Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov- Russian writer and playwright. Author of novels, stories, collections of stories, feuilletons and about two dozen plays.
Mikhail Bulgakov was born in Kyiv in the family of Associate Professor of the Kyiv Theological Academy Afanasy Ivanovich Bulgakov (1859-1907) and his wife Varvara Mikhailovna (nee Pokrovskaya). In 1909 he graduated from the Kyiv First Gymnasium and entered the medical faculty of Kyiv University. In 1916, he received a medical diploma and was sent to work in the village of Nikolskoye, Smolensk province, then worked as a doctor in the city of Vyazma. In 1915, Bulgakov entered into his first marriage - with Tatyana Lappa. During the civil war in February 1919, Bulgakov was mobilized as a military doctor into the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic, but almost immediately deserted. In the same year he managed to become a doctor of the Red Cross, and then in the White Guard Armed Forces South of Russia. He spends some time with Cossack troops in Chechnya, then in Vladikavkaz. At the end of September 1921, Bulgakov moved to Moscow and began collaborating as a feuilletonist with metropolitan newspapers (Gudok, Rabochiy) and magazines (Medical Worker, Rossiya, Vozrozhdenie). At the same time, he published individual works in the newspaper "Nakanune", published in Berlin. From 1922 to 1926, more than 120 reports, essays and feuilletons by Bulgakov were published in Gudka. In 1923, Bulgakov joined the All-Russian Writers' Union. In 1924, he met Lyubov Evgenievna Belozerskaya, who had recently returned from abroad, and who soon became his new wife. In 1928, Bulgakov travels with Lyubov Evgenievna to the Caucasus, visiting Tiflis, Batum, Cape Verde, Vladikavkaz, Gudermes. This year the premiere of the play “Crimson Island” is taking place in Moscow. Bulgakov conceived the idea of a novel, later called “The Master and Margarita” (a number of researchers of Bulgakov’s work note the influence on him in the conception and writing of this novel by the Austrian writer Gustav Meyrink, in particular, one can talk about the inspiration of such novels of the latter as “Golem”, which Bulgakov read translated by D. Vygodsky, and “Green Face”). The writer also begins work on a play about Moliere (“The Cabal of the Saint”). In 1929, Bulgakov met Elena Sergeevna Shilovskaya, his future third wife. In 1930, Bulgakov's works ceased to be published, and plays were removed from the theater repertoire. The plays "Running", "Zoyka's Apartment", "Crimson Island" are prohibited from being staged; the play "Days of the Turbins" has been removed from the repertoire. In 1930, Bulgakov wrote to his brother Nikolai in Paris about the unfavorable literary and theatrical situation for himself and the difficult financial situation. Then he writes a letter to the USSR Government with a request to determine his fate - either to give him the right to emigrate, or to provide him with the opportunity to work at the Moscow Art Theater. Bulgakov receives a call from Joseph Stalin, who recommends that the playwright apply to enroll him in the Moscow Art Theater. In 1930, Bulgakov worked at the Central Theater of Working Youth (TRAM). From 1930 to 1936 - at the Moscow Art Theater as an assistant director, on whose stage in 1932 he staged Nikolai Gogol's "Dead Souls". Since 1936 he worked at the Bolshoi Theater as a librettist and translator. In 1936, the premiere of Bulgakov's "Moliere" took place at the Moscow Art Theater. In 1937, Bulgakov worked on the libretto of “Minin and Pozharsky” and “Peter I”. In 1939, Bulgakov worked on the libretto "Rachel", as well as on a play about Stalin ("Batum"). Contrary to the writer's expectations, the play was banned from publication and production. Bulgakov's health condition is deteriorating sharply. Doctors diagnose him with hypertensive nephrosclerosis. The writer begins to dictate to Elena Sergeevna latest options novel "The Master and Margarita". Since February 1940, friends and relatives have been constantly on duty at the bedside of Bulgakov, who suffers from kidney disease. On March 10, 1940, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov died. On March 11, a civil memorial service took place in the building of the Union of Soviet Writers. Before the funeral service, Moscow sculptor S.D. Merkurov removes the death mask from Bulgakov’s face.
Creation Bulgakov, in his own words, wrote his first story in 1919. 1922-1923 - publication of "Notes on Cuffs", in 1925 a collection of satirical stories "Diaboliad" was published. In 1925, the story “Fatal Eggs” and the story “Steel Throat” (the first in the series “Notes of a Young Doctor”) were also published. The writer is working on the story "Heart of a Dog", plays " White Guard" and "Zoyka's Apartment". In 1926, the play "Days of the Turbins" was staged at the Moscow Art Theater. In 1927, Mikhail Afanasyevich completed the drama "Running". From 1926 to 1929, Bulgakov's play "Zoyka's Apartment" was staged at the Evgeniy Vakhtangov Studio Theater ", in 1928-1929, "The Crimson Island" (1928) was staged at the Moscow Chamber Theater. In 1932, the production of "Days of the Turbins" was resumed at the Moscow Art Theater. In 1934, the first full version the novel "The Master and Margarita", including 37 chapters.
Major works* Future prospects (article in the newspaper "Grozny") (1919) * Throat of Steel (1925) * White Guard (1922-1924) * Notes on cuffs (1923) * Blizzard (1925) * Star Rash (1925) * Zoyka's apartment ( 1925), published in the USSR in 1982 * Cabal of the Holy One (1929) * Baptism by Turning (1925) * Fatal Eggs (1924) * Towel with a Rooster (1925) * The Missing Eye (1925) * Egyptian Darkness (1925) * Heart of a Dog (1925), published in the USSR in 1987 * Morphine (1926) * Treatise on housing. Storybook. (1926) * Running (1926-1928) * Crimson Island (1927) * The Master and Margarita (1928-1940), published in 1966-67. * Bliss (The Dream of Engineer Rhine) (1934) * Ivan Vasilyevich (1936) * Moliere (The Cabal of the Holy One), post. 1936) * Notes of a Dead Man (Theatrical Novel) (1936-1937), published 1966 * Last days("Pushkin", 1940)
Bulgakov Encyclopedia: http://www.bulgakov.ru/ Moscow State Bulgakov Museum: http://www.bulgakovmuseum.ru/ Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia
Little known and Interesting Facts from the life of Bulgakov
Read the little known ones interesting facts from the life of Bulgakov
Life of Bulgakov was full of events, there were dizzying ups and downs, and a time of sad lack of money. He was loved by dazzling beauties and knew many of the most famous people of that time, spoke out against the proletariat, and the NKVD repeatedly came to search his house, but he was never arrested. He was a drug addict for some time and Stalin personally called him.
