house. They are met by a young lady who helps the master take off his outer clothing. Then Philip Philipovich notices Sharik's wound and urgently asks the girl Zina to prepare the operating room. The ball is against treatment, he dodges, tries to escape, commits a pogrom in the apartment. Zina and Philip Philipovich cannot cope, then another “male personality” comes to their aid. With the help of a "nauseous liquid" the dog is pacified - he thinks he has died.

After some time Sharik comes to his senses. His sore side was processed and bandaged. The dog hears a conversation between two doctors, where Philipp Philippovich knows that it is only possible to change a living creature with caress, but in no case with terror, he focuses on the fact that this applies to animals and people ("red" and "white") .

Philip Filippovich orders Zina to feed the dog Krakow sausage, and he goes to receive visitors, from whose conversations it becomes clear that Philip Philipovich is a professor of medicine. He treats the delicate problems of wealthy people who are afraid of publicity.

Sharik dozed off. He woke up only when four young people entered the apartment, all modestly dressed. It can be seen that the professor is not happy with them. It turns out that young people are the new house management: Shvonder (chairman), Vyazemskaya, Pestrukhin and Sharovkin. They came to notify Philipp Philippovich of a possible "consolidation" of his seven-room apartment. The professor makes a phone call to Peter Alexandrovich. From the conversation it follows that this is his very influential patient. Preobrazhensky says that in view of the possible reduction in rooms, he will have nowhere to operate. Pyotr Alexandrovich talks with Shvonder, after which the company of young people, disgraced, leaves.

Chapter 3

Let's continue with the summary. "Heart of a Dog" - Chapter 3. Everything begins with a rich dinner served to Philip Philipovich and Dr. Bormental, his assistant. Something from the table also falls to Sharik.

During the afternoon rest, “mournful singing” is heard - a meeting of Bolshevik tenants has begun. Preobrazhensky says that, most likely, the new government will lead this beautiful house to desolation: theft is already evident. The missing galoshes of Preobrazhensky are worn by Shvonder. During a conversation with Bormental, the professor utters one of the key phrases that reveal to the reader, the story "Heart of a Dog", about which the work is: "Devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads." Further, Philipp Philippovich reflects on how the uneducated proletariat can accomplish the great things for which it positions itself. He says that nothing will change for the better as long as there is such a dominant class in society, engaged only in choral singing.

Sharik has been living in Preobrazhensky's apartment for a week already: he eats plenty, the owner pampers him, feeding him during dinners, he is forgiven for pranks (a torn owl in the professor's office).

Sharik's favorite place in the house is the kitchen, Darya Petrovna's realm, the cooks. The dog considers Preobrazhensky a deity. The only thing that is unpleasant for him to watch is how Philipp Philippovich delves into human brains in the evenings.

On that ill-fated day, Sharik was not himself. It happened on a Tuesday, when the professor usually doesn't have an appointment. Philip Philipovich receives a strange phone call, and the house begins to fuss. The professor behaves unnaturally, he is clearly nervous. Gives instructions to close the door, not to let anyone in. Ball is locked in the bathroom - there he is tormented by bad premonitions.

A few hours later, the dog is brought into a very bright room, where he recognizes in the face of the "priest" Philip Philipovich. The dog draws attention to the eyes of Bormental and Zina: false, filled with something bad. Anesthesia is applied to Sharik and placed on the operating table.

Chapter 4 Operation

In the fourth chapter, M. Bulgakov puts the culmination of the first part. "Heart of a Dog" here passes the first of its two semantic peaks - Sharik's operation.

The dog lies on the operating table, Dr. Bormental cuts off the hair on his stomach, and at this time the professor gives recommendations that all manipulations with the internal organs should take place instantly. Preobrazhensky sincerely feels sorry for the animal, but, according to the professor, he has no chance of surviving.

After the head and belly of the "unfortunate dog" are shaved, the operation begins: having cut open the belly, they change Sharik's seminal glands to "some other ones." After the dog almost dies, but the weak life in it still flickers. Philip Philipovich, having penetrated into the depths of the brain, changed the "white ball". Surprisingly, the dog showed a thready pulse. Tired Preobrazhensky does not believe that Sharik will survive.

