The life and work of Bulgakov briefly. Who is M.A

M.A. Bulgakov was born on May 3 (15), 1891 in Kyiv in the family of a professor at the Kyiv Theological Academy. In 1916 he graduated from the medical faculty of Kyiv University. He worked as a doctor in the Nikolskaya rural hospital near Smolensk (this stage of his biography will serve as material for the book “Notes young doctor"). In 1919, Bulgakov was mobilized into the Volunteer Army of A.I. Denikin, served as a military doctor, and at the same time began to publish in the newspaper periodicals of the North Caucasus.

In 1921, the writer moved to Moscow in order to "stay there forever," as he writes in his autobiography. He actively published in many newspapers and magazines in Moscow. The main place of work for the writer was the newspaper "Gudok", where he met V. Kataev, Yu. Olesha, E. Petrov, I. Ilf, I. Babel and other young writers. In connection with the great employment of newspaper work to engage own creativity the writer had to fit snatches. Leading genres early creativity- feuilletons, essays and stories.

The outstanding talent of the writer manifested itself in the stories of the first half of the 1920s. "Diaboliad", " Fatal eggs" And " dog's heart". The writer's first novel white guard”was published in 1925 in fragments on the pages of the Rossiya magazine (the first 13 chapters were printed, after which the magazine was closed).

In 1926 in the Moscow Art Theater the play “Days of the Turbins” was staged, created by Bulgakov as a staging of the “White Guard” (in the course of numerous alterations, the writer significantly transformed the plot of the work; the system of characters was also transformed). Since then, the writer most of his time and energy gives the theater: in the 1920-1930s. the plays "Zoyka's Apartment" (1926), "Running" (1928), "Adam and Eve" (1931) and about a dozen other plays and dramatizations were written. However, relations with theatrical censorship the playwright did not fare well: after The Days of the Turbins, none of the plays ever saw the light of the limelight during the author's lifetime.

In parallel with the dramatic work of Bulgakov since the late 1920s. thinks about the idea of his main work - the novel "The Master and Margarita". Work on it continued until February 1940. This novel became the creative testament of one of the greatest masters of Russian literature of the 20th century. The writer died on March 10, 1940. He was buried in Moscow, on Novodevichy cemetery.

Bulgakov's poetics

Opening any collection of Bulgakov's works on the "Contents" page, astute reader he will definitely note the external diversity of the titles: “Notes of a Young Doctor”, “Theatrical Novel”, “Heart of a Dog”, “White Guard”. The heroes of Bulgakov appear before the reader either in a white coat (like the Moscow professor Preobrazhensky or the county doctor from the Murinskaya hospital), or in military uniform(as the characters of the "White Guard"), then in leather jacket from someone else's shoulder (as "the head of the subdepartment for cleaning Moscow from stray animals" Sharikov). The scene of action is either Moscow, then Murye, which is forty miles from Grachevka (moreover, the geographical specifics in relation to this "bear corner" becomes simply inappropriate - it is clear that it is somewhere "very far away"), then the ancient Yershalaim and the procurator's palace Jews.

The neighborhood of "incompatible things" is manifested not only at the macro level of Bulgakov's prose: outwardly contrasting episodes, details, characteristics permeate any Bulgakov's work. On the pages of The Master and Margarita, the names of the legendary Pontius Pilate and the unknown poet Sashka Ryukhin, Rimsky (albeit without the suggestive continuation - Korsakov) and Berlioz (however, also not a composer) turn out to be side by side; in The Heart of a Dog, Engels, Kautsky, Polygraph Sharikov and Shvonder find themselves in the same ranks of "proletarian leaders". The formula of gratitude and devotion becomes, for example, the phrase: “I kiss my pants, my benefactor!” or: “Kick me in the snout with your felt boots, I won’t utter a word” (“Heart of a Dog”). The fiery walk of the cat Behemoth around Griboedov ends with the fact that he changed his browning and primus (let's pay attention to the degree of compatibility of “accessories”) for a “chef's, half-burnt robe” saved in a fire and “one-piece salmon in the skin and with a tail”; at the same time, the comic contrast of “half a dressing gown” and “whole salmon” is interesting to Bulgakov to the same extent as final conversation Woland with Levi Matvey about the fate of the Master. The philosophical discussion and the portrait of Behemoth waving his salmon tail at Woland coexist peacefully on one page.