Here are some little-known episodes from life such a contradictory but certainly talented person:
Mikhail Afanasyevich began writing almost from infancy. His first creation with the title “The Adventures of Svetlana” was written by him at the age of seven. 
Since childhood Bulgakov was a passionate reader, and, according to his older sister, at the age of eight he read “The Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris" At the same time, since childhood, having an exceptional memory, he remembered much of what he read by heart.
As a military doctor, Bulgakov had a rich military background and considerable front-line experience.
During the First World War, he was a doctor in the front zone for several months.
At the end of February 1919, military doctor Bulgakov was mobilized to Ukrainian army, and in August 1919 he already served as a military doctor in the Red Army. In October of the same year he transferred to the Army of Southern Russia, where he served as a doctor in a Cossack regiment and fought in the North Caucasus.
Bulgakov kept theater tickets for all the performances he attended
- Elena Bulgakova placed a block of granite on her husband’s grave - Golgotha, which previously served as the foot of the cross that previously stood on the grave of the writer Gogol before his reburial. And this is a monument erected to the writer Bulgakov in Kyiv 
Few people know that the novel “The Master and Margarita” was dedicated to the writer’s beloved Elena Sergeevna Nuremberg. It was his last love and the strongest, she brought a lot of suffering and happiness to both. By the time they met, they already had families that had to be destroyed in order to forever unite their destinies by marriage. The article “Interesting facts from the life of Bulgakov” will talk about exactly this.
In Riga in 1893 in the family school teacher Elena Sergeevna Nuremberg was born. When the girl graduated from high school, the family decided to move to Moscow. And in 1918, three years after this, Elena meets Yuri Neelov, whose father was the famous artist Mamont Dalsky, and marries him. The marriage did not last long; after two years it broke up. And then Elena met Lieutenant General Yevgeny Shilovsky, with whom they became engaged at the end of 1920.
One can only say good things about Shilovsky; he was an extremely patient and decent husband. A year after the wedding, Elena gave birth to his son. However calm family life with a loving husband did not bring happiness to the young girl. In her letters to her sister, she talked about what a wonderful, noble husband she had, that there were probably no such people, and also that despite all this she was unhappy. That she feels lonely. Evgeniy works a lot, but she has to be left alone with her thoughts, inventions and fantasies. Time passed, nothing changed, only doubts tormented Elena with even greater force.
Elena Sergeevna turned 35 years old. On February 28, 1929, on a beautiful sunny day, she meets and gets to know Mikhail Bulgakov. By that time he was already an accomplished man. Bulgakov was born in Kyiv, graduated from the Faculty of Medicine and worked as a doctor. At the age of 30, having moved to Moscow, he took up literary activities. The writer was married to Lyubov Evgenievna Belozerskaya, who was a good wife, always took care of her husband and helped with his work. Elena Shilovskaya noted in Bulgakov his masculinity, determination and intelligence
Their unforgettable meeting took place in the apartment of the artists Moiseenko. 40 years after this, Elena recalls: “...When I met Bulgakov by chance in the same house, I realized that this was my destiny, despite everything, despite the incredibly difficult tragedy of the breakup... we met and were close. It was fast, unusually fast, at least on my part, love for life.” Elena was lost in doubt. She could not leave her husband and two sons. She suffered a lot of suffering and torment, and in the end she decides not to meet with the writer anymore. For 20 long months she has been avoiding Mikhail Afanasyevich in every possible way. And when, one day, going out alone on the street, she meets him. The first phrase that the poet dropped upon meeting was: “I can’t live without you.” The answer was: “Me too.” Then they decided to be together no matter what.
When Shilovsky found out about his wife’s affair with the writer, a long and emotional explanation took place between the men. At gunpoint, Bulgakov was ordered to leave his wife, and she was told that if they divorced, the sons would remain with their father. Elena was forced to stay with her husband for a while. A year and a half later, she meets the poet again, this time they finally decide not to part again. This time, Shilovsky did not interfere with his lovers; he signed the divorce papers and wanted to remain friends with her. Even after the divorce, this noble man justified his “beloved Lucy” and wrote to his parents that they had simply exhausted each other...
At the beginning of September 1936, the novel “The Master and Margarita” was completed. The prototype of the main character was the poet’s wife, with whom they lived happily for 8 years. For Elena Sergeevna Nurengberg, who became Bulgakova, these were the most happy years in her life. Sometime in the early 1930s, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov told her one request: “Give me your word that I will die in your arms.” The wife devoted herself entirely to her husband and kept her promise.
The writer's health began to deteriorate at the end of 1939, and on March 10, 1940, the great writer died. After his death, Elena Sergeevna had difficulty making ends meet. She began selling things, translating and reprinting handwritten texts, but this did not bring any significant income. Only in the post-war years did she begin to receive good fees by publishing the works of her lover. Elena outlived her husband by thirty long years. She died at the age of 76 on July 18, 1970. She was buried next to her beloved husband at the Novodevichy cemetery.
Mikhail Bulgakov said about his work: “Black and mystical colors, which depict the countless deformities of our life, the poison with which my tongue is saturated<...>, and most importantly - an image of the terrible features of my people." During the writer’s lifetime, his plays were banned from production, and his stories and novels were published only in the 1960s. Now the works “Heart of a Dog”, “The White Guard”, “The Master and Margarita” are read in school.