Chapter 5

The summary of the story "Heart of a Dog", the fifth chapter, is a prologue to the second part of the story. From the diary of Dr. Bormenthal we learn that the operation took place on December 23 (Christmas Eve). Its essence is that the ovaries and pituitary gland of a 28-year-old man were transplanted to Sharik. The purpose of the operation: to trace the influence of the pituitary gland on the human body. Until December 28, periods of improvement alternate with critical moments.

The state stabilizes on December 29, “suddenly”. Hair loss is noted, then changes occur every day:

• 30.12 barking changes, limbs are extended, weight is gained.
• 31.12 syllables (“abyr”) are pronounced.
• 01.01 says "Abyrvalg".
• 02.01 stands on its hind legs, swears.
• 06.01 the tail falls off, says "beer".
• 07.01 takes on a strange look, becomes like a man. Rumors begin to spread throughout the city.
• On January 8, it was stated that the replacement of the pituitary gland did not lead to rejuvenation, but to humanization. Sharik is a short man, rude, cursing, calling everyone "bourgeois". Preobrazhensky is out of his mind.
• 12.01 Bormental assumes that the replacement of the pituitary gland led to the revival of the brain, so Sharik whistles, speaks, swears and reads. The reader will also learn that the person whose pituitary gland was taken is Klim Chugunkin, an asocial element, convicted three times.
• On 17.01 Sharik's complete humanization was noted.

Chapter 6

In the 6th chapter, the reader first gets acquainted in absentia with the person who turned out after Preobrazhensky's experiment - this is how Bulgakov introduces us into the story. "Heart of a Dog", a summary of which is presented in our article, in the sixth chapter experiences the development of the second part of the story.

It all starts with the rules that are written by doctors on paper. They say about the observance of good manners while in the house.

Finally, the created person appears before Philip Philipovich: he is “small in stature and unsympathetic in appearance”, dressed untidy, even comically. Their conversation turns into a fight. A person behaves arrogantly, speaks unflatteringly about the servants, refuses to observe the rules of decency, notes of Bolshevism slip through his conversation.

A man asks Philip Philipovich to register him in an apartment, chooses a name and patronymic for himself (takes from the calendar). From now on, he is Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov. It is obvious to Preobrazhensky that the new manager of the house has a great influence on this person.

Shvonder in the professor's office. Sharikov is registered in the apartment (the certificate is written by the professor under the dictation of the house committee). Shvonder considers himself a winner, he urges Sharikov to register with the military. The polygraph refuses.

Left alone with Bormental, Preobrazhensky admits that he was very tired of this situation. They are interrupted by a noise in the apartment. It turned out that a cat ran in, and Sharikov is still hunting for them. Closing himself with a hated creature in the bathroom, he causes a flood in the apartment by breaking the faucet. Because of this, the professor has to cancel the appointment of patients.

After the liquidation of the flood, Preobrazhensky learns that he still needs to pay for the broken glass by Sharikov. The impudence of the Polygraph reaches the limit: not only does he not apologize to the professor for the mess he has made, he also behaves impudently when he learns that Preobrazhensky paid money for the glass.

Chapter 7

Let's continue with the summary. "Heart of a Dog" in the 7th chapter tells about the attempts of Dr. Bormental and the professor to instill decent manners in Sharikov.

The chapter starts with lunch. Sharikov is taught to behave properly at the table, they refuse to drink. However, he still drinks a glass of vodka. Philip Filippovich comes to the conclusion that Klim Chugunkin is more and more clearly visible.

Sharikov is invited to attend an evening performance in the theater. He refuses under the pretext that this is "one counter-revolution". Sharikov chooses to go to the circus.

It's about reading. The polygraph confesses that he reads the correspondence between Engels and Kautsky given to him by Shvonder. Sharikov even tries to reflect on what he has read. He says that everything should be divided, including Preobrazhensky's apartment. To this, the professor asks to pay his penalty for the flood caused the day before. After all, 39 patients were denied.

Philipp Philippovich calls on Sharikov, instead of "giving advice on a cosmic scale and cosmic stupidity," to listen and heed what people with university education teach him.