The external incompatibility of "microelements" and the internal unity of the artistic "macroworld" are the most important distinctive features Bulgakov's work. The combination of diverse narrative elements is most clearly manifested in The Master and Margarita, primarily at the level of its linguistic structure. The heroes of the novel speak several languages: Yeshua's conversation with Pontius Pilate is in Aramaic, Latin, Greek, while changing the language each time is specially stipulated. The inscription "robber and rebel" on wooden tablets tied to the necks of Gestas, Dismas and Yeshua, who were executed in Yershalaim, was made in two languages - Aramaic and Greek. But at the same time, there is not a single word that would be written in Latin or Greek in Bulgakov's novel. Even business card"foreigner" Woland is described "in Russian": "Poet<Иван Бездомный>I could see what was printed on the card foreign letters the word "professor" and the initial letter of the surname - a double "B". The "foreigner" himself does not pronounce a single word in any other language than Russian. Thus, in the linguistic structure of the novel, one of the most important artistic laws of Bulgakov's world finds expression - the absolute unity of heterogeneous phenomena.

Despite the difference in the problems, compositional and speech structure of Bulgakov's works different years There are several important aspects that determine their internal unity. Let's highlight the main ones:

— combination and reciprocity of the real and the fantastic;

- grotesque transformation of everyday life into myth, mystics into everyday life;

— satirical image modern writer Soviet reality as a tragic farcical world in which infernal-demonic forces reign;

- opposed to the surrounding world - hostile and almost always aggressive - Bulgakov's hero: he is endowed with creativity and artistic talent, but almost always weak and vulnerable;

— general principle character arrangements: teacher (Yeshua, Master, Professor Preobrazhensky) - student (Levy Matvey, Ivan Bezdomny, Dr. Bormental) - traitor or provocateur (Judas, Aloisy Mogarych, Baron Meigel, Shvonder);

- invariant plot scheme: the destruction of the harmonious (idyllic) world of the hero - and his real or unreal restoration;

- ambivalence (duality) of meaningful and structural elements narratives: Bulgakov's heroes paradoxically combine different roles (executioner and victim, student and traitor), and traditionally one-dimensional ethical categories - for example, "positive" good and "negative" evil - become simultaneously positive and negative values.

Of particular importance in the content structure of Bulgakov's works are biblical, primarily New Testament, motifs and associations. In the reader's mind gospel theme in the work of Bulgakov is firmly associated with the novel "The Master and Margarita". However, the story of Yeshua and Pontius Pilate is not the beginning, but the culmination of a long development biblical theme, which determined the meaning and functions of the set of cross-cutting motives in Bulgakov's prose. Throughout creative evolution writer, biblical (gospel) images and motifs were introduced into artistic structure most various works- from "Notes of a young doctor" (1925-1927) to the play "Batum" (dedicated to Stalin and completed in 1939). In the context individual work their presence can be almost imperceptible: Bulgakov never resorts to direct plot borrowing or the creation of modernized illustrations for biblical parables. But in a single corpus of all Bulgakov's works, the biblical subtext becomes visible, "manifests" - just like in riddle drawings, if you correctly adjust your vision, through the outer lines autumn landscape starts to show female face or the outlines of a distant ancient city.

Paradoxically, sometimes travesty transforming, biblical images and motifs are bizarrely woven into the grotesque reality of Bulgakov's world - but in strange "transformations" biblical motifs the reader gradually discovers the internal logic and stable patterns. IN early works Bulgakov's biblical allusions and reminiscences did not develop into an independent plot - but invariably illuminated the image of modern reality; V final work writer - "Master and Margarita" - himself biblical story in the apocryphal version of the Master became integral part novel about Moscow in the 1930s.

Let's observe some patterns that determine the deployment of biblical motifs in Bulgakov's works. In Notes of a Young Doctor, the episode of the arrival of a graduate of the medical faculty at the Murya hospital, abandoned in an unknown wilderness, retrospectively begins to acquire evangelical associations. Loneliness, a dreary feeling of abandonment, abandonment in hostile world, full of trials (“Steel Throat”, “Baptism by Turning”, “Towel with a Rooster”) and temptations (“Morphine”), from story to story, as the plot develops, they begin to be comprehended in the context of the gospel narrative about last days Son of man. The operation to amputate the leg, which saved the life of a girl who fell into the pulp (the story "Towel with a Rooster"), is projected onto gospel story resurrection from the dead: the description of the operation is accompanied by an alarmingly pulsing “will die”, “will die now” - and ends with a miracle, “resurrection”, performed by the hero of the story. The title of the story "Baptism by Turning" also begins to be perceived through the prism of the biblical (and not just the usual language) meanings of the first word. The initial episode of the cycle - the “entry” of the young doctor to Murya - can now be read as an ironic paraphrase of the Gospel story about the entry into Jerusalem. The emphatically accurate dating - "two hours five minutes on September 17, 1917" - gives significant significance to the prosaically reduced scene. historical event, and the sacred number is "forty" ("forty miles separating county town Grachevka from the Murinskaya hospital") ironically refers to biblical symbolism numbers and imposes symbolic meaning tragicomic plot of the cycle.

