The Master and Margarita summary read

The novel "The Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov (1928-1940) is a book within a book. The story about Satan's visit to Moscow at the beginning of the twentieth century contains a short story based on the New Testament, which was allegedly composed by one of Bulgakov's characters - a master. At the end, the two works are combined: the master meets his protagonist - the procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate - and mercifully decides his fate.

Death prevented Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov from completing work on the novel. The first journal publications of "The Master and Margarita" are dated 1966-1967, in 1969 a book with big amount abbreviations was published in Germany, and in the writer's homeland the full text of the novel was published only in 1973. You can get acquainted with its plot and main ideas by reading online summary"The Master and Margarita" by chapters.

main characters

Master- an unnamed writer, author of a novel about Pontius Pilate. Unable to bear the harassment from Soviet criticism, he goes crazy.

Margarita- his beloved. Having lost the master, he longs for him and, in the hope of seeing him again, agrees to become a queen at the annual ball of Satan.

Woland- a mysterious black magician who eventually turns into Satan himself.

Azazello- a member of Woland's retinue, a short, red-haired, fanged subject.

Koroviev- Woland's companion, a tall, thin type in a checkered jacket and pince-nez with one broken glass.

hippo- Woland's jester, turning from a huge talking black cat into a short fat man "with a cat's face" and back.

Pontius Pilate- the fifth procurator of Judea, in which human feelings are struggling with official duty.

Yeshua Ha-Nozri- a wandering philosopher, condemned to crucifixion for his ideas.

Other characters

Mikhail Berlioz- Chairman of MASSOLIT, the trade union of writers. He believes that a person himself determines his fate, but dies as a result of an accident.

Ivan Homeless- a poet, a member of MASSOLIT, after meeting with Woland and the tragic death of Berlioz, he goes crazy.

Hella- Woland's maid, an attractive red-haired vampire.

Styopa Likhodeev- Director of the Variety Theater, Berlioz's neighbor. Mysteriously moves from Moscow to Yalta to vacate an apartment for Woland and his retinue.

Ivan Varenukha- Variety administrator. Woland's retinue turns him into a vampire as a edification for his impoliteness and addiction to lies.

Gregory of Rome- the financial director of Variety, who almost fell victim to the attack of the vampire Varenukha and Gella.

Andrey Sokov- barman for the Variety.

Vasily Lastochkin- Accountant Variety.

Natasha- Margarita's housekeeper, a young attractive girl, after the mistress turns into a witch.

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy- the chairman of the housing association in the house where the "damned apartment" No. 50 is located, a bribe-taker.

Aloisy Mogarych- a traitor to the master, pretending to be a friend.

Levi Matvey- Yershalaim tax collector, who is so carried away by Yeshua's speeches that he becomes his follower.

Judas of Kiriath- a young man who betrayed Yeshua Ha-Notsri, who trusted him, being flattered by the reward. As a punishment for this, he was stabbed to death.

High Priest Kaifa- an ideological opponent of Pilate, destroying the last hope for the salvation of the convicted Yeshua: instead of him, the robber Bar-Rabban will be released.

Afranius- Head of the secret service of the procurator.

Part one

Chapter 1. Never Talk to Strangers

At Patriarch's Ponds in Moscow, Mikhail Berlioz, chairman of the MASSOLIT trade union of writers, and Ivan Bezdomny, a poet, are talking about Jesus Christ. Berlioz reproaches Ivan that in his poem he created a negative image of this character instead of refuting the very fact of his existence, and gives many arguments to prove the non-existence of Christ.

A stranger who looks like a foreigner intervenes in the conversation of the writers. He asks the question, who, since God does not exist, governs human life. Having disputed the answer that "the man himself controls", he predicts death for Berlioz: his head will be cut off by a "Russian woman, a Komsomol member" - and very soon, because a certain Annushka has already spilled sunflower oil.

Berlioz and Homeless suspect a spy of the stranger, but he shows them the documents and says that he was invited to Moscow as a specialist consultant in black magic, after which he declares that Jesus did exist. Berlioz demands proof, and the foreigner begins to talk about Pontius Pilate.