Mikhail Bulgakov in childhood. Photo: empire-ross.rf
Mikhail Bulgakov (top row left) with his family. 1902. Photo: wikipedia.org
Mikhail Bulgakov in his youth. Photo: wikipedia.org
Mikhail Bulgakov was born in Kyiv. His father, Afanasy Bulgakov, was a professor at the Kyiv Theological Academy. He knew Greek, German, French fluently, English languages, read in Old Church Slavonic. Mother, Varvara Bulgakova, worked as a teacher in a gymnasium, but after the wedding she devoted herself to children. The future writer was the eldest child: later children Vera, Nadezhda, Varvara, Nikolai, Ivan and Elena were born into the Bulgakov family. The salary at the academy was not enough, and in order to feed the family, in addition to his main job, his father taught history at the Institute of Noble Maidens and served in the office of the Kyiv censor. Konstantin Paustovsky wrote in the “Book of Wanderings”: “The Bulgakov family was well known in Kyiv - a huge, branched, thoroughly intelligent family<...>Outside the windows of their apartment one could constantly hear the sounds of a piano, the voices of young people, running, laughing, arguing and singing.”.
The Bulgakovs lived in a picturesque place - on Andreevsky Spusk. In the essay “Kyiv-Gorod” the writer later recalled: “In the spring, the gardens bloomed white, the Tsar’s Garden was dressed in greenery, the sun broke through all the windows, igniting fires in them. And the Dnieper! And the sunsets!”. So that the children could spend more time in nature, the parents bought a summer house. Since 1900, the family moved every summer to the village of Bucha near Kyiv - there they had a one-story, five-room house with two verandas.
The Bulgakovs often played music. In the evenings, my mother played works by Fryderyk Chopin on the piano. Sometimes my father took the violin in his hands, and the parents sang romances together. Children were often taken to summer concerts in the Merchants' Garden above the Dnieper, and they tried to get tickets to the opera. On the then popular “Faust” with Fyodor Chaliapin in leading role the family went several times. The Bulgakovs also staged charity performances in which members of the household played. Performances took place either in shelters for the disabled or in the apartments of friends.
The mother was in charge of educating the children. "bright queen", as Mikhail Bulgakov called her. She instilled in them a love of reading: there was a big library. The writer’s sister Elena Bulgakova said: “Our parents, by the way, somehow skillfully raised us; they didn’t embarrass us: “Oh, what are you reading? Oh, what did you take?" We had different books". Mikhail Bulgakov read the works of Alexander Pushkin and Leo Tolstoy, the adventure novels of Fenimore Cooper and the fairy tales of Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. His favorite writer was Nikolai Gogol. Bulgakov began writing himself early. He wrote short stories about city residents.
In 1901, Mikhail Bulgakov was included in the most prestigious school city - the First Kyiv Men's Gymnasium. Studying was easy for him: the future writer graduated from the first, second, third and sixth grades with awards. Education at the gymnasium was progressive: students were addressed as “you” and were allowed to express their own opinions. Konstantin Paustovsky studied with the future writer. He recalled: “No one gave such caustic and “sealing” nicknames as Bulgakov<...>“You have a poisonous eye and a harmful tongue,” Inspector Bodyansky told him with contrition. “You’re really looking forward to a scandal, even though you grew up in a respectable professorial family!”. Mikhail Bulgakov sang in the gymnasium church choir, played football and skated.
“Bulgakov was filled with jokes, inventions, and hoaxes. All this happened freely, easily, and arose for any reason. There was amazing generosity, the power of imagination, the talent of an improviser.<...>There was a world, and in this world his creative youthful imagination existed as one of its links.”
Konstantin Paustovsky, writer
Mikhail Bulgakov while studying at Kiev University. 1910s. Photo: moiarussia.ru
The Bulgakov family in Bucha. In the top row from left to right: Mikhail Bulgakov with his mother Varvara Bulgakova and his first wife Tatyana Lappa. 1913. Photo: wikipedia.org
Michael Bulgakov. 1910s. Photo: family archive Lara Simonova / russiainphoto.ru
In 1907, Mikhail Bulgakov's father died from illness. The mother was left alone with six children. The Kiev Theological Academy paid the family a monthly pension, but it was not enough. Then Varvara Bulgakova began teaching evening courses for women. As the eldest son, Mikhail Bulgakov began to look for work to help his mother: he was engaged in tutoring, and in the summer he served as a conductor on railway. Despite financial difficulties, all children continued to study in prestigious gymnasiums in Kyiv. Mother said: “I cannot give you a dowry or capital. But I can give you the only capital you will have - education.".
In 1909, Mikhail Bulgakov graduated from high school and received a certificate. In July of the same year, he entered the medical faculty of Kyiv University. The graduate quickly decided on a profession: his two uncles on his mother’s side worked as doctors in Moscow and Warsaw, and both earned decent money. This factor became decisive.
In 1911, Bulgakov met Tatyana Lappa, who came from Saratov to visit relatives on vacation. Her aunt was friends with Bulgakov’s mother, and the future writer was asked to show the girl the city. Tatyana Lappa recalled: “All day long, without noticing fatigue, we wandered through Kyiv streets and parks, visiting museums. Wherever he took me. We often visited Vladimirskaya Gorka<...>And in the evenings we went to the Opera House". They fell in love with each other, but soon Tatyana Lappa had to return home. Bulgakov's sister wrote in her diary: “He always strives to go to Saratov, where she lives, he abandoned his studies at the university, and did not transfer to the 3rd year.”.
The next time the lovers saw each other was only in 1912, when Tatyana Lappa was admitted to the historical and philological department of the Kyiv Higher Women's Courses. In 1913 they got married. There was no money: the couple did not know how to save and spent what Lapp’s father transferred on the same day.
“Of course, I didn’t have any veil, nor a wedding dress - I had to do with all the money that my father sent. Mom came to the wedding and was horrified. I had a pleated linen skirt, my mother bought a blouse. For some reason they laughed terribly under the aisle. We rode home after church in a carriage. There were few guests at dinner. I remember there were a lot of flowers, most of all daffodils.”
Tatyana Lappa, Bulgakov's first wife
When World War I began, Mikhail Bulgakov was a fourth-year student. There were many wounded, and medical students were sent on duty to the Red Cross infirmary. Tatyana Lappa also got a job as a nurse at the hospital. In 1915, during the conscription campaign at the university, Bulgakov volunteered for the front, but due to chronic kidney disease he was recognized "unfit for military marching service".