In a similar way, the ambivalent (dual) nature of evangelical associations is also manifested in another story by Bulgakov on a "medical" theme - "Heart of a Dog".

M.A. Bulgakov was born on May 3 (15), 1891 in Kyiv in the family of a professor at the Kyiv Theological Academy. In 1916 he graduated from the medical faculty of Kyiv University. He worked as a doctor in the Nikolskaya rural hospital near Smolensk (this stage of his biography will serve as material for the book Notes of a Young Doctor). In 1919, Bulgakov was mobilized into the Volunteer Army of A.I. Denikin, served as a military doctor, and at the same time began to publish in the newspapers of the North Caucasus.

In 1921, the writer moved to Moscow in order to "stay there forever," as he writes in his autobiography. He actively published in many newspapers and magazines in Moscow. The main place of work for the writer was the newspaper "Gudok", where he met V. Kataev, Yu. Olesha, E. Petrov, I. Ilf, I. Babel and other young writers. In connection with the great employment of newspaper work, the writer had to deal with his own work in fits and starts. The leading genres of his early work were feuilletons, essays and short stories.

The outstanding talent of the writer manifested itself in the stories of the first half of the 1920s. "Diaboliad", "Fatal Eggs" and "Heart of a Dog". The writer's first novel, The White Guard, was published in 1925 in fragments on the pages of the Rossiya magazine (the first 13 chapters were published, after which the magazine was closed).

In 1926, the play "Days of the Turbins" was staged at the Moscow Art Theater, created by Bulgakov as a staging of "The White Guard" (in the course of numerous alterations, the writer significantly transformed the plot of the work; the system of characters was also transformed). Since that time, the writer devotes most of his time and energy to the theater: in the 1920s-1930s. the plays "Zoyka's Apartment" (1926), "Running" (1928), "Adam and Eve" (1931) and about a dozen other plays and dramatizations were written. However, the playwright had a bad relationship with theatrical censorship: after The Days of the Turbins, none of the plays ever saw the light of the limelight during the author's lifetime.

Bulgakov's poetics

Opening any collection of Bulgakov's works on the "Contents" page, an astute reader will surely notice the external diversity of the titles: "Notes of a Young Doctor", "Theatrical Novel", "Heart of a Dog", "White Guard". The heroes of Bulgakov appear before the reader either in a white coat (like the Moscow professor Preobrazhensky or the district doctor from the Murinskaya hospital), then in military uniform (like the characters of the White Guard), then in a leather jacket from someone else's shoulder (as "the head of the subdepartment for cleaning Moscow from stray animals "Sharikov). The scene of action is either Moscow, then Murye, which is forty miles from Grachevka (moreover, the geographical specifics in relation to this "bear corner" becomes simply inappropriate - it is clear that it is somewhere "very far away"), then the ancient Yershalaim and the procurator's palace Jews.

The neighborhood of "incompatible things" is manifested not only at the macro level of Bulgakov's prose: outwardly contrasting episodes, details, characteristics permeate any Bulgakov's work. On the pages of The Master and Margarita, the names of the legendary Pontius Pilate and the unknown poet Sashka Ryukhin, Rimsky (albeit without the suggestive continuation - Korsakov) and Berlioz (however, also not a composer) turn out to be side by side; in The Heart of a Dog, Engels, Kautsky, Polygraph Sharikov and Shvonder find themselves in the same ranks of "proletarian leaders". The formula of gratitude and devotion becomes, for example, the phrase: “I kiss my pants, my benefactor!” or: “Kick me in the snout with your felt boots, I won’t utter a word” (“Heart of a Dog”). The fiery walk of the cat Behemoth around Griboedov ends with the fact that he changed his browning and primus (let's pay attention to the degree of compatibility of “accessories”) for a “chef's, half-burnt robe” saved in a fire and “one-piece salmon in the skin and with a tail”; at the same time, the comic contrast of “half a robe” and “a whole salmon” is interesting to Bulgakov to the same extent as Woland’s final conversation with Levi Matvey about the fate of the Master. The philosophical discussion and the portrait of Behemoth waving his salmon tail at Woland coexist peacefully on one page.