Chapter 2. Pontius Pilate

A beaten and poorly dressed man of about twenty-seven is brought to the trial of the procurator Pontius Pilate. Pilate, suffering from migraines, must approve the death sentence passed by the Holy Sanhedrin: the accused Yeshua Ha-Nozri allegedly called for the destruction of the temple. However, after a conversation with Yeshua, Pilate begins to sympathize with an intelligent and educated prisoner who, as if by magic, saved him from a headache and considers all people to be good. The procurator is trying to lead Yeshua to reject the words that are attributed to him. But he, as if not feeling danger, easily confirms the information contained in the denunciation of a certain Judas from Kiriath - that he opposed all authority, and therefore the authority of the great Caesar. After this, Pilate is obliged to approve the verdict.
But he makes another attempt to save Yeshua. In a private conversation with the high priest Kaifa, he interceded that of the two prisoners under the authority of the Sanhedrin, Yeshua should be pardoned. However, Kaifa refuses, preferring to give life to the rebel and murderer Bar-Rabban.

Chapter 3. Seventh proof

Berlioz tells the consultant that it is impossible to prove the reality of his story. The foreigner claims that he was personally present at these events. The head of MASSOLIT suspects that he is a madman, especially since the consultant intends to live in Berlioz's apartment. Having entrusted the strange subject to Homeless, Berlioz goes to a pay phone to call the Bureau of Foreigners. Following the consultant asks him to believe at least in the devil and promises some reliable proof.

Berlioz is about to cross the tram lines, but he slips on spilled sunflower oil and flies onto the tracks. The tram wheel, driven by a female tram driver in a Komsomol red kerchief, cuts off Berlioz's head.

Chapter 4. The Pursuit

The poet, struck by the tragedy, hears that the oil on which Berlioz slipped was poured out by a certain Annushka and Sadovaya. Ivan compares these words with those spoken by the mysterious foreigner and decides to call him to account. However, the consultant, who previously spoke excellent Russian, pretends that he does not understand the poet. A cheeky subject in a checkered jacket stands in his defense, and a little later Ivan sees them together in the distance and, moreover, accompanied by a huge black cat. Despite all the efforts of the poet to catch up with them, they hide.

Ivan's further actions look strange. He invades an unfamiliar apartment, being sure that the insidious professor is hiding there. Having stolen a small icon and a candle from there, Homeless continues the pursuit and moves to the Moscow River. There he decides to swim, after which he discovers that his clothes have been stolen. Having dressed in what he has - a torn sweatshirt and underpants - Ivan decides to look for a foreigner "at Griboyedov's" - in the MASSOLIT restaurant.

Chapter 5. There was a case in Griboyedov

"House of Griboyedov" - the building of MASSOLIT. Being a writer - a member of a trade union is very profitable: you can apply for housing in Moscow and summer residences in a prestigious village, go on "sabbatical", eat tasty and cheap in a luxurious restaurant "for your friends."

The 12 writers who have gathered for the MASSOLIT meeting are waiting for Chairman Berlioz, and without waiting, they go down to the restaurant. Having learned about the tragic death of Berlioz, they grieve, but not for long: "Yes, he died, he died ... But we are still alive!" - and continue to eat.

Ivan Homeless appears in the restaurant - barefoot, in underpants, with an icon and a candle - and begins to look under the tables for a consultant whom he blames for Berlioz's death. Colleagues try to calm him down, but Ivan gets furious, starts a fight, the waiters tie him up with towels, and the poet is taken to a psychiatric hospital.

Chapter 6. Schizophrenia, as it was said

The doctor is talking with Ivan Bezdomny. The poet is very glad that they are finally ready to listen to him, and tells him his fantastic story about a consultant who is familiar with evil spirits, "attached" Berlioz under the tram and personally knows Pontius Pilate.

In the middle of the story, Homeless recalls that it is necessary to call the police, but they do not listen to the poet from the insane asylum. Ivan tries to escape from the hospital, knocking out a window, but the special glass withstands, and Homeless is placed in a ward with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Chapter 7. Bad apartment

The director of the Moscow Variety Theater, Styopa Likhodeev, wakes up with a hangover in his apartment, which he shares with the late Berlioz. The apartment has a bad reputation - there are rumors that its former tenants have disappeared without a trace and that evil spirits are allegedly involved in this.