Mikhail Bulgakov in his room (doctor's office). Kyiv. 1913. Photo: Nikolai Bulgakov / nasledie-rus.ru
Michael Bulgakov. Photo: persons-info.com
In 1916, Bulgakov passed his final exams and received the “degree of doctor with honors.” The future writer did not even wait for the ceremonial presentation of diplomas: he went to the Southwestern Front as a Red Cross volunteer. In the summer of 1916, there were often battles there - General Brusilov began the famous operation “Brusilovsky breakthrough”. Mikhail Bulgakov worked in a front-line hospital, first in Kamenets-Podolsky, then in the liberated city of Chernivtsi. However, he was recalled in September. All experienced doctors went to the front, and rural hospitals were sorely short of people. Then recent graduates of medical faculties began to be called from service and distributed to remote villages. Mikhail Bulgakov was appointed to the Smolensk province - he became the head and only doctor of the Nikolsk Zemstvo Hospital in Sychevsky District.
The work was hard, Bulgakov did everything: delivered babies, amputated arms and legs, treated abscesses. In the government reports they wrote: “He has established himself as an energetic and tireless worker in the zemstvo field.”. During the year, the young doctor saw 15,361 patients. During this period, Bulgakov began to write stories about what happened to him during his work: “Star Rash”, “Towel with a Rooster”, “Steel Throat”. Later they entered the series “Notes of a Young Doctor”. In 1917, he contracted diphtheria while treating a sick child. To reduce the pain, Bulgakov injected himself with morphine. The substance immediately became addictive.
In September 1917, Mikhail Bulgakov, at his request, was transferred to the Vyazemsk hospital. He became the head of the infectious diseases and venereal department.
“And then I finally saw them again, seductive light bulbs! There was a live policeman standing at the intersection<...>in a booth they were selling yesterday's Moscow newspapers, containing amazing news, and Moscow trains whistled invitingly not far away. In a word, it was civilization, Babylon, Nevsky Prospekt"
Mikhail Bulgakov, story "Morphine"
In December 1917, Bulgakov went to Moscow for permission to return to Kyiv, but was refused. There were riots in the city - a revolution was underway. Bulgakov wrote: “Recently, on a trip to Moscow, I had to see with my own eyes something that I would not like to see again. I saw crowds breaking windows on trains, I saw people being beaten. I saw destroyed and burnt houses in Moscow. I saw hungry tails at the shops, hunted and pitiful officers.".
Mikhail Bulgakov with his first wife, Tatyana Lappa, among the theater actors. 1919. Vladikavkaz. Photo: wikipedia.org
Michael Bulgakov. Circa 1918. Museum of M.A. Bulgakov, Moscow
Bulgakov received his release from service only in February 1918. The doctor and his wife immediately returned to Kyiv. Their train was one of the last - soon the city was captured by German troops and the occupation began. Mikhail Bulgakov decided to specialize in venereology and opened a private reception. Overcame addiction to morphine. Now he wrote in the evenings. Bulgakov conceived the series “Notes of a Young Doctor,” excerpts of which he read to his family.
The power in Ukraine was constantly changing. After the German occupation, the country was ruled by Hetman Skoropadsky, then there were Simon Petliura and the Ukrainian People's Republic, who were removed by the Red Army. Bulgakov wrote: “In 1919, while living in the city of Kyiv, he was successively called up for service as a doctor by all the authorities that occupied the city”. He had to hide or run away. Tatyana Lappa recalled how her husband avoided mobilization into Petlyura’s army: “He later said that somehow he fell behind a little, then a little more, behind a pole, behind another, and rushed to run into the alley. I was running like that, my heart was pounding, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”. However, in September 1919, Bulgakov failed to escape - he was sent as a military doctor to Vladikavkaz. His wife decided to go with him.
In February 1920, the White Guards left Vladikavkaz - the Reds were advancing on the city. Bulgakov could not leave with the army: shortly before that he fell ill with typhus. And when he recovered, a revolutionary committee was already meeting in the city. It was necessary to decide how to make a living. A medical diploma threatened another mobilization and sending to places of hostilities, so Mikhail Bulgakov decided to change his specialty and become a writer.
He got a job at the Vladikavkaz Revolutionary Committee, where he was in charge of the literary and theater sections. Bulgakov took his responsibilities responsibly: almost every day he organized literary evenings, public readings, and lectures on cultural history. At the same time, he staged plays on the theater stage that he wrote himself. In 1920, two premieres took place: a comedy about gangs during the Civil War, Self-Defense, and a drama about the collapse of old ideals, The Turbine Brothers. Mikhail Bulgakov wrote to his cousin Konstantin: “Turbines” were a resounding success four times in a month<...>How I wish you were here when Turbines premiered. You can’t imagine the sadness in my soul that the play was being staged in a backwater hole, that I was four years late with what I should have started doing long ago - writing.”.
Michael Bulgakov. Photo: diletant.media
From left to right: writers Valentin Kataev, Mikhail Bulgakov, Yuri Olesha at the funeral of Vladimir Mayakovsky. April 17, 1930. Photo: Ilya Ilf / askbooka.ru
Mikhail Bulgakov's story “The Diaboliad” in the literary and artistic collection “Nedra”. Moscow: Mospoligraph Publishing House, 1924
In 1921, Mikhail Bulgakov moved to Moscow. At first he worked as a chronicler for the Trade and Industrial Bulletin, after its closure he moved to the Rabochiy newspaper, and then got a job as a letter processor for the Gudok publication. There was a catastrophic shortage of money, and Bulgakov took on any job. In his diary dated January 26, 1922, he wrote: “I joined a traveling group of actors: I will play on the outskirts. Fee 125 per performance. Deadly little. Of course, because of these performances there will be no time to write. Vicious circle<...>My wife and I eat from hand to mouth". Famous writers then wrote feuilletons and essays for Gudok: Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, Valentin Kataev, Yuri Olesha, Isaac Babel. Since April 1922, Mikhail Bulgakov joined them. The writer’s texts were published in almost every issue of the newspaper - during this period the humorous stories “The Adventures of Chichikov,” “The Red Crown,” and “The Cup of Life” were published. Bulgakov ridiculed the bourgeoisie, opportunists and liars. He often drew ideas from notes sent to the editorial office by working correspondents.