The external incompatibility of "microelements" and the internal unity of the artistic "macroworld" are the most important distinguishing features of Bulgakov's work. The combination of diverse narrative elements is most clearly manifested in The Master and Margarita, primarily at the level of its linguistic structure. The heroes of the novel speak several languages: Yeshua's conversation with Pontius Pilate is in Aramaic, Latin, Greek, and the change of language is specially stipulated each time. The inscription "robber and rebel" on wooden tablets tied to the necks of Gestas, Dismas and Yeshua, who were executed in Yershalaim, was made in two languages - Aramaic and Greek. But at the same time, there is not a single word that would be written in Latin or Greek in Bulgakov's novel. Even the calling card of the “foreigner” Woland is described “in Russian”: “Poet<Иван Бездомный>I managed to make out on the card the word "professor" printed in foreign letters and the initial letter of the surname - a double "B". The "foreigner" himself does not pronounce a single word in any other language than Russian. Thus, in the linguistic structure of the novel, one of the most important artistic laws of Bulgakov's world finds expression - the absolute unity of heterogeneous phenomena.

With all the differences in the problems, compositional and speech structure of Bulgakov's works of different years, there are several important aspects that determine their internal unity. Let's highlight the main ones:

— combination and reciprocity of the real and the fantastic;

- grotesque transformation of everyday life into myth, mystics into everyday life;

- a satirical depiction of contemporary Soviet reality as a tragic farcical world in which infernal-demonic forces reign;

- opposed to the surrounding world - hostile and almost always aggressive - Bulgakov's hero: he is endowed with creative abilities and artistic talent, but almost always weak and vulnerable;

- the general principle of character placement: teacher (Yeshua, Master, Professor Preobrazhensky) - student (Levy Matvey, Ivan Bezdomny, Dr. Bormental) - traitor or provocateur (Judas, Aloisy Mogarych, Baron Meigel, Shvonder);

- an invariant plot scheme: the destruction of the harmonious (idyllic) world of the hero - and his real or unreal restoration;

- ambivalence (duality) of the content and structural elements of the narrative: Bulgakov's heroes paradoxically combine different "roles" (executioner and victim, student and traitor), and traditionally one-dimensional ethical categories - for example, "positive" good and "negative" evil - become simultaneously positive and negative values.

Of particular importance in the content structure of Bulgakov's works are biblical, primarily New Testament, motifs and associations. In the reader's mind, the gospel theme in Bulgakov's work is firmly associated with the novel The Master and Margarita. However, the story of Yeshua and Pontius Pilate is not the beginning, but the culmination of a long development of the biblical theme, which determined the meaning and functions of many cross-cutting motifs in Bulgakov's prose. Throughout the writer's creative evolution, biblical (Gospel) images and motifs were introduced into the artistic structure of a variety of works - from "Notes of a Young Doctor" (1925-1927) to the play "Batum" (dedicated to Stalin and completed in 1939). In the context of a single work, their presence can be almost imperceptible: Bulgakov never resorts to direct plot borrowing or the creation of modernized illustrations for biblical parables. But in a single corpus of all Bulgakov's works, the biblical subtext becomes visible, "manifests" - just as in riddle drawings, if one's vision is set correctly, a woman's face or the contours of a distant ancient city begin to appear through the outer lines of the autumn landscape.

Paradoxically, sometimes travesty transforming, biblical images and motifs are bizarrely woven into the grotesque reality of Bulgakov's world - but in the strange "transformations" of biblical motifs, the reader gradually discovers internal logic and stable patterns. In Bulgakov's early works, biblical allusions and reminiscences did not develop into an independent plot - but invariably illuminated the image of modern reality; in the final work of the writer - "The Master and Margarita" - the biblical story itself in the apocryphal version of the Master became an integral part of the novel about Moscow in the 1930s.

Let's observe some patterns that determine the deployment of biblical motifs in Bulgakov's works. In Notes of a Young Doctor, the episode of the arrival of a graduate of the medical faculty at the Murya hospital, abandoned in an unknown wilderness, retrospectively begins to acquire evangelical associations. Loneliness, a dreary feeling of abandonment, abandonment in a hostile world full of trials (“Steel Throat”, “Baptism by Turning”, “Towel with a Rooster”) and temptations (“Morphine”), from story to story, as the plot develops, they begin to be comprehended in context of the gospel narrative of the last days of the Son of Man. The operation to amputate a leg, which saved the life of a girl who fell into a crusher (the story “Towel with a Rooster”), is projected onto the gospel plot of the resurrection from the dead: the description of the operation is accompanied by an alarmingly pulsating “will die”, “will die now” - and ends with a miracle, “resurrection”, the perfect hero of the story. The title of the story "Baptism by Turning" also begins to be perceived through the prism of the biblical (and not just the usual language) meanings of the first word. The initial episode of the cycle - the “entry” of the young doctor to Murya - can now be read as an ironic paraphrase of the Gospel story about the entry into Jerusalem. The emphatically precise dating - “two hours five minutes on September 17, 1917” - gives the prosaically reduced scene the significance of a historical event, and the sacred number “forty” (“forty miles separating the county town of Grachevka from the Murinsky hospital”) ironically refers to the biblical symbolism of numbers and imposes a symbolic meaning on the tragicomic plot of the cycle.