Styopa sees a stranger in black, who claims that Likhodeev made an appointment with him. He calls himself a professor of black magic Woland and wants to clarify the details of the signed and already paid contract for performances in the Variety, about which Styopa does not remember anything. Calling the theater and confirming the guest's words, Likhodeev finds him not alone, but with a checkered type in pince-nez and a huge talking black cat drinking vodka. Woland announces to Styopa that he is superfluous in the apartment, and a short, red-haired, fanged person named Azazello, emerging from the mirror, offers to "throw him out of Moscow to hell."

Styopa finds himself on the seashore in an unfamiliar city and learns from a passer-by that this is Yalta.

Chapter 8. Duel between professor and poet

Physicians, headed by Doctor Stravinsky, come to Ivan Bezdomny in the hospital. He asks Ivan to repeat his story again and asks what he will do if he is released now from the hospital. The homeless man replies that he will go straight to the police to report on the damned consultant. Stravinsky convinces the poet that he is too upset by the death of Berlioz to behave adequately, and therefore they will not believe him and immediately return to the hospital. The doctor invites Ivan to rest in a comfortable ward, and formulate a statement to the police in writing. The poet agrees.

Chapter 9. Koroviev's tricks

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, chairman of the housing association in the house on Sadovaya, where Berlioz lived, is besieged by applicants for the vacated square of the deceased. Barefoot visits the apartment himself. In the sealed office of Berlioz sits a subject who introduces himself as Koroviev, the translator of the foreign artist Woland, who lives with Likhodeev with the permission of the owner who left for Yalta. He invites Barefoot to hand over Berlioz's apartments to the artist and immediately gives him a rent and a bribe.

Nikanor Ivanovich leaves, and Woland expresses the wish that he does not appear again. Koroviev calls on the phone and says that the chairman of the housing association is illegally keeping currency at home. They come to Bosom with a search and instead of the rubles that Koroviev gave him, they find dollars. Barefoot is arrested.

Chapter 10. News from Yalta

In the office of the financial director, Variety Rimsky, he and the administrator Varenukha are sitting. They wonder where Likhodeev has disappeared. At this time, an urgent telegram from Yalta came to Varenukha's name - someone came to the local criminal investigation department, claiming that he was Stepan Likhodeev, and confirmation of his identity was needed. The administrator and the findirector decide that this is a joke: Likhodeev called four hours ago from his apartment, promising to come to the theater soon, and since then he could not move from Moscow to Crimea.

Varenukha calls Stepa's apartment, where he is informed that he has gone out of town for a ride in a car. The new version: "Yalta" - cheburek, where Likhodeev got drunk with the local telegraph operator and has fun, sending telegrams to work.

Rimsky orders Varenukha to take the telegrams to the police. An unfamiliar nasal voice on the phone orders the administrator not to carry the telegrams anywhere, but he still goes to the department. On the way, he is attacked by a fat cat-like man and a short, fanged subject. They deliver their victim to Likhodeev's apartment. The last thing Varenukha sees is a naked red-haired girl with burning eyes, who approaches him.

Chapter 11. Bifurcation of Ivan

Ivan Bezdomny in the hospital is trying to draw up a statement to the police, but he cannot clearly explain what happened. In addition to this, he is worried about the thunderstorm outside the window. After a soothing injection, the poet lies and talks “in his mind” to himself. One of the internal "interlocutors" continues to worry about the tragedy with Berlioz, the other is sure that instead of panic and chase, it was necessary to politely ask the consultant more about Pilate and find out the continuation of the story.

Suddenly, a stranger appears on the balcony outside the window of Homeless's ward.

Chapter 12. Black magic and its exposure

The findirector of the Variety Rimsky wonders where Varenukha has disappeared. He wants to call the police about this, but all the telephones in the theater are broken. Woland arrives at the Variety, accompanied by Koroviev and a cat.

Entertainer Bengalsky introduces Woland to the public, declaring that, of course, no black magic exists, and the artist is only a magician-virtuoso. Woland begins his “session with exposure” with a philosophical conversation with Koroviev, whom he calls Fagot, about how Moscow and its inhabitants have changed greatly outwardly, but the question of whether they have become different internally is much more important. Bengalsky explains to the audience that the foreign artist is delighted with Moscow and Muscovites, but the artists immediately object that they did not say anything like that.