At the same time, the former doctor wrote for the emigrant pro-Soviet publication “Nakanune”. In the literary supplement, the newspapers published the first chapters from the story “Notes on Cuffs” - a partially autobiographical work about the hungry life of a modern writer. Six months later, the second part of the text was published, this time in the magazine “Russia”.
Mikhail Bulgakov devoted more and more time to literature. In 1923, he began work on the novel The White Guard. During the day he wrote feuilletons for “Gudk”, and in the evenings he worked on the work. Tatyana Lappa recalled: “I wrote “The White Guard” at night and liked me to sit around and sew. His hands and feet were cold, he told me: “Hurry, hurry hot water"; I was heating water on a kerosene stove, he put his hands in a basin with hot water» . The novel described the events of the Civil War in Ukraine through the life of a large intelligent family. All the heroes had prototypes - relatives or Kyiv friends of Mikhail Bulgakov. The writer even gave the family his grandmother’s maiden name - Turbina. In the essay “I Dreamed a Dream,” he wrote: “I remember that I really wanted to convey how good it is when it’s warm at home, the clock chiming like a tower in the dining room, sleepy slumber in bed, books and frost.”. Bulgakov compared the novel to War and Peace: the characters inevitably found themselves in the center of political events and had to make a choice.
In the summer of 1923, Bulgakov wrote “The Diaboliad,” a story about the clerk Korotkov, who was driven crazy by the Soviet bureaucracy. The work was published in 1924 in the Nedra magazine. After the text was published, writer Evgeny Zamyatin noted: “The author undoubtedly has the right instinct in choosing a compositional setting: fantasy, rooted in everyday life, a quick change of scenes, like in a movie,”<...>The absolute value of this work by Bulgakov - something very thoughtless - is small, but, apparently, one can expect good work from the author.”. Mikhail Bulgakov wrote quickly. Already in the fall of 1923, he completed the story “Khan's Fire.” Soon Bulgakov joined the All-Russian Writers' Union.
Mikhail Bulgakov (second from left) with his second wife, Lyubov Belozerskaya. 1926. Moscow. Museum M.A. Bulgakov, Moscow
Scene from Ilya Sudakov’s play “Days of the Turbins”. 1926. Moscow Art Academic Theater named after A.P. Chekhov, Moscow. Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow
Poster for the play “Days of the Turbins” by Ilya Sudakov. 1926. Photo: magisteria.ru
In the winter of 1924, at the evening of the newspaper “Nakanune”, Mikhail Bulgakov met Lyubov Belozerskaya. During the revolution, she emigrated to France with her husband, then divorced and returned to Soviet Russia. Soon Bulgakov broke up with Tatyana Lappa and married Belozerskaya.
“It was impossible not to pay attention to his unusually fresh language, masterful dialogue and such unobtrusive humor. I liked everything he wrote<...>He was dressed in a thick black sweatshirt without a belt, a “vest.” I'm not used to this male silhouette; it seemed slightly comical to me, as did the patent leather boots with a bright yellow top, which I immediately dubbed “chicken”
Lyubov Belozerskaya, memoirs “Oh, the honey of memories”
In 1924, Mikhail Bulgakov wrote the science fiction story “Fatal Eggs.” The writer moved the action of the work into the future, to 1928. The story brought Bulgakov fame: it was published in two magazines at once - “Nedra” and “Red Panorama”, and in 1925 it was included in the writer’s first collection “Diaboliada”. Gorky wrote in a letter to Mikhail Slonimsky on May 8, 1925: “I really liked Bulgakov, very<...>» . In the same year, two parts of the novel “The White Guard” were published in the magazine “Russia”. Bulgakov dedicated the work to his new wife. However, The White Guard was not published in its entirety: the magazine went bankrupt, and the publication of the last part of the work was canceled.
In April 1925, Mikhail Bulgakov received a letter from director Boris Vershilov. He invited the writer to stage the novel “The White Guard” on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater studio. To do this, it was necessary to rework it into a play. A few days later, the Vakhtangov Theater contacted Bulgakov - the request was the same. The writer made a choice in favor of the Moscow Art Theater. All summer Bulgakov adapted the work for the theater. On June 6, teacher and critic Pavel Markov urged Bulgakov: “The theater is very interested in the play you promised<...>" In September, the writer already read a draft version to the troupe. The drama had a new name - “Days of the Turbins”.
In return for The White Guard, which Bulgakov gave to the Moscow Art Theater, the writer promised the Vakhtangov Theater new play. In December 1925 he finished Zoya's Apartment. According to the plot, the main character opened a dating house in her apartment under the guise of a sewing workshop. Bulgakov said: “This is a tragic buffoonery, in which a number of Nepman-type businessmen are shown in the form of masks in Moscow these days”.
In the fall of 1926, two premieres of Bulgakov's plays took place at once. On October 5, “Days of the Turbins” was played at the Moscow Art Theater, and on the 28th, the premiere of “Zoyka’s Apartment” took place at the Vakhtangov Theater. “Days of the Turbins” was shown 13 times in the first month, and the theater was sold out all the time. “Zoyka’s Apartment” was also popular. However, critics did not accept the play: Bulgakov was criticized for sympathizing with the white movement, "home counter-revolution" And “ideology of one hundred percent everyman”.
Michael Bulgakov. Museum M.A. Bulgakov, Moscow
Mikhail Bulgakov (sitting in the center) with the troupe of the Moscow Art Academic Theater A.P. Chekhov. 1926. Moscow. Museum M.A. Bulgakov, Moscow
Michael Bulgakov. Museum M.A. Bulgakov, Moscow
On May 7, 1926, they came to the writer’s apartment with a search. The Politburo began a campaign against Smenovekhites - emigrants who advocated reconciliation with Soviet Russia. A few days earlier, Isaiah Lezhnev, editor of the Rossiya magazine, where Mikhail Bulgakov was published, was arrested and deported abroad.