In a similar way, the ambivalent (dual) nature of evangelical associations is also manifested in another story by Bulgakov on a "medical" theme - "Heart of a Dog".

Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (May 15, 1891 - March 10, 1940) was born in Kyiv in the family of an associate professor at a theological seminary. He was baptized by his own father, who considered it necessary to give his son a name in honor of the guardian of Kyiv - Archangel Michael.

Childhood

The Bulgakov family brought up 7 children, of which Mikhail was the eldest. As the writer recalled in the future, the mother treated them with all severity. Children received the exact concept of what is evil and good. The father, in turn, tried to instill in them big love to science.

The house of the Bulgakov family was located on Andreevsky Spusk, which is famous for its energy and incredible landscapes. boy with young years grew up in a special atmosphere of freedom and beauty.

Until the age of 9, Mikhail received home education, and then went to study at the Alexander Gymnasium, where at the beginning of the 20th century the strongest teachers in Kyiv taught. It was the gymnasium period that was marked by the first creative impulses of the future writer: Mikhail showed himself as a talented young poet and novelist, as well as a cartoonist and musician.

Youth

After graduating from the gymnasium, the question of continuing education was resolved simply: there were many relatives-doctors in the Bulgakov family. And the death of Father Athanasius from a kidney disease influenced the choice of the young man. Mikhail has always shown interest in how "a person works." Already in his second year, he left his bachelor life, marrying a graduate of the gymnasium Tatyana Lappa.

Plans for training were interrupted by the First World War. Mikhail decided to work in a hospital, but in the fall he was assigned to the Smolensk province. So he became a zemstvo doctor.

Youth

The wartime turned out to be depressing: diphtheria was often found among the sick. Bulgakov had to help everyone in need. He himself suffered from this, having become infected with a diphtheria bacillus from a sick boy. Morphine was the cure. Mikhail was able to recover from diphtheria, but could not give up the narcotic substance. Soon he needed two doses daily.

Being in a drug frenzy, the writer sat down at the table and tried to convey on paper everything that “visited” his head at that moment. And only thanks to his wife he was able to get rid of addiction.

retired doctor

After the First World War, many intellectuals left Russia. At that time, Mikhail served as a military doctor in the North Caucasus. Severe typhus, which fell down the writer, did not give him the opportunity to emigrate from the country in time. Later, he repeatedly reproached his wife for not making a decision and not taking him abroad. The reason for this desire was Bulgakov's special views, which ran counter to the political leaders. This can be clearly seen in his first large-scale works "Fatal Eggs", "Heart of a Dog," Zoya's Apartment.

An interesting fact: the respected Professor Preobrazhensky from the “Heart of a Dog” had his own real prototype. They became the uncle of Mikhail Bulgakov, the doctor Nikolai Pokrovsky. The work itself was first published only in 1987.

In 1919, the writer left the medical practice and married again. His wife was Lyubov Belozerskaya. Many mistakenly believe that Bulgakov dedicated the work "The Master and Margarita" to her. In fact, his muse was Elena Shilovskaya, who in 1929 "received the title" of the writer's third legal wife.

The novel "The Master and Margarita" became a real reflection of the fate of the writer himself. Despite the intertwining of modern and historical aspect, he was given the title "Gospel of the Devil". Main character novel - Master, became the very conductor between the past and the present: the times of Pontius Pilate and modern Moscow of the 30s.

In the early 1930s, the writer's financial condition wished for the best. He had to write a letter to Stalin with a request or to be given the opportunity to work or to be allowed to leave the country. So the theatrical period appeared in the life of the writer. He even wrote a play about Stalin, which was banned from staging. The only play that went on for many years on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater was the work "Days of the Turbins".

In 1939, Bulgakov began to use morphine again to relieve pain due to hypertensive nephrosclerosis. This disease was named official reason his death in March 1940. Enemies said that the departure of the writer accelerated his passion for the occult: devilry laid claim to his life.

The end of the 19th century is a complex and contradictory time. There is nothing surprising in the fact 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, scriptwriter and libretto of operas. Bulgakov's story is no less fascinating than his work, and the Literaguru team takes the liberty of proving it.

Birthday of M.A. Bulgakov - 3 (15) May. The father of the future writer, Afanasy Ivanovich, was a professor at the Theological Academy in Kyiv. Mother, Varvara Mikhailovna Bulgakova (Pokrovskaya), raised seven children: Mikhail, Vera, Nadezhda, Varvara, Nikolai, Ivan, Elena. The family often staged performances for which Mikhail composed plays. Since childhood, he loved performances, vaudeville, space scenes.