After dinner, Ivan Arnoldovich and Sharikov leave for the circus, after making sure that there are no cats in the program.

Left alone, Preobrazhensky reflects on his experiment. He almost made up his mind to restore Sharikov's dog form by putting back the dog's pituitary gland.

Chapter 8

Six days after the flood incident, life went on as usual. However, after handing the documents to Sharikov, he demands that Preobrazhensky give him a room. The professor notes that this is "Shvonder's work." In contrast to the words of Sharikov, Philip Philipovich says that he will leave him without food. This pacified the Polygraph.

Late in the evening, after a skirmish with Sharikov, Preobrazhensky and Bormenthal talk for a long time in the office. We are talking about the last antics of the man they created: how he showed up at the house with two drunken friends, accused Zina of theft.

Ivan Arnoldovich proposes to do something terrible: to eliminate Sharikov. Preobrazhensky is strongly opposed. He may come out of such a story because of his fame, but Bormental will definitely be arrested.

Further, Preobrazhensky admits that in his view the experiment failed, and not because they got a “new person” - Sharikov. Yes, he agrees that in terms of theory, experiment has no equal, but there is no practical value. And they got a creature with a human heart "the lousiest of all."

The conversation is interrupted by Daria Petrovna, she brought Sharikov to the doctors. He molested Zina. Bormental tries to kill him, Philip Philipovich stops the attempt.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 is the climax and denouement of the story. Let's continue with the summary. "Heart of a Dog" comes to an end - this is the final chapter.

Everyone is concerned about the loss of Sharikov. He left the house, taking the documents. On the third day, the Polygraph appears.

It turns out that, under the patronage of Shvonder, Sharikov received the position of head of the "food department for cleaning the city from stray animals." Bormental forces Polygraph to apologize to Zina and Darya Petrovna.

Two days later, Sharikov brings a woman home, declaring that she will live with him, and soon the wedding. After talking with Preobrazhensky, she leaves, saying that Polygraph is a scoundrel. He threatens to fire the woman (she works as a typist in his department), but Bormental threatens, and Sharikov refuses his plans.

A few days later, Preobrazhensky learns from his patient that Sharikov had filed a denunciation against him.

Upon returning home, the Polygraph is invited to the professor's treatment room. Preobrazhensky tells Sharikov to take his personal belongings and move out, Polygraph does not agree, he takes out a revolver. Bormental disarms Sharikov, strangles him and puts him on the couch. After locking the doors and cutting the lock, he returns to the operating room.

Chapter 10

Ten days have passed since the incident. The criminal police, accompanied by Shvonder, appear in Preobrazhensky's apartment. They intend to search and arrest the professor. The police believe that Sharikov was killed. Preobrazhensky says that there is no Sharikov, there is an operated dog named Sharik. Yes, he did, but that doesn't mean the dog was human.

A dog with a scar on his forehead appears before the eyes of the visitors. He turns to the representative of the authorities, he loses consciousness. Visitors leave the apartment.

In the last scene, we see Sharik, who lies in the professor's office and reflects on how lucky he was to meet such a person as Philipp Philippovich.

The story "Heart of a Dog" Bulgakov wrote in 1925. At this time, the ideas of improving the human race with the help of advanced scientific achievements were very popular. Bulgakov's hero, world-famous professor Preobrazhensky, in an attempt to unravel the secret of eternal youth, accidentally makes a discovery that allows him to surgically turn an animal into a human. However, an experiment on transplanting a human pituitary gland into a dog gives a completely unexpected result.

To get acquainted with the most important details of the work, we suggest reading a summary of Bulgakov's story "The Heart of a Dog" chapter by chapter online on our website.

Main characters

Ball- a stray dog. To some extent a philosopher, worldly intelligent, observant and even learned to read the signs.

Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov- A ball after an operation to implant a human pituitary gland into the brain, taken from a drunkard and rowdy Klim Chugunkin who died in a tavern brawl.

Professor Philip Preobrazhensky- a genius of medicine, an elderly intellectual of the old school, extremely dissatisfied with the onset of a new era and hating its hero - the proletarian for ignorance and unreasonable ambitions.

Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental- a young doctor, a student of Preobrazhensky, who deifies his teacher and shares his beliefs.

Shvonder- Chairman of the house committee at the place of residence of Preobrazhensky, carrier and distributor of communist ideas so unloved by the professor. He is trying to educate Sharikov in the spirit of these ideas.

Other characters

Zina- Preobrazhensky's maid, a young impressionable girl. Combines household duties with the functions of a nurse.

Daria Petrovna- Preobrazhensky's cook, a middle-aged woman.

Young lady typist- subordinate in the service and failed wife of Sharikov.

Chapter first

The stray dog ​​Sharik freezes in a Moscow gateway. Suffering from pain in his side, on which the evil cook splashed boiling water, he ironically and philosophically describes his unhappy life, Moscow life and types of people, of which, in his opinion, the most vile are janitors and porters. A certain gentleman in a fur coat appears in the field of view of the dog and feeds him with cheap sausage. Sharik faithfully follows him, wondering along the way who his benefactor is, since even the doorman in a rich house, a storm of stray dogs, speaks obsequiously to him.

From a conversation with a porter, a gentleman in a fur coat learns that “residential comrades have been moved into the third apartment,” and perceives the news with horror, although the upcoming “compression” will not affect his personal living space.

Chapter Two

Having brought him to a rich warm apartment, Sharik, who decided to make a scandal out of fright, is put to sleep with chloroform and treated. After that, the dog, who is no longer bothered by the side, watches with curiosity at the reception of patients. There is an elderly ladies' man, and an elderly rich lady in love with a handsome young cheater. And everyone wants one thing - rejuvenation. Preobrazhensky is ready to help them - for good money.
In the evening, members of the house committee, headed by Shvonder, pay a visit to the professor - they want Preobrazhensky to give up two of his seven rooms in the order of "seal". The professor calls one of his influential patients with a complaint about the arbitrariness and invites him, if so, to be operated on by Shvonder, and he himself will leave for Sochi. Leaving, members of the house committee accuse Preobrazhensky of hatred for the proletariat.

Chapter Three

At dinner, Preobrazhensky rants about food culture and the proletariat, recommending that no Soviet newspapers be read before dinner in order to avoid digestive problems. He is sincerely perplexed and indignant at how it is possible to stand up for the rights of workers all over the world and steal galoshes at the same time. Hearing how a meeting of housing comrades sings revolutionary songs behind the wall, the professor comes to the conclusion: “If I, instead of operating every evening, start singing in chorus in my apartment, I will be devastated. If, on entering the lavatory, I begin, pardon the expression, to urinate past the toilet bowl, and Zina and Darya Petrovna do the same, devastation will begin in the lavatory. Consequently, the devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads. So, when these baritones shout "beat the devastation!" - I am laughing. I swear to you, I'm laughing! This means that each of them must hit himself on the back of the head!” .

There is also talk about the future of Sharik, and the intrigue has not yet been revealed, but the pathologists familiar to Bormental promised to immediately report the appearance of a “suitable corpse”, and the dog will be observed for now.

They buy a status collar for Sharik, he eats deliciously, his side is finally healing. The dog is naughty, but when the indignant Zina suggests tearing him out, the professor strictly forbids this: “You can’t fight anyone, you can only act on a person and an animal by suggestion.”

Only Sharik took root in the apartment - suddenly, after a phone call, running around begins, the professor demands dinner earlier. Sharik, having been deprived of food, is locked in the bathroom, after which he is dragged to the examination room and given anesthesia.

Chapter Four

Preobrazhensky and Bormental are operating on Sharik. He is implanted with testicles and pituitary gland taken from a fresh human corpse. This should, according to the plan of physicians, open up new horizons in their study of the mechanism of rejuvenation.

The professor, not without sadness, suggests that the dog will definitely not survive after such an operation, like those animals that were before him.

Chapter Five

The diary of Dr. Bormenthal is a history of Sharik's illness, which describes the changes taking place with the operated and still surviving dog. His hair falls out, the shape of the skull changes, barking becomes like a human voice, bones grow rapidly. He utters strange words - it turns out that the street dog learned to read from the signs, but some he read from the end. The young doctor makes an enthusiastic conclusion - a change in the pituitary gland does not give rejuvenation, but complete humanization - and emotionally calls his teacher a genius. However, the professor himself frowningly sits over the history of the disease of a man whose pituitary gland was transplanted to Sharik.