“One fine evening,” all the stories begin, “one fine evening there was a knock on the dovecote (we didn’t have a bell) and to my question “who’s there?” The tenant’s cheerful voice answered: “It’s me who brought guests to you!” Two civilians stood on the threshold: a man in pince-nez and just a short man - investigator Slavkin and his assistant with the search.”
Lyubov Belozerskaya, Bulgakov's second wife
During the search, Bulgakov’s diary and the satirical story “Heart of a Dog” were confiscated. The writer hoped to publish the story of Professor Preobrazhensky, who turned a stray dog into Sharikov, a rude, illiterate, but successful in Soviet realities, in the almanac “Nedra”. However, State Security described the work as follows: “...such things, read in the most brilliant Moscow literary circle, are much more dangerous than the useless and harmless speeches of writers of the 101st grade at meetings of the “All-Russian Union of Poets”. It was possible to return the manuscript only three years later: Maxim Gorky stood up for the writer. The story was never published during the author's lifetime, but the text was distributed in samizdat.
After a successful debut, Mikhail Bulgakov wrote another drama about the civil war for the Moscow Art Theater - “Running”. The events of the play took place in the early 1920s: the white movement had already been defeated, former generals, teachers, bishops lost everything and were forced to emigrate. The lost and defenseless characters of the play talked about life, duty and family. While working on this work, Bulgakov relied heavily on the memories of his wife, Lyubov Belozerova, who herself emigrated during the revolution. In May 1928, Konstantin Stanislavsky wrote: “Running” was received enthusiastically by the theater, but the General Repertoire Committee did not allow it to be staged. "Running" is prohibited". The resolution of the main committee for control of the repertoire was supported by Joseph Stalin: he personally read the play.
“Running” is a manifestation of an attempt to evoke pity, if not sympathy, for certain layers of anti-Soviet emigrants - therefore, an attempt to justify or semi-justify the White Guard cause. "Running", in the form in which it exists, represents an anti-Soviet phenomenon."
Joseph Stalin, “Response to Bill-Belotserkovsky”
In 1929, the General Repertoire Committee removed all of Bulgakov's plays from the repertoire. The writer was left without income; the Moscow Art Theater accounting department demanded that the advance payment for the unproduced play “Running” be returned. Bulgakov wrote to his brother Nikolai in Paris: “I’m already in distress now. The first payment to the financial inspectorate will be due on March 15th<...>I believe that unless some miracle happens, my nice little and damp apartment will be in pieces.<...>not a single item will remain. Junk doesn't bother me much. Well, chairs, cups, to hell with them! I'm afraid for the books!. In June 1929, Bulgakov wrote a letter to Joseph Stalin and Mikhail Kalinin asking for permission to leave the USSR. He was refused. Then the writer submitted an application to leave the All-Russian Writers Union.
In the fall of 1929, Mikhail Bulgakov wrote a new play, “The Cabal of the Holy One.” The main character was Moliere, an inconvenient writer for the king and the clergy, whom other heroes constantly tried to harm. The work was initially allowed to be staged, but on March 18, 1930, the General Repertory Committee changed its decision: according to officials, Bulgakov in the play drew an analogy between the powerless position of the writer under the tyranny of the monarch and under the dictatorship of the proletariat. On the same day, returning home, the writer burned drafts of the novel “Theater” about the backstage and sketches of “The Romance of the Devil.” Soon Bulgakov wrote to the USSR Government: in it he repeated the request for emigration.
“Now I am destroyed. This destruction was greeted by the Soviet public with complete joy and was called an “achievement.” I will say briefly: buried under two lines of government paper are work in book depositories, my fantasy<...>I ask you to take into account that the inability to write for me is tantamount to being buried alive."
Mikhail Bulgakov, letter to the USSR Government
On April 18, 1930, a sound was heard in Bulgakov’s apartment. phone call. Stalin said: “Where do you want to work? At the Art Theater? - "Yes, I would like to. But I spoke about it - they refused me.” “And you apply there. It seems to me that they will agree". In May 1930, Bulgakov was hired as an assistant director at the Moscow Art Theater.
and "War and Peace". The writer told his friend Pavel Popov: “And so, towards the end of my work as a writer, I was forced to compose dramatizations. What a brilliant ending, isn't it? I look at the shelves and am horrified: who, who else will I have to stage tomorrow? Turgenev, Leskov, Ostrovsky? The latter, fortunately, staged himself, obviously foreseeing what would happen to me in 1929 and 1931.”.
In 1932, Mikhail Bulgakov divorced Lyubov Belozerskaya and married Elena Shilovskaya. The writer met her at an evening with friends. Shilovskaya was married to a high-ranking official. When her relationship with Bulgakov was revealed, Shilovskaya’s husband refused to grant a divorce and forbade her from seeing the writer. However, a year later he gave up and allowed his wife to leave. Shilovskaya helped Bulgakov in everything: she printed works from dictation and managed all his affairs.
In 1933, Bulgakov returned to “The Romance of the Devil.” The writer wrote to Veresaev: “Suffocating in my little rooms, I began to stain page after page of my novel, destroyed three years ago. For what? Don't know. I'm amusing myself! Let him fall into oblivion!”. Bulgakov spent a long time choosing a title: the novel was called either “Consultant with a Hoof”, then “The Engineer’s Hoof”, or “Tour (Woland)”. In the first, burned version, the Master and Margarita were not there at all: the heroes appeared in the second version. The prototype of Margarita was Bulgakov’s third wife, Elena Shilovskaya. At the same time, the story of Yeshua and Pontius Pilate turned from the main line of the novel into the work of the Master.
While working on The Master and Margarita, the writer made extracts from theological works, encyclopedic dictionaries and philosophical teachings. The notebooks were divided into topics: “About the Devil,” “Jesus Christ,” “About God.” The poet Konstantin Simonov said: “This novel, in my opinion, best thing Bulgakov, and if we talk about the history of Christ and Pilate, then these are generally some of the best pages of Russian literature of the 20th century.”. By 1938, the novel was ready, but Bulgakov continued to edit it until his death.
At the same time, Mikhail Bulgakov staged works for the theater: he adapted Don Quixote, wrote a drama about Pushkin, The Last Days, and composed a libretto for Rachel based on the stories of Guy de Maupassant.