Bulgakov's house was a favorite meeting place creative intelligentsia. His parents often invited eminent friends who had a certain influence on the gifted boy Misha. He was very fond of listening to adult conversations and willingly participated in them.

Youth: education and early career

Bulgakov studied at the gymnasium No. 1 in the city of Kyiv. After graduating from it in 1901, he became a student at the medical faculty of 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 big family. His mother remarried. All children, except Mikhail, remained in good relations with 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 got a job in the village of Nikolsky (Smolensk province). Then some stories were written, later included in the cycle "Notes of a Young Doctor". Due to the routine of a boring provincial life, Bulgakov began to use drugs that were available to many representatives of his profession by occupation. He asked to be transferred to a new place so that drug addiction would be implicit for others: in any other case, the doctor could be deprived of his diploma. A devoted wife helped to get rid of the misfortune, who secretly diluted the narcotic substance. She in every possible way forced her husband to leave a bad habit.

In 1917, Mikhail Bulgakov received the position of head of the departments of the Vyazemsky city zemstvo hospital. A year later, Bulgakov and his wife returned to Kyiv, where the writer was engaged in private medical practice. Morphine addiction was defeated, but instead of drugs, Mikhail Bulgakov often drank alcohol.

Creation

At the end of 1918, Mikhail Bulgakov joined the officer detachment. It is not established whether he was called up as a military doctor, or whether he himself expressed a desire to become a member of the detachment. F. Keller, the second-in-command, disbanded the detachments, so that he did not participate in the fighting at that time. But already in 1919 he was mobilized into the army of the UNR. Bulgakov escaped. Versions regarding further fate writer disagree: some witnesses claimed that he served in the Red Army, some - that he did not leave Kyiv before the arrival of the Whites. It is authentically known that the writer was mobilized into the Volunteer Army (1919). At the same time he published the feuilleton "Future Prospects". Kyiv events are reflected in the works of " Extraordinary Adventure Doctor" (1922), "White Guard" (1924). It is worth noting that the writer chose literature as his main occupation in 1920: after completing his service in the hospital of Vladikavkaz, he began to write for the newspaper Kavkaz. Bulgakov's creative path was thorny: during the period of the struggle for power, an unfriendly statement addressed to one of the parties could end in death.

Genres, themes and issues

In the early twenties, Bulgakov wrote mainly works about the revolution, mostly 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" saw the light on the pages of the Berlin newspaper "On the Eve". Especially many essays and reports - 120 - were published in the newspaper Gudok (1922-1926). Bulgakov was a member of the Russian Association of 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 problematic was much broader and richer than allowed. For example, the social responsibility of scientists for their inventions, a 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 nevertheless, in each 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 forbidden to be staged: Bulgakov refused to make the text "ideologically correct". In 1928-29 the performances of Zoya's Apartment, Days of the Turbins, and Crimson Island were excluded from the theater repertoire.

But emigrants studied with interest key works Bulgakov. He wrote about the role of science in human life, about the importance right attitude to 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 considered moving abroad. He even wrote a letter to the Government, in which he asked either to be allowed to leave, or to be given the opportunity to work in peace. For the next six years, Mikhail Bulgakov was an assistant director at the Moscow Art Theater.

Philosophy

An idea of the philosophy of the master of the printed word is given by the most famous works. For example, in the story "Diaboliad" (1922), the problem of "little people" is described, which is so often addressed by the classics. According to Bulgakov, bureaucracy and indifference is a real diabolical force, and it is difficult to resist it. The already mentioned novel "The White Guard" is largely autobiographical in nature. This is the life story of one family in a difficult situation: Civil war, enemies, the need to choose. Someone believed that Bulgakov was too loyal to the White Guards, someone reproached the author for his loyalty to the Soviet regime.

The story "Fatal Eggs" (1924) tells a truly fantastic story of a scientist who inadvertently deduced the new kind reptiles. These creatures multiply incessantly and soon fill the entire city. Some philologists argue that the figures of the biologist Alexander Gurvich and the leader of the proletariat V.I. were reflected in the image of Professor Persikov. Lenin. Another famous story is Heart of a Dog (1925). Interestingly, in the USSR it was officially published only in 1987. At first glance, the plot is satirical in nature: the professor transplants the human pituitary gland into the dog, and the dog Sharik becomes a man. But is it a man?.. Someone sees in this plot a prediction of future repressions.

