Welcome
It was a hot summer night in July 2003 and I was admiring the Eiffel Tower from the open window of a nice penthouse at the Avenue Émile Zola in Paris. I was talking to Tatiana Poppel, a Russian friend who lived there. We were discussing literature and I told her about my favourite novel, Cien años de soledad, written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And then it was her turn. She told me a strange, but funny story about the Devil visiting Moscow. I was listening and I was amused, but without really trying to remember the name of the novel nor its author. But the story never left me. It was saved in my brains forever.
One year later the images came back, and how! Another Russian friend of mine, Irina Ternovaya, advised me to read The Master and Margarita, written by Mikhail Bulgakov. And so I did. With quite some dramatic consequences. I lost my heart in Moscow, it will stay there forever and I started learning Russian because, one day, I want to be able to read it in the original language...
You can use the menu at the top to learn more about Mikhail Bulgakov, the story and its themes, the political and social context, the characters and the locations, and discover how this novel inspired many others to create music, movie pictures or theatre plays. Have a regular look at the newspage too, because Bulgakov is still alive…
Welcome to the wonderful world of The Master and Margarita...
News
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15.05.2012 - Exhibition Iker Spozio
From May 15 to June 15, 2012, the Mikhail Bulgakov Museum in Moscow will celebrate the 121st birthday of Mikhail Bulgakov with an exhibition of illustrations for The Master and Margarita made by Iker Spozio.
15.05.2012 - Exhibition Arina Orlova
On Thursday, May 17, 2012, the Museum M.N. Ermolova in Moscow will celebrate the 121st birthday of Mikhail Bulgakov with an exhibition of illustrations for The Master and Margarita made by Arina Orlova.
14.05.2012 - Birthday party in the Bulgakov House
On Tuesday, May 15, 2012, the Bulgakov House in Moscow will celebrate the 121st birthday of Mikhail Bulgakov with an exhibition of illustrations for The Master and Margarita, made by the Russian artist Marina Ordynskaya.
13.05.2012 - The Show Trials
Today we added to the website a new page about the show trials which were conducted between 1936 and 1938 in the Soviet Union. And we could not resist to make some comparisons with some notorious political processes in today's Russia.
27.04.2012 - Music by Face2Face
Today we added to the website some pages about the Russian rapper Ivan Alekseev (Noize MC), who recorded the song Master i Margarita with his duet Face2Face in 2001.
17.04.2012 - The Master and Margarita in Bergamo
On Thursday, April 26, 2012, Fausto Malcovati, professor at the University of Milan, will tell the story of The Master and Margarita at the Spazio Polaresco in Bergamo (Italy).
12.04.2012 - Night stroll with The Master and Margarita
Every night between Saturday and Sunday, the Bulgakov House in Moscow organizes a romantic walk in the footsteps of Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita.
07.04.2012 - The Master and Margarita in Oxford
From July 28, 2012, to August 4, 2012, the Oxford University organises a Summer School for Adults aiming to understand and enjoy The Master and Margarita. The only entrance requirement is enthusiasm for the subject. And some money on your bank account, for it is not cheap.
04.04.2012 - The film dreams of Fanny Beury
Fanny Beury, a French artist based in Paris, made a film poster for Le maître et Marguerite. To be clear, we're dealing with a fictional movie which exists only in the imagination of the artist.
04.04.2012 - Four composers
Today we added new pages to the website about four classical composers who made works inspired by The Master and Margarita. We're pleased to introduce to you the composers Aleksandr Soynikov, Dmitry Smirnov, Andrey Pashchenko and Rumen Balyozov.
02.04.2012 - Illustrations by Vladimir Janovsky
On the website deviantArt, where many young artists show their works to the world, I found a series of illustrations of the first 17 chapters of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, created by an artist who presents himself as Voblin.
02.04.2012 - Patti Smith and Banga
Yesterday, April 1, 2012, Patti Smith was the guest in the TV program CBS Sunday Morning. In an interview with host Anthony Mason, she announced that her new album Banga will be released on June 5, 2012. The title of the CD was inspired by Pontius Pilate's dog in The Master and Margarita.
Films and TV-series
In addition to everything you want to know about the novel, you can find on this website some film adaptations of The Master and Margarita, subtitled in English by your webmaster.
Latest news
This website is now on the Russian social network v Kontakte. I guess I'll have to polish my Russian though...
Social networks
This website is present on various social net-works. Join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and get the latest news, or watch our subtitled video's on Vimeo and YouTube.
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Your guide through the novel
In this section are explained, per chapter, all typical notions, names of people and places, quotations and expressions from the novel with a description of the political, social, economical and cultural context.
In the media
Artists keep using the theme of The Master and Margarita in their movies, music, theatre pieces and drawings.
Bulgakov's Moscow
Have a look at the most impor-tant places from the novel at a single glance using this click-able map of Moscow.
Virtual tour of Yershalaim
Have a look at all the places of Yershalaim seen from the air, from the Antonia Tower to the palace of Herod.
Support this website
This website is made and maintained by an amateur and can therefore use your support. When you make a donation, I will send you a cute surprise gift.
Buy online
The Master and Margarita
The DVD of Vladimir Bortko's TV se-ries with English subtitles
The Master and Margarita
The impressive soundtrack of com-poser Igor Kornelyuk
The Master and Margarita
The DVD of Yuri Kara's film with English subtitles
The novel translated in English by Hugh Aplin (on Amazon)
Andrzej Klimowski's comic strip (on Amazon)