- In full:
- Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov
- Born:
- May 15 [May 3, Old Style], 1891, Kiev, Ukraine, Russian Empire
- Died:
- March 10, 1940, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R. (aged 48)
Mikhail Bulgakov
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Who was Mikhail Bulgakov?
Mikhail Bulgakov was a Soviet playwright, novelist, and short-story writer, born in Kyiv in 1891. He is celebrated for his humor and sharp satire. Initially a doctor, Bulgakov transitioned to writing, producing works that often critically examined Soviet society. His novels, such as The White Guard and The Master and Margarita, faced censorship and were frequently banned or published posthumously in censored forms. Despite facing literary ostracism, Bulgakov created masterpieces like The Master and Margarita, a philosophical novel exploring good and evil, which is now considered a 20th-century classic. He died in Moscow in 1940.
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What is Mikhail Bulgakov famous for writing?
Mikhail Bulgakov was a Soviet playwright, novelist, and short-story writer celebrated for his humor and sharp satire. He is most famous for his novel The Master and Margarita, a philosophical work that blends satire of Soviet society with themes of good and evil, set in both 1930s Moscow and ancient Jerusalem.
Other notable works include The White Guard, a novel about anti-Bolshevik officers, and The Heart of a Dog, a satirical novelette critiquing the Soviet goal of creating a new man. Due to his critical portrayals of Soviet life, many of his works faced censorship and were not published during his lifetime.
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What was life like for Bulgakov during his time in Russia?
Mikhail Bulgakov's experience in Russia was marked by significant literary suppression. Despite his talent for satire and humor, his works, including "The White Guard" and "Heart of a Dog," were criticized and banned by Soviet authorities for their implicit critique of communist society. By 1930, Bulgakov was effectively prohibited from publishing and his request to emigrate was denied by Joseph Stalin.
During this period of literary ostracism, Bulgakov continued to write his masterpieces, such as "The Master and Margarita," which was not published in the Soviet Union until decades after his death. His play "Molière" was also banned shortly after its premiere due to its thinly veiled criticism of Stalin and the Communist Party. The Soviet Union maintained a comprehensive system of censorship, controlling publications and leading to self-censorship among authors.
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What is 'The Master and Margarita,' and why is it important?
"The Master and Margarita" is a novel by Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov, written between 1928 and 1940. It is considered a 20th-century masterpiece and a significant work of Russian literature.
The novel is important for its profound philosophical exploration of good and evil, presented through a witty and satirical narrative. It juxtaposes two settings: Moscow in the 1930s and Jerusalem during the time of Christ. The story features the Devil, a repressed novelist known as the Master, and Margarita, who sacrifices her soul to save the Master. The novel's enduring themes and powerful critique of Soviet society have made it influential, with phrases from it becoming proverbs.
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How did Soviet censorship affect Bulgakov’s career?
Soviet censorship significantly impacted Mikhail Bulgakov's career, effectively prohibiting him from publishing by 1930. His works, including The White Guard and Heart of a Dog, were criticized for their lack of communist heroes and implicit criticism of Soviet society. Even plays like Molière were banned due to thinly veiled attacks on Joseph Stalin and the Communist Party. His masterpiece, The Master and Margarita, was written in secret and only published posthumously in a heavily censored form in 1966–67. This pervasive control meant that many of his most important works were not available to the public during his lifetime.
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How has Bulgakov influenced modern literature and culture?
Mikhail Bulgakov's literary works, particularly his novel The Master and Margarita, have significantly influenced modern literature and culture. His masterful use of satire, wit, and philosophical depth, often criticizing Soviet totalitarianism, has resonated with generations. Sentences from his writings have become proverbs, and his themes of good versus evil continue to be explored. Bulgakov's influence can be seen in the works of authors like Salman Rushdie and even in music, such as the Rolling Stones' song "Sympathy for the Devil". His unique blend of satire, fantasy, and allegory has left a lasting mark on 20th-century Russian literature and beyond.
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Mikhail Bulgakov (born May 15 [May 3, Old Style], 1891, Kiev, Ukraine, Russian Empire—died March 10, 1940, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) was a Soviet playwright, novelist, and short-story writer best known for his humour and penetrating satire.
Beginning his adult life as a doctor, Bulgakov gave up medicine for writing. His first major work was the novel Belaya gvardiya (The White Guard), serialized in 1925 but never published in book form. A realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the motives and behaviour of a group of anti-Bolshevik White officers during the civil war, it was met by a storm of official criticism for its lack of a communist hero. Bulgakov reworked it into a play, Dni Turbinykh (“The Days of the Turbins”), which was staged with great success in 1926 but was subsequently banned. In 1925 he published a book of satirical fantasies, Dyavoliada (“Deviltries”; Diaboliad), implicitly critical of Soviet communist society. This work, too, was officially denounced. In the same year he wrote Sobachye serdtse (Heart of a Dog), a scathing comic satire on pseudoscience.
Because of their realism and humour, Bulgakov’s works enjoyed great popularity, but their trenchant criticism of Soviet mores was increasingly unacceptable to the authorities. By 1930 he was, in effect, prohibited from publishing. His plea for permission to emigrate was rejected by Joseph Stalin. During the subsequent period of literary ostracism, which continued until his death, Bulgakov created his masterpieces. In 1932, as literary consultant to the Moscow Art Theatre staff, he wrote a tragedy on the death of Molière, Molière. A revised version was finally staged in 1936 and had a run of seven nights before it was banned because of its thinly disguised attack on Stalin and the Communist Party.
Bulgakov produced two more masterpieces during the 1930s. The first was his unfinished Teatralny roman (Black Snow: A Theatrical Novel, originally titled Zapiski pokoynika [“Notes of a Dead Man”]), an autobiographical novel, which includes a merciless satire on Konstantin Stanislavsky and the backstage life of the Moscow Art Theatre. The second was his dazzling Gogolesque fantasy, Master i Margarita (The Master and Margarita). Witty and ribald, and at the same time a penetrating philosophical novel wrestling with profound and eternal problems of good and evil, it juxtaposes two planes of action—one set in contemporary Moscow and the other in Pontius Pilate’s Judea. The central character is the Devil—disguised as Professor Woland—who descends upon Moscow with his purgative pranks that expose the corruption and hypocrisy of the Soviet cultural elite. His counterpart is the “Master,” a repressed novelist who goes into a psychiatric ward for seeking to present the story of Jesus. The work oscillates between grotesque and often ribald scenes of trenchant satiric humour and powerful and moving moments of pathos and tragedy. It was published in the Soviet Union only in 1966–67, and then in an egregiously censored form. The publication came more than 25 years after Bulgakov’s death from a kidney disease.
Bulgakov’s works were slow to benefit from the limited “thaw” that characterized the Soviet literary milieu following the death of Stalin. His posthumous rehabilitation began slowly in the late 1950s, and starting in 1962 several volumes of his works, including plays, novels, short stories, and his biography of Molière, were published. The three culminating masterpieces of this artist, however, were not published in the Soviet Union during his lifetime.