"He didn't deserve the light, he deserved peace."
There are few writers whose life and work are surrounded by as many mystical stories as those told about Mikhail Bulgakov. Some of these are true, some are fiction, and most often these myths are a blend of fact and fiction. On the 135th anniversary of the writer's birth, we recall seven legends associated with his name.
A stone from Gogol's grave
Bulgakov highly valued another great mystic, Nikolai Gogol. According to popular legend, the tombstone on Mikhail Afanasyevich's grave once stood on Gogol's.
The writer's third wife, Elena Sergeyevna, recounted seeing this stone in a workshop at the Novodevichy Cemetery. The workshop director explained that it was "Golgotha," removed from Gogol's grave when a new monument was erected for him. Whether this explanation is accurate is unknown. However, it is known that Gogol himself chose the stone for his tombstone in Crimea and named it "Golgotha" because of its resemblance to the mountain on which Christ was crucified.
The Curse of The Master and Margarita
One of the most famous Bulgakov myths is the "curse of The Master and Margarita." Attempts at film adaptations, one after another, ended in failure.
One director even claimed to have had a dream: the spirit of Bulgakov's widow predicted that no one would be able to make a film based on the work. The press reported strange incidents on the set and "mysterious" deaths of actors. However, skeptics believe this was nothing more than a publicity stunt.
The Master's Secret Testament
Another popular myth is that Bulgakov supposedly bequeathed half of the future royalties for the novel to the first person to visit his grave after its publication and lay flowers.
Journalist Vladimir Nevelsky, according to legend, did just that—and met the writer's widow, Elena Sergeyevna, who a few days later sent him a large money transfer. Nevelsky allegedly used the money to buy a boat and name it "Mikhail Bulgakov." Unfortunately, this story was entirely fabricated by Nevelsky himself. This was revealed by his daughter after his death.
"Manuscripts don't burn" - but the author burned them
The author of the proverbial phrase, like his hero, the Master, burned his manuscripts—and more than one. After being hounded in the press and the Main Repertoire Committee banning his play about Molière, "The Cabal of Hypocrites," Bulgakov destroyed drafts of "The Master and Margarita," the novel "Notes of a Dead Man"—the future "Theatrical Novel"—two volumes of "The White Guard," and his personal diary.
He subsequently burned the second edition of "The Master" as well—probably for safety reasons. He then reconstructed the novel from memory and surviving fragments.
Fire during a fire scene
On the night of January 22-23, 1934, Bulgakov dictated the scene of the fire that Behemoth the cat started in the "bad apartment" using a primus stove. And then a real fire broke out—also caused by a primus stove.
Here's how Elena Sergeyevna Bulgakova describes the incident: "I went into the kitchen to ask about dinner; Masha was doing the laundry. I was furious and yanked the basin off the kerosene stove, sending it flying off the table into the corner where a can and a quart of kerosene stood—uncovered. A fire broke out. I screamed, 'Misha!' He came running, just as he was, in just his shirt, barefoot, and found the kitchen already ablaze."
Silhouette of a cat on the wall
In the 1960s, after the novel was finally published, numerous legends arose around Bulgakov's house, where the "bad" apartment was located. To fuel the general excitement, painters renovating the building began to assure the enthusiastic public that they had been unable to paint the wall in the ill-fated apartment—the silhouette of a huge black cat kept appearing from beneath the paint.
Rail and head for the museum
Natalya Sklyarova, executive director of the Bulgakov House Museum and Theater, said: "The museum's founder and director wanted to create an exhibit in the form of a tram, but they were missing the tracks and the head. Literally two weeks passed, and during renovations, they found the track first, and on the second day, the head. At first, they thought it was real, but it turned out to be cast iron. Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov is helping us. A little chill ran down my spine."