Originality of style

The main trump card of the author was mysticism, which he wove into realistic works. Thanks to this, critics could not directly accuse him of insulting the feelings of the proletariat. The writer skillfully combined frank fiction and real social and political problems. However, his fantasy elements- it is always an allegory for similar phenomena that actually occur.

For example, the novel The Master and Margarita combines the most different 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 power of justice in Soviet Moscow is the devil, because officials and their henchmen are stupid, greedy and cruel to their fellow citizens. They are the real evil. Against this background, the love story of the talented Master (and after all, Maxim Gorky was called the master in the 1930s) and the brave Margarita unfolds. Only mystical intervention saved the creators from certain death in crazy house. The novel, for obvious reasons, 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), a film based on which is watched to this day.

The nature of the writer

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 the talent of a storyteller: when he managed to overcome his shyness, everyone present listened only to him. The character of the author was based on best qualities Russian intelligentsia: education, humanity, compassion and delicacy.

Bulgakov loved to joke, never envied anyone and never looked for a 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": "To know." Such is his mean characteristic of his brilliant creation.

Personal life

While still a student, Mikhail Bulgakov married Tatyana Nikolaevna Lappa. The family had to face a shortage Money. The first wife of the writer is the prototype of Anna Kirillovna (the story "Morphine"): disinterested, wise, ready to support. It was she who pulled him out of the narcotic nightmare, together with her he went through the years of devastation and bloody strife of the Russian people. But a full-fledged family did not work out with her, because in those hungry years it was difficult to think about children. The wife suffered greatly from the need to have abortions, because of this, Bulgakov's relationship cracked.
So time would have passed if not for one evening: in 1924, Bulgakov was introduced Lyubov Evgenievna Belozerskaya. She had connections in the world of literature, and it was not without her help that The White Guard was published. Love has become not just a friend and comrade, like Tatyana, but also the muse of the writer. This is the second wife of the writer, the affair with which was bright and passionate.
In 1929 he met Elena Shilovskaya. Subsequently, he admitted that he only loved this woman. By the time of the meeting, both were married, but the feelings were very strong. Elena Sergeevna was next to Bulgakov until his death. Bulgakov had no children. The first wife had two abortions from him. Perhaps that is why he always felt guilty before Tatyana Lappa. The adopted son of the writer was Yevgeny Shilovsky.

Bulgakov's first work is The Adventures of Svetlana. The story was written when the future writer was seven years old.
The play "Days of the Turbins" was loved by Joseph Stalin. When the author asked to be released abroad, Stalin himself called Bulgakov with the question: “What, are you very tired of us?” Stalin watched Zoya's apartment at least eight times. It is believed that he patronized the writer. In 1934, Bulgakov asked for a trip abroad so that he could improve his health. He was refused: Stalin understood that if the writer remained in another country, then The Days of the Turbins would have to be removed from the repertoire. These are the features of the relationship between the author and the authorities
In 1938, Bulgakov wrote a play about Stalin at the request of representatives of the Moscow Art Theater. The leader read the script of "Batum" and was not too pleased: he did not want the general public to find out about his past.
"Morphine", which tells about the drug addiction of a doctor - autobiographical work, which helped Bulgakov overcome addiction. Confessing to paper, he received strength to fight the disease.
The author was very self-critical, so he liked to collect criticism strangers. He cut out all the reviews of his creations from newspapers. Of the 298, they were negative, and only three people praised Bulgakov's work in his entire life. Thus, the writer knew firsthand the fate of his hunted hero - the Master.
The relationship between the writer and his colleagues was very difficult. Someone supported him, for example, director Stanislavsky threatened to close his legendary theater if it bans the showing of The White Guard. And someone, for example, Vladimir Mayakovsky, offered to boo the screening of the play. He publicly criticized his colleague, very impartially assessing his achievements.
The Behemoth cat was, it turns out, not at all an invention of the author. Its prototype was Bulgakov's phenomenally smart black dog with the same nickname.

Death

Why did Bulgakov die? In the late thirties, he often spoke of imminent death. Friends considered it a joke: the writer loved practical jokes. Actually Bulgakov, 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 again began to use morphine to dull the pain. When he went blind, his wife wrote the chapters of The Master and Margarita for him from dictation. Editing stopped at the words of Margarita: “So, this, therefore, is the writers following the coffin?” On March 10, 1940, Bulgakov died. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Bulgakov's house

In 2004, the opening of the Bulgakov House, a museum-theater and a 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 a real Behemoth cat. The function of the museum is to preserve Bulgakov's legacy. The concept is connected with 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 manholes. For example, from the closet you can get into the secret room, where there is something like an office. There you can also see many exhibits talking about the writer's childhood.