In the fall of 1939, the writer became seriously ill. In February 1940, he dictated the final edits to the novel The Master and Margarita. On March 10 of the same year, the writer died. His body was cremated and his ashes were buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
The end of the 19th century was a complex and contradictory time. It is not surprising that it was in 1891 that one of the most mysterious Russian writers was born. We are talking about Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov - director, playwright, mystic, author of scripts and opera librettos. Bulgakov's story is no less fascinating than his work, and the Literaguru team takes the liberty to prove it.
Birthday of M.A. Bulgakov - May 3 (15). The father of the future writer, Afanasy Ivanovich, was a professor at the Theological Academy of Kyiv. Mother, Varvara Mikhailovna Bulgakova (Pokrovskaya), raised seven children: Mikhail, Vera, Nadezhda, Varvara, Nikolai, Ivan, Elena. The family often staged plays for which Mikhail composed plays. Since childhood, he loved plays, vaudeville, and space scenes.
Bulgakov's house was a favorite meeting place for the creative intelligentsia. His parents often invited famous friends who had a certain influence on the gifted boy Misha. He loved to listen to adult conversations and willingly participated in them.
Bulgakov studied at gymnasium No. 1 in Kyiv. After graduating in 1901, he became a student at the Faculty of Medicine at Kyiv University. The choice of profession was influenced by the financial condition of the future writer: after the death of his father, Bulgakov took responsibility for a large family. His mother remarried. All the children, except Mikhail, remained in good relations with my stepfather. The eldest son wanted to be financially independent. He graduated from the university in 1916 and received a medical degree with honors.
During the First World War, Mikhail Bulgakov served as a field doctor for several months, then received a position in the village of Nikolskoye (Smolensk province). Then some stories were written, later included in the series “Notes of a Young Doctor.” Due to the routine of boring provincial life, Bulgakov began to use drugs, which were available to many representatives of his profession by occupation. He asked to be transferred to a new place so that his drug addiction would be hidden from others: in any other case, the doctor could be deprived of his diploma. A devoted wife, who secretly diluted the drug, helped him get rid of the misfortune. She did her best to force her husband to give up his bad habit.
In 1917, Mikhail Bulgakov received the position of head of departments of the Vyazemsk city zemstvo hospital. A year later, Bulgakov and his wife returned to Kyiv, where the writer was engaged in private medical practice. Dependence on morphine was defeated, but instead of drugs, Mikhail Bulgakov often drank alcohol.
At the end of 1918, Mikhail Bulgakov joined the officer corps. It is not established whether he was drafted as a military doctor, or whether he himself expressed a desire to become a member of the detachment. F. Keller, the deputy commander-in-chief, disbanded the troops, so he did not then participate in the fighting. But already in 1919 he was mobilized into the UPR army. Bulgakov escaped. Versions regarding future fate The writers differ: some witnesses claimed that he served in the Red Army, some - that he did not leave Kyiv until the arrival of the Whites. It is reliably known that the writer was mobilized into the Volunteer Army (1919). At the same time, he published the feuilleton “Future Prospects.” The Kyiv events were reflected in the works “The Extraordinary Adventures of the Doctor” (1922), “The White Guard” (1924). It is worth noting that the writer chose literature as his main occupation in 1920: after completing his service in the Vladikavkaz hospital, he began writing for the newspaper “Caucasus”. Creative path Bulgakov's life was thorny: during the period of the struggle for power, an unfriendly statement addressed to one of the parties could end in death.
In the early twenties, Bulgakov wrote mainly works about the revolution, mainly plays, which were subsequently staged on the stage of the Vladikavkaz Revolutionary Committee. Since 1921, the writer lived in Moscow and worked in various newspapers and magazines. In addition to feuilletons, he published individual chapters of stories. For example, “Notes on Cuffs” was published on the pages of the Berlin newspaper “Nakanune”. Especially many essays and reports - 120 - were published in the newspaper "Gudok" (1922-1926). Bulgakov was a member Russian Association proletarian writers, but at the same time his art world was not dependent on the ideology of the union: he wrote with great sympathy about the white movement, about tragic destinies intelligentsia. His problems were much broader and richer than permitted. For example, the social responsibility of scientists for their inventions, satire on the new way of life in the country, etc.
In 1925, the play “Days of the Turbins” was written. She was a resounding success on the stage of the Moscow Art Academic Theater. Even Joseph Stalin appreciated the work, but still, in every thematic speech he focused on the anti-Soviet nature of Bulgakov’s plays. Soon the writer’s work was criticized. Over the next ten years, hundreds of scathing reviews were published. The play “Running” about the Civil War was banned from being staged: Bulgakov refused to make the text “ideologically correct.” In 1928-29 The performances “Zoyka’s Apartment”, “Days of the Turbins”, “Crimson Island” were excluded from the theaters’ repertoire.
But the emigrants studied with interest the key works of Bulgakov. He wrote about the role of science in human life, about the importance of correct attitude towards each other. In 1929, the writer was thinking about the future novel “The Master and Margarita”. A year later, the first edition of the manuscript appeared. Religious themes, criticism of Soviet realities - all this made the appearance of Bulgakov’s works on the pages of newspapers impossible. It is not surprising that the writer seriously thought about moving abroad. He even wrote a letter to the Government, in which he asked either to allow him to leave, or to give him the opportunity to work in peace. For the next six years, Mikhail Bulgakov was an assistant director at the Moscow Art Theater.
The most famous works give an idea of the philosophy of the master of the printed word. For example, the story “The Diaboliad” (1922) describes the problem of “little people”, which the classics so often addressed. According to Bulgakov, bureaucracy and indifference are a real devilish force, and it is difficult to resist. The already mentioned novel “The White Guard” is largely autobiographical in nature. This is the biography of one family who finds themselves in a difficult situation: Civil War, enemies, the need to choose. Some believed that Bulgakov was too loyal to the White Guards, others reproached the author for his loyalty to the Soviet regime.