Chapter Six

Doctors are trying to educate their creation, to instill the necessary skills, to educate. Sharik's taste in clothes, his speech and habits unnerve the intelligent Preobrazhensky. Posters hang around the apartment, prohibiting swearing, spitting, throwing cigarette butts, chewing seeds. Sharik himself has a passive-aggressive attitude towards education: “They grabbed the animal, slashed the head with a knife, and now they shun” . After talking with the house committee, the former dog confidently uses clerical terms and demands to issue him an identity card. He chooses the name "Polygraph Poligrafovich" for himself, but he takes the "hereditary" surname - Sharikov.

The professor expresses a desire to buy any room in the house and move Polygraph Poligrafovich there, but Shvonder gloatingly refuses him, recalling their ideological conflict. Soon, a communal disaster occurs in the professor's apartment: Sharikov chased the cat and caused a flood in the bathroom.

Chapter Seven

Sharikov drinks vodka at dinner, like an experienced alcoholic. Looking at this, the professor sighs incomprehensibly: "There's nothing to be done - Klim." In the evening, Sharikov wants to go to the circus, but when Preobrazhensky offers him a more cultural entertainment - the theater, he refuses, because this is "one counter-revolution." The professor is about to give Sharikov something to read, even Robinson, but he is already reading the correspondence between Engels and Kautsky given to him by Shvonder. True, he manages to understand a little - except that "take everything, and even share it." Hearing this, the professor invites him to “share” the lost profit from the fact that on the day of the flood the reception of patients failed - to pay 130 rubles “for a tap and for a cat”, and orders Zina to burn the book.

Having sent Sharikov, accompanied by Bormental, to the circus, Preobrazhensky looks at the canned pituitary gland of the dog Sharik for a long time and says: “Honest to God, I seem to make up my mind.”

Chapter Eight

A new scandal - Sharikov, waving documents, claims to live in the professor's apartment. He promises to shoot Shvonder and in return for eviction threatens Polygraph with deprivation of food. Sharikov calms down, but not for long - he stole two gold pieces in the professor's office, and he tried to blame the theft on Zina, got drunk and brought drinking companions to the house, after the expulsion of which Preobrazhensky lost his malachite ashtray, beaver hat and favorite cane.

Bormental confesses his love and respect to Preobrazhensky over cognac and offers to personally feed Sharikov with arsenic. The professor objects - he, a world-famous scientist, will be able to avoid responsibility for the murder, but the young doctor is unlikely. He sadly admits his scientific mistake: “For five years I have been sitting, picking out appendages from the brains ... And now, one asks - why? To one day turn the sweetest dog into such scum that your hair stands on end. […] Two convictions, alcoholism, “to share everything”, a hat and two gold pieces are gone, a boor and a pig… In a word, the pituitary gland is a closed chamber that defines a given human face. Given!" Meanwhile, the pituitary gland for Sharikov was taken from a certain Klim Chugunkin, a recidivist criminal, an alcoholic and a brawler who played the balalaika in taverns and was stabbed to death in a drunken brawl. Doctors gloomily imagine what a nightmare with such "heredity" can result from Sharikov under the influence of Shvonder.

At night, Daria Petrovna expels the drunken Polygraph from the kitchen, Bormental promises to make a scandal for him in the morning, but Sharikov disappears, and when he returns, he says that he got a job - head of the subdepartment for cleaning Moscow from stray animals.

A young typist appears in the apartment, whom Sharikov introduces as his bride. She opens her eyes to the lies of the Polygraph - he is not the commander of the Red Army at all and was not wounded at all in battles with the whites, as he claimed in a conversation with the girl. The exposed Sharikov threatens the typist with layoffs, Bormental takes the girl under protection and promises to shoot Sharikov.