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Born in the family of a teacher of the Kyiv Theological Academy Afanasy Ivanovich Bulgakov and his wife Varvara Mikhailovna. He was the eldest child in the family and had six more brothers and sisters.

In 1901-1909 he studied at the First Kyiv Gymnasium, after graduating from which he entered the Medical Faculty of Kyiv University. He studied there for seven years and submitted a report to serve as a doctor in the maritime department, but was refused for health reasons.

In 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War, he worked as a doctor in front-line hospitals in Kamenetz-Podolsk and Chernivtsi, in the Kiev military hospital. In 1915 he married Tatyana Nikolaevna Lappa. On October 31, 1916 he received a diploma "in the degree of a doctor with honors."

In 1917, he first used morphine to relieve the symptoms of diphtheria vaccination and became addicted to it. In the same year he visited Moscow and in 1918 returned to Kyiv, where he began the private practice of a venereologist, having stopped using morphine.

In 1919 during civil war Mikhail Bulgakov was mobilized as a military doctor, first into the Ukrainian army. people's republic, then to the Red Army, then to the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, then moved to the Red Cross. At this time, he began to work as a correspondent. On November 26, 1919, the feuilleton "Future Prospects" was first published in the Grozny newspaper signed by M.B. He fell ill with typhus in 1920 and remained in Vladikavkaz without retreating to Georgia along with the Volunteer Army.

In 1921, Mikhail Bulgakov moved to Moscow and entered the service of the Glavpolitprosvet under the People's Commissariat for Education as a secretary, led by N.K. Krupskaya, wife of V.I. Lenin. In 1921, after the department was disbanded, he collaborated with the newspapers Gudok, Rabochiy and the magazines Red Journal for Everyone, Medical Worker, Rossiya under the pseudonym Mikhail Bull and M.B., writes and publishes in 1922-1923 years "Notes on cuffs", participates in literary circles « green lamp”,“ Nikitinsky Subbotniks ”.

In 1924 he divorced his wife and in 1925 married Lyubov Evgenievna Belozerskaya. This year, the story “Heart of a Dog”, the plays “Zoyka’s Apartment” and “Days of the Turbins” were written, published satirical stories"Diaboliad", the story "Fatal Eggs".

In 1926, the play "Days of the Turbins" was staged with great success at the Moscow Art Theater, allowed on the personal instructions of I. Stalin, who visited it 14 times. In the theater. E. Vakhtangov with great success the premiere of the play "Zoyka's Apartment", which ran from 1926 to 1929, took place. M. Bulgakov moved to Leningrad, where he met with Anna Akhmatova and Yevgeny Zamyatin and was summoned several times for interrogation to the OGPU about his literary creativity. The Soviet press intensively scolds the work of Mikhail Bulgakov - for 10 years there have been 298 abusive reviews and positive ones.

In 1927, the play "Running" was written.

In 1929, Mikhail Bulgakov met Elena Sergeevna Shilovskaya, who became his third wife in 1932.

In 1929, the works of M. Bulgakov ceased to be published, the plays were forbidden to be staged. Then, on March 28, 1930, he wrote a letter to the Soviet government with a request either to give the right to emigrate, or to provide the opportunity to work at the Moscow Art Theater in Moscow. On April 18, 1930, I. Stalin called Bulgakov and recommended that he apply to the Moscow Art Theater with a request for enrollment.

1930-1936 Mikhail Bulgakov worked at the Moscow Art Theater in Moscow as an assistant director. The events of those years were described in the "Notes of a Dead Man" - "Theatrical Novel". In 1932, I. Stalin personally allowed the production of "Days of the Turbins" only in the Moscow Art Theater.

In 1934 Mikhail Bulgakov was admitted to Soviet Union writers and completed the first version of the novel The Master and Margarita.

In 1936, Pravda published a devastating article about the "false, reactionary and useless" play "The Cabal of the Hypocrites", which had been rehearsed for five years at the Moscow Art Theater. Mikhail Bulgakov went to work in Grand Theatre as a translator and librettist.

In 1939 he wrote the play "Batum" about I. Stalin. During its production, a telegram arrived about the cancellation of the performance. And a sharp deterioration in the health of Mikhail Bulgakov began. Hypertensive nephrosclerosis was diagnosed, vision began to fall, and the writer began to use morphine again. At this time he dictated to his wife last options novel The Master and Margarita. The wife draws up a power of attorney to manage all the affairs of her husband. The novel The Master and Margarita was published only in 1966 and brought world fame writer.

On March 10, 1940, Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov died; on March 11, the sculptor S.D. Merkulov removed from his face death mask. M.A. Bulgakov was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery, where, at the request of his wife, a stone from the grave of N.V. Gogol, nicknamed "Golgotha".