Mikhail Bulgakov

Early Life and Career

Mikhail Bulgakov was born on May 15, 1891, in Russia. He grew up to become a novelist and playwright.

Famous Works

Bulgakov wrote many famous books and plays. His best-known novel is The Master and Margarita, published after he died. Other important works include The White Guard, Ivan Vasilievich, Flight, and The Days of the Turbins.

Challenges and Recognition

Some of Bulgakov’s works were not allowed by the Soviet government and Joseph Stalin. Even so, Bulgakov became very famous after his death, especially when The Master and Margarita was published in 1966–67. People then saw him as one of the greatest Russian writers of the 20th century.

Life and work

Mikhail Bulgakov was born in 1891 in Kiev, Russian Empire. He was the oldest of seven children in a family that loved books, music, and theater. His father was a teacher, and his mother had also been a teacher. Bulgakov liked playing the piano and enjoyed watching operas, especially one called Faust.

Bulgakov studied medicine and worked as a doctor during World War I. After that, he chose to write stories instead. His first novel, The White Guard, was finished in 1924. He also wrote many plays, including The Days of the Turbins, which people loved to watch. Bulgakov spent his later years writing his famous book, The Master and Margarita, but it was not published while he was alive. He died in 1940.

Works

See also: Category:Works by Mikhail Bulgakov

Mikhail Bulgakov was best known for his plays, especially those performed at the Moscow Art Theatre. One of his famous plays, Days of the Turbins, was based on his novel The White Guard.

Bulgakov also wrote novels and stories. The White Guard tells about a family during the civil war in Kiev. He wrote science fiction stories like The Fatal Eggs and Heart of a Dog.

His most famous novel, The Master and Margarita, was published after he passed away. Other works include Theatrical Novel and plays like Flight, Ivan Vasilievich, and The Cabal of Hypocrites.

The Master and Margarita

Main article: The Master and Margarita

The novel The Master and Margarita shows life in the Soviet Union and its world of writing. People like it for its deep ideas and beautiful writing, especially its pictures of old Jerusalem and its lovely parts. It tells two stories at once: one about events from the New Testament and another about life in Moscow.

The story begins with Satan coming to Moscow in the 1930s. He joins a talk between a critic and a poet who are arguing about how to say that Jesus Christ never existed. The book also tells the story of Pontius Pilate and the Crucifixion as part of a bigger look at problems in Soviet Russia.

This became Bulgakov's most famous book. He started writing it in 1928, but it was not published until 1966, after his death. The book added some phrases to Russian, like "Manuscripts don't burn." An important part of the story is about the Master losing his work when he had to rewrite it from memory.

Legacy

Exhibitions and museums

Some displays at the One Street Museum show things from Bulgakov’s family. You can see old photos of Mikhail Bulgakov, his books, personal items, and even a window frame from his house. The museum also has scientific works by Prof. Afanasiy Bulgakov, Mikhail’s father.

Mikhail Bulgakov Museum, Kyiv

The Mikhail Bulgakov Museum in Kyiv is a special place for fans of the writer. Some rooms are about Bulgakov, and others show scenes from his stories. This was his family home and inspired the house of the Turbin family in his play The Days of the Turbins.

The Bulgakov Museums in Moscow

In Moscow, two museums remember Mikhail Bulgakov and his famous book The Master and Margarita. Both are in the same old apartment building on Bolshaya Sadovaya street. Since the 1980s, this building has been a favorite spot for fans.

The Bulgakov House

Main article: Bulgakov House (Moscow)

The Bulgakov House is on the ground floor. It started in 2004 and shows Bulgakov’s personal things, photos, and displays about his life and work. The museum often has poetry readings and literary events. Visitors can also take tours of Bulgakov’s Moscow and see characters from The Master and Margarita come to life. There is a small theater and a café too.

The Museum M.A. Bulgakov

Main article: Bulgakov Museum in Moscow

In the same building, on the fourth floor, is another museum. It opened in 2007 and is run by the government. Like the other museum, it has Bulgakov’s personal items, photos, and displays about his life and work. Poetry readings and literary events happen here often too.

Other places named after him

A minor planet, 3469 Bulgakov, discovered in 1982, is named after him.

Works inspired by him

Literature

Salman Rushdie said that The Master and Margarita inspired his novel The Satanic Verses.

John Hodge wrote a play called Collaborators (2011) about Bulgakov and Joseph Stalin. It was inspired by The Days of the Turbins and The White Guard.

Music

The Rolling Stones said that The Master and Margarita inspired their song "Sympathy for the Devil".

The lyrics of Pearl Jam’s song "Pilate" were inspired by Master and Margarita.

Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand used the book as inspiration for his song "Love and Destroy".

Film

The Flight (1970) is a Soviet film based on Bulgakov’s Flight, The White Guard, and Black Sea.

The Master and Margaret (1972) is a Yugoslav-Italian film, the first adaptation of the novel.

Pilate and Others (1972) is a German TV drama based on The Master and Margarita.

Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973) is a Soviet comedy film about a visit by Ivan the Terrible to modern Moscow.

Dog's Heart (1976) is an Italian-German film based on Bulgakov’s novel Heart of a Dog.

The Days of the Turbins (1976) is a Soviet TV drama based on Bulgakov’s play of the same name.

Heart of a Dog (1988) is a Soviet TV film, a close adaptation of Bulgakov’s novel.

The Master and Margarita (1989) is a Polish TV drama.

After the Revolution (1990) is a Hungarian film loosely based on Bulgakov’s novel.

Incident in Judaea (1991) focuses on the biblical parts of The Master and Margarita.

The Master and Margarita (1994) is a Russian film that faced many production problems.

The Master and Margarita (2005) is a very popular Russian TV series.

Morphine (2008) is a Russian film loosely based on Bulgakov’s stories.

The White Guard (2012) is a Russian TV mini-series.

A Young Doctor's Notebook (2012–2013) is a British comedy series with Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe.

The Master and Margarita (2024) is an upcoming film.

Medical eponym

After finishing medical school in 1909, Bulgakov worked with people who had a common health problem. He noticed that some patients' bones in their lower legs looked unusual and had extra growths. This observation is called "Bulgakov's Sign" in some places, but in others it is known as the "Bandy Legs Sign."