Chapter Nine

The professor comes to his former patient - an influential man in military uniform. From his story, Preobrazhensky learns that Sharikov wrote a denunciation against him and Bormental - allegedly they made death threats against Polygraph and Shvonder, made counter-revolutionary speeches, illegally stored weapons, etc. After that, Sharikov is categorically offered to get out of the apartment, but at first he becomes stubborn, then becomes impudent, and in the end he even pulls out a gun. The doctors twist him, disarm him and put him to sleep with chloroform, after which a ban on anyone to enter or leave the apartment sounds and some activity begins in the observation room.

Chapter Ten (epilogue)

The police come to the professor's apartment on a tip from Shvonder. They have a search warrant and, based on the results, an arrest on charges of Sharikov's murder.

However, Preobrazhensky is calm - he says that his laboratory creature suddenly and inexplicably degraded from a man back into a dog, and shows the police and the investigator a strange creature, in which the features of Polygraph Poligrafovich are still recognizable.

The dog Sharik, whose canine pituitary gland was returned by a second operation, remains to live and bliss in the professor's apartment, without understanding why he was "slashed all over his head."

Conclusion

In the story "Heart of a Dog", Bulgakov, in addition to the philosophical motive of punishment for interfering in the affairs of nature, outlined the themes characteristic of him, stigmatizing ignorance, cruelty, abuse of power and stupidity. The carriers of these shortcomings are the new "masters of life" who want to change the world, but do not possess the wisdom and humanism necessary for this. The main idea of ​​the work is “devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads”.

A brief retelling of the "Heart of a Dog" chapter by chapter is not enough to fully appreciate the artistic merits of this work, so we recommend that you take the time and read this short story in full. We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with the 1988 two-part film of the same name by Vladimir Bortko, which is quite close to the literary original.

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Retelling rating

Average rating: 4.4. Total ratings received: 8709.

At the end of 1988, the TV movie premiered Heart of a Dog by Vladimir Bortko based on the story of the same name Mikhail Bulgakov . Since then, the popularity of this two-part masterpiece has only grown, it has consistently entered the tops of Soviet / Russian films.
The expressions of Professor Preobrazhensky came into use: “The devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads”, “Give me a piece of paper so that it is armor”, “Do not read Soviet newspapers in the morning!” The common sense of the scientist was opposed to the revolutionary absurdity, which was embodied on the screen by Shvonder and Sharikov, whose phrases also became winged: “Abyrvalg”, “This is some kind of shame, professor”, “Cats were strangled, strangled”, “Take everything away and share”, “ Get in line, you sons of bitches, get in line."

The story was written Mikhail Bulgakov in 1925. It was supposed to be published in the Nedra almanac, but Lenin's ally, Politburo member Lev Kamenev banned it, drawing a negative resolution: “This is a sharp pamphlet on modernity. Under no circumstances should it be printed. And for the first time the story was published in 1968 abroad - in Germany and England.
The first film adaptation was also abroad: director Alberto Lattuada staged the Italian-German film "Heart of a Dog" (Italian "Cuore di cane", German "Warum bellt Herr Bobikow?" - "Why does Mr. Bobikov bark?") in 1976. The film reflected the disappointment in the flower revolutions of the hippies of the late 60s: shvonders and balls embodied the destroyers of the revolutionary illusions of the students.
A well-known Swedish actor, twice nominated for an Oscar, starred in the role of Preobrazhensky Max von Sydow, and one of the episodic roles was played by the future porn star Cicciolina.
The publication in the USSR of "Heart of a Dog" happened in the magazine "Znamya" only in 1987, 62 years after it was written. Director Sergei Mikaelyan gave this magazine to Vladimir Bortko to read at Lenfilm. “I knew other famous works by Bulgakov, the same Master and Margarita, but I didn’t read The Heart of a Dog,” Vladimir Vladimirovich told us. The professor's monologue instantly captured Bortko, he decided to shoot. Despite its sharpness, there were no censorship problems with this picture - perestroika thundered in the yard. Unlike the painting by Bortko"Blonde around the corner" with Andrei Mironov , which lay on the shelf for two years - until 1984. By the way, this picture brought the first fame to the director.