The story “Fatal Eggs” (1924) tells the truly fantastic story of a scientist who accidentally bred a new species of reptiles. These creatures multiply continuously and soon fill the entire city. Some philologists argue that the image of Professor Persikov reflects the figures of the biologist Alexander Gurvich and the leader of the proletariat V.I. Lenin. Another famous story is “Heart of a Dog” (1925). Interestingly, it was officially published in the USSR only in 1987. At first glance, the plot is satirical: a professor transplants a human pituitary gland into a dog, and the dog Sharik becomes a human. But is he human?.. Someone sees in this story a prediction of future repressions.
The author's main trump card was mysticism, which he wove into realistic works. Thanks to this, critics could not directly accuse him of offending the feelings of the proletariat. The writer skillfully combined outright fiction and real socio-political problems. However, its fantastic elements are always an allegory for similar phenomena that actually occur.
For example, the novel “The Master and Margarita” combines a variety of genres: from parable to farce. Satan, who chose the name Woland for himself, one day arrives in Moscow. He meets people who are being punished for their sins. Alas, the only force of justice in Soviet Moscow is the devil, because officials and their henchmen are stupid, greedy and cruel to their own fellow citizens. They are the real evil. Against this backdrop, a love story unfolds between the talented Master (in fact, Maxim Gorky was called a master in the 1930s) and the brave Margarita. Only mystical intervention saved the creators from certain death in a madhouse. For obvious reasons, the novel was published after Bulgakov's death. The same fate awaited the unfinished “Theatrical Novel” about the world of writers and theatergoers (1936-37) and, for example, the play “Ivan Vasilyevich” (1936), the film based on which is still watched to this day.
Friends and acquaintances considered Bulgakov both charming and very modest. The writer was always polite and knew how to step into the shadows in time. He had a talent for storytelling: when he managed to overcome his shyness, everyone present listened only to him. The author's character was based on best qualities Russian intelligentsia: education, humanity, compassion and delicacy.
Bulgakov loved to joke, never envied anyone and never sought better life. He was distinguished by sociability and secrecy, fearlessness and incorruptibility, strength of character and gullibility. Before his death, the writer said only one thing about the novel “The Master and Margarita”: “So that they know.” This is his meager description of his brilliant creation.
Why did Bulgakov die? In the late thirties he often spoke about near death. Friends considered it a joke: the writer loved practical jokes. In fact, Bulgakov, a former doctor, noticed the first signs of nephrosclerosis, a severe hereditary disease. In 1939 the diagnosis was made.
Bulgakov was 48 years old - the same age as his father, who died of nephrosclerosis. At the end of his life, he began using morphine again to dull the pain. When he went blind, his wife wrote chapters of The Master and Margarita for him from dictation. The edit stopped at Margarita’s words: “So, it means that the writers are going after the coffin?” On March 10, 1940, Bulgakov died. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
In 2004, the opening of the Bulgakov House, a museum-theater and cultural and educational center, took place in Moscow. Visitors can ride a tram, see an electronic exhibition dedicated to the life and work of the writer, sign up for a night tour of the “bad apartment” and meet the real cat Hippopotamus. The function of the museum is to preserve Bulgakov’s legacy. The concept is related to the mystical theme that the great writer loved so much.
There is also an outstanding Bulgakov Museum in Kyiv. The apartment is riddled with secret passages and holes. For example, from a closet you can get into secret room, where there is something like an office. There you can also see many exhibits telling about the writer’s childhood.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (1891-1940) is a famous Russian writer and playwright, who has many famous works to his credit, including the famous “The Master and Margarita.” In this article we will try to highlight the most interesting facts from the life of M.A. Bulgakov.
1. Mikhail Bulgakov was the eldest child in the family. In addition to him, the family had 4 sisters and 2 brothers.
2. On October 31, 1916, Mikhail successfully graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Kyiv University and received a doctor’s diploma. At the beginning of the First World War, he worked as a doctor, then was sent to Vyazma (Smolensk province).
3. Mikhail Bulkakov had 3 wives (Tatyana Nikolaevna Lappa (1913-1924), Lyubov Evgenievna Belozerskaya (1925-1931) and Elena Nikolaevna Shilovskaya (since 1932)), but he had no children from any marriage. But it was the 3rd wife Elena Shilovskaya who became the prototype of Margarita in famous work"Master and Margarita".
4. Many people loved to collect stamps, but Bulgakov collected theater and concert tickets, and he collected only those tickets that he bought himself and with which he went to the performance in person.
5. In 1922, Mikhail Afanasyevich was presented with a book by Alexander Chayanov, “Venediktov, or Memorable Events of My Life.” The main characters of this rot were Satan and a student named Bulgakov. According to his second wife Elena Belozerskaya, it was thanks to this book that 7 years later he began writing the novel “The Master and Margarita.”
6. Bulgakov wrote his first work when he was only 7 years old and it was called “The Adventures of Svetlana.”
7. On the writer’s grave lay a granite block of Golgotha, which had previously served as a footstool for the cross on his grave before his reburial.
8. The famous Soviet comedy “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession” (1973) was based on Bulkakov’s work “Ivan Vasilyevich”, only in the play engineer Timofeev’s name is Nikolai, and in the film Alexander (Shurik). In addition, to date, more than two dozen works have been filmed, and these films were produced not only by Russia. The novel “The Master and Margarita” alone was filmed 9 times (Russia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Italy, Great Britain, Israel, Germany, Hungary).
9. In 1917, Mikhail Bulgakov was so afraid of diphtheria after one of his operations that he began taking anti-diphtheria drugs. But these drugs began to cause severe allergic reactions and in order to alleviate these reactions, Bulgakov began taking morphine. But as you know, morphine is not a children's medicine and is addictive. So Bulgakov began to take morphine regularly. But already in 1918, he gave up morphine and even began his private practice as a venereologist. In 1939, the writer’s health deteriorated sharply and doctors diagnosed him with kidney disease (hypertensive nephrosclerosis), after which he continued to use morphine to relieve pain symptoms.
10. Shortly before his death, Bulgakov could no longer write himself, since his health did not allow it, and the novel “The Master and Margarita” was completed by his wife Elena Shilovskaya under the dictation of the writer. Despite all this, the novel was completed, but was not published in the near future. The novel “The Master and Margarita” was published only in 1966, i.e. 26 years after the writer's death.
