Facts about Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita

1. 06

   Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards cited The Master and Margarita as the inspiration behind the song Sympathy for the Devil.

   Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and MargaritaJun 8shareliteraturemusicinfluence
2. 05

   In the novel, the character Woland is a thinly veiled portrayal of the Devil, arriving in Moscow accompanied by a retinue of demonic assistants.

   Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and MargaritaJun 6shareliteraturefictionrussian
3. 04

   A central comic character in the novel, the giant talking black cat Behemoth, is named after a biblical demon mentioned in the Book of Job.

   Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and MargaritaJun 6shareliteraturereligionfiction
4. 03

   Bulgakov worked on The Master and Margarita for more than a decade, beginning drafts around 1928 and revising the manuscript until shortly before his death in 1940.

   Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and MargaritaJun 6shareliteraturerussianhistory
5. 02

   The novel weaves together two parallel narratives: the Devil's visit to Soviet Moscow and a retelling of Pontius Pilate's encounter with Yeshua Ha-Notsri.

   Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and MargaritaJun 6shareliteraturestructurefiction
6. 01

   Suppressed during the Soviet era, The Master and Margarita was first published posthumously in a censored magazine version in 1966–1967, decades after Bulgakov's death.

   Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and MargaritaJun 6shareliteraturecensorshiprussian