For the right to include the role of Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky in his filmography, the battle of the titans unfolded. Tried Leonid Armor, Mikhail Ulyanov, Yuri Yakovlev, Vladislav Strzhelchik . But Evgeny Evstigneev won. “He, like me, did not read Heart of a Dog,” recalls the director. “And he asked his relatives if he should act in film. They unanimously answered:“ Yes!
“This film appeared in my father's life at the right time and literally saved him,” says Denis Evstigneev. - Dad was going through a difficult period when he was sent to retire at the Moscow Art Theater. It was difficult for him to agree to work in "The Heart of a Dog", then he just lived it. I don't know what happened on the set, but he constantly talked about his role, played something, showed some scenes ... At that moment, the picture became his support."
“The actor did everything right, except that Professor Preobrazhensky's gait resembled Professor Pleishner,” says Vladimir Bortko. - I told him about it. "And what should it be?" - the question followed. I answer: "Like D.I. Mendeleev."

One of the witnesses of Evstigneev's work on the set - Natalya Fomenko, an actress of the Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg, who played the role of the head of the cult department Vyazemskaya, the one who urged the professor to buy newspapers in favor of the starving children of Germany, recalled: “It was no secret to anyone that a difficult state of mind Evstigneev at that time. Sometimes he took his diplomatik and retired to the room, announcing: "I'll go and teach the text!" By the end of the day, the propsmen were already hiding this diplomatik with cognac ... "Despite such a "non-working" state, the actor, according to Fomenko-Vyazemskaya, held close-ups perfectly. Sometimes slurred speech betrayed him, but these trifles Evstigneev with The director corrected the dubbing.

The audience, after the premiere of Heart of a Dog, rushed to read the story, but did not find many jokes and scenes. The fact is that Vladimir Bortko and his wife Natalya wrote the script not only based on the story - they made extracts from the stories and feuilletons of the writer.
A mad janitor, whom the librarian, in order to get off, advised to read volumes of the encyclopedia - from the feuilleton "Gemstone Life", the prophetess in the circus - from the story "Madmazel Zhanna" ("Fool, make a smart face!"), Calling spirits - from "Spiritual session", and the "stars" of Clara and Rosa, which were conducted by Shvonder, from the feuilleton "Golden Correspondences of Ferapont Ferapontovich Kaportsev". These skits and witticisms not only added brilliance to the picture.
“Using Bulgakov's stories,” the director shared a secret with us, “we expanded the boundaries of the apartment where the story takes place. Now there was a street, a circus.” By the way, Peter “played” the Moscow streets, since the shooting took place at Lenfilm.

Stars of the first magnitude auditioned for the role of Preobrazhensky: Leonid Bronevoi, Mikhail Ulyanov, Yuri Yakovlev and Vladislav Strzhelchik. Yevgeny Evstigneev won the “tender”, and this role came in very handy for him. After the division of the Moscow Art Theater between Tatyana Doronina and Oleg Efremov, Evstigneev stayed with the latter. But he asked the director, since he had recently suffered a heart attack, not to give him new roles, but only to play out the old ones. Efremov took this as a betrayal and rashly slashed: "So go retire ..." Yevstigneev was in shock. It was in this state that he appeared at the screen test. So he himself at that time experienced sensitive blows of fate, which also fell to the lot of Preobrazhensky. “All the actors played wonderfully during the auditions, but Evstigneev was more accurate,” recalls Bortko. The artist's son, Denis Evstigneev, remarked: “The film literally saved my father. He constantly talked about his role, played something, showed scenes. The picture became a support for him in that difficult period. Many noted the penetration of Evstigneev's manner in this role, which he later called his favorite. As for Dr. Bormental, the director immediately saw him in Boris Plotnikov, then an actor in the Moscow Theater of Satire. “I immediately approved Plotnikov,” Bortko tells us. “And he was very pleased with them.” Plotnikov was afraid to play with the eminent artist, but Evstigneev said: “We are equal with you, colleague” - and timidity passed.

