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The Devil has come to town.

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But don’t worry – all he wants to do 
is stage a magic show.

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This absurd premise forms the central plot
of Mikhail Bulgakov’s masterpiece,

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The Master and Margarita.

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Written in Moscow during the 1930s,

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this surreal blend of political satire, 
historical fiction, and occult mysticism

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has earned a legacy as one of the 20th 
century’s greatest novels–

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and one of its strangest.

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The story begins when a meeting between
two members of Moscow’s literary elite

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is interrupted by a strange gentleman 
named Woland,

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who presents himself as a foreign scholar

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invited to give a presentation 
on black magic.

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As the stranger engages the two companions
in a philosophical debate

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and makes ominous predictions 
about their fates,

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the reader is suddenly transported 
to first-century Jerusalem.

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There a tormented Pontius Pilate

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reluctantly sentences Jesus of 
Nazareth to death.

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With the narrative shifting between 
the two settings,

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Woland and his entourage– Azazello, 
Koroviev, Hella,

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and a giant cat named Behemoth–

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are seen to have uncanny magical powers,

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which they use to stage their performance

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while leaving a trail of havoc 
and confusion in their wake.

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Much of the novel’s dark humor comes 
not only from this demonic mischief,

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but also the backdrop 
against which it occurs.

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Bulgakov’s story takes place in the same 
setting where it was written–

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the USSR at the height of the 
Stalinist period.

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There, artists and authors worked 
under strict censorship,

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subject to imprisonment, exile, 
or execution

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if they were seen as undermining 
state ideology.

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Even when approved, their work–

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along with housing, travel, 
and everything else–

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was governed by a convoluted bureaucracy.

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In the novel, Woland manipulates this 
system along with the fabric of reality,

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to hilarious results.

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As heads are separated from bodies 
and money rains from the sky,

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the citizens of Moscow react with 
petty-self interest,

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illustrating how Soviet society bred greed
and cynicism despite its ideals.

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And the matter-of-fact narration 
deliberately blends

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the strangeness of the supernatural 
events

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with the everyday absurdity 
of Soviet life.

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So how did Bulgakov manage to publish 
such a subversive novel

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under an oppressive regime?

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Well… he didn’t.

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He worked on The Master and Margarita 
for over ten years.

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But while Stalin’s personal favor

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may have kept Bulgakov safe 
from severe persecution,

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many of his plays and writings 
were kept from production,

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leaving him safe but effectively silenced.

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Upon the author’s death in 1940,

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the manuscript remained unpublished.

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A censored version was eventually 
printed in the 1960s,

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while copies of the unabridged manuscript 
continued to circulate

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among underground literary circles.

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The full text was only published in 1973,

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over 30 years after its completion.

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Bulgakov’s experiences with censorship 
and artistic frustration

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lend an autobiographical air to the 
second part of the novel,

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when we are finally introduced 
to its namesake.

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‘The Master’ is a nameless author who’s 
worked for years on a novel

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but burned the manuscript 
after it was rejected by publishers–

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just as Bulgakov had done 
with his own work.

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Yet the true protagonist is the Master’s 
mistress Margarita.

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Her devotion to her lover’s abandoned 
dream bears a strange connection

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to the diabolical company’s escapades–

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and carries the story to 
its surreal climax.

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Despite its dark humor and 
complex structure,

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The Master and Margarita is, at its heart,
a meditation on art, love, and redemption

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that never loses itself in cynicism.

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And the book’s long overdue publication 
and survival against the odds

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is a testament to what Woland tells the 
Master: “Manuscripts don’t burn.”

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Bulgakov’s masterful Russian prose 
is often considered inimitable,

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though many have tried.

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Of the several English versions available,

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Pevear and Volokhonsky’s is often cited 
as the most complete and accurate;

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on the other hand, some consider Burgin 
and O’Connor’s earlier translation

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more successful at capturing the author’s 
style and humor.