More than a dozen applicants auditioned for the role of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. Among them was Nikolai Karachentsov, who organically voiced the Gascon dog in the cartoon Dog in Boots, based on The Three Musketeers (1981). “Karachentsov talentedly portrayed a dog, but his acting role is a hero-lover, and I needed a dog and an alcoholic in one image,” says Bortko. Vladimir Tolokonnikov was selected according to the acting photo base, which was at all major studios - he served in the Almaty Russian Theater. Lermontov (as we learned, he still works there, and after Heart of a Dog, one of his most striking roles was in the film Hottabych in 2006, where he played an old genie). At the screen test, Tolokonnikov made a toast so colorfully: “I wish that everything!” That the director had no doubts. “Volodya killed me the moment he took a sip,” says the director. - Of course, it was not vodka, but water. But he drank very convincingly. The role of Sharik was played by a mongrel named Karai. He was chosen from several applicants - members of the dog club "Druzhok". “He was the smartest dog,” says the director. - He didn't speak French. He did everything from the first take. Karay subsequently became a "movie star", starring in the films "Wedding March", "Reexamination", "Rock and Roll for a Princess" and "Forever 19".

It is known that Evgeny Evstigneev “for courage” liked to drink 50 grams of cognac before going on stage or before filming. Tolokonnikov said that due to theatrical troubles, Evgeny Aleksandrovich began to bring more and more alcohol to the shooting. And shared with Tolokonnikov. A phrase from the film “Do not offer beer to Sharikov!” turned into off-screen: “But why not pour Sharikov?” Vladimir Bortko told us about the conflict with Evstigneev on this basis: “Evgeny Alexandrovich decided that there would be no filming today. And he drank very well. There was a hard conversation. But after that, there were no such conflicts with him. Evstigneev did not drink alcohol on the site anymore.

The songs “Harsh years are passing away”, “Chatushki Sharikov” by the bard Yuliy Kim (“Bumbarash”) to the music of Vladimir Dashkevich (“Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson”) are also remembered in the film.
“In Bulgakov’s book it says: “They sing,” says Bortko. - But what? I ordered songs for Dashkevich and Kim. They wrote wonderfully. But then I realized that when Sharikov dances, he needs ditties. As Esenin had in his poem, they were like this: "The steamboat is sailing past the pier - we will feed the fish with the communists." And again I called Kim, and a day later he dictated to me on the phone: “Oh, apple, you are my ripe, but the young lady is coming, the skin is white, The skin is white, the fur coat is valuable, If you give something, you will be whole,” etc.

• The well-known bard Yuli Kim also had a hand in creating the film: the ditties performed by Sharikov ("... come, bourgeois, I'll gouge out your eye") - his merit.


• One of the central and memorable scenes of the film, where Sharikov performs a ditty to the balalaika in front of a large audience of scientists, and Professor Preobrazhensky faints, is not in the literary source


• After the film, the already famous actors became even more popular. Vladimir Tolokonnikov once remarked: “Now in interviews they constantly ask me about Sharikov ... while this film is being watched, and I live!”


• To convey the flavor of that time on the screen, Vladimir Bortko used a sepia filter for the camera to simulate a black and white image. The reception turned out to be successful, and the director successfully used it in other films similar in time to The Idiot and The Master and Margarita.


• Semyon Farada auditioned for the role of Shvonder.


• The footage in the film, which allegedly presents a documentary chronicle with the participation of a tram, was filmed by the director in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) (Degtyarny per., 7)


• In the literary source, Shvonder is a young man who has recently arrived in Moscow from the provinces. Actor Roman Kartsev was 48-49 years old at the time of filming.


• In the frame where Bormental catches Sharikov, he breaks the glass in the buffet. Indeed, during the filming of this scene, Vladimir Tolokonnikov severely cut his leg.


• In the film, Professor Preobrazhensky invites colleagues to examine Sharikov. He introduced one of them as Professor Persikov. In fact, Professor Persikov is a character in another story by Mikhail Bulgakov, Fatal Eggs.


• Sergei Filippov, who, for health reasons, could not attend the dubbing, is voiced by another person in the film. A professional imitator did it with brilliance - the voice cannot be distinguished.


• Actress Anzhelika Nevolina, who played secretary Vasnetsova, is the adopted daughter of actor Alexander Demyanenko (Shurik's Adventures).


• The film was advised by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, Head of the Diabetology Clinic of the Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism of the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian SSR (Kyiv) A.S. Efimov.