Koroviev-Fagot shows a trick with a deck of cards, which is found in the wallet of one of the spectators. The skeptic, who decides that this spectator is in cahoots with a magician, finds a wad of money in his own pocket. After that, gold pieces begin to fall from the ceiling, and people catch them. The entertainer calls what is happening "mass hypnosis" and assures the audience that the pieces of paper are not real, but the artists again refute his words. Bassoon declares that he is tired of Bengalsky and asks the audience what to do with this liar. An offer is heard from the audience: "Tear off his head!" - and the cat rips off Bengal's head. The audience regrets the entertainer, Woland argues out loud that people, in general, remain the same, “the housing issue has only spoiled them,” and orders him to put his head back. Bengalsky leaves the stage and is taken away by an ambulance.

"Tapericha, when this annoying one has been fused, let's open a ladies' store!" - says Koroviev. Showcases, mirrors and rows of clothes appear on the stage, and the exchange of old dresses of spectators for new ones begins. When the store disappears, a voice from the audience demands the promised revelation. In response, Fagott reveals its owner - that yesterday he was not at work at all, but at his mistress's. The session ends with a scandal.

Chapter 13. Appearance of the hero

A stranger from the balcony enters Ivan's room. This is also a patient. He has a bunch of keys stolen from a paramedic, but when asked why he, having them, will not run away from the hospital, the guest replies that he has nowhere to escape. He informs Homeless about a new patient who keeps repeating about currency in ventilation, and asks the poet how he got here himself. Learning that “because of Pontius Pilate,” he demands details and tells Ivan that he met with Satan at the Patriarch's Ponds.

The stranger was also brought to the hospital by Pontius Pilate - Ivan's guest wrote a novel about him. He introduces himself to Homeless as a “master” and, as proof, presents a hat with the letter M, which was sewn for him by a certain “she”. Further, the master tells the poet his story - how he once won a hundred thousand rubles, quit his job in a museum, rented an apartment in the basement and began to write a novel, and soon met his beloved: “Love jumped out in front of us, like a murderer jumps out of the ground in an alley, and amazed both of us at once! This is how lightning strikes, this is how the Finnish knife strikes! " ... Just like the master himself, his secret wife fell in love with his novel, saying that her whole life was in it. However, the book was not taken to print, and when the passage was still published, the reviews in the newspapers turned out to be a failure - critics called the novel "Pilatchina", and the author was branded a "bogomaz" and "a militant Old Believer." Particularly zealous was someone Latunsky, whom the beloved master promised to kill. Soon after that, the master made friends with a fan of literature named Aloisy Mogarych, who did not like his beloved very much. Meanwhile, reviews continued to appear, and the master began to go crazy. He burned his novel in the oven - the woman who entered managed to save only a few charred sheets - and that very night he was evicted and he ended up in a hospital. The master has not seen his beloved since then.
A patient is placed in the next ward, who complains of an allegedly torn off head. When the noise dies down, Ivan asks the interlocutor why he did not let his beloved know about himself, and he replies that he does not want to make her unhappy: “ Poor woman... However, I have a hope that she has forgotten me! " ...

Chapter 14. Glory to the rooster!

From the window, the findirector of the Variety Rimsky sees several ladies whose clothes suddenly disappeared in the middle of the street - these are the unlucky clients of Fagot's store. He has to make several calls about today's scandals, but he is forbidden by the "depraved female voice" on the phone.

By midnight Rimsky remains alone in the theater, and then Varenukha appears with a story about Likhodeev. According to him, Styopa really got drunk in a cheburek "Yalta" with a telegraph operator and arranged a joke with telegrams, and also perpetrated many ugly antics, ending up in a sobering-up center. Rimsky begins to notice that the administrator is behaving suspiciously - he covers himself from the lamp with a newspaper, has acquired the habit of smacking his lips, has turned strangely pale, and has a scarf around his neck, despite the heat. And finally the findirector sees that Varenukha is not casting a shadow.

The exposed vampire closes the office door from the inside, and a red-haired naked girl enters through the window. However, these two do not have time to deal with Rimsky - a cock crow is heard. The findirector who miraculously escaped, turned gray overnight, hastily leaves for Leningrad.

Chapter 15. Dream of Nikanor Ivanovich

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy on all questions of law enforcement officers about currency repeats about evil spirits, the villain-translator and his complete innocence to the dollars found in his ventilation system... He confesses: "He took it, but took it with our Soviets!" ... He is transferred to psychiatrists. A squad is sent to apartment no. 50 to check the words of Barefoot about the translator, but finds it empty, and the seals on the doors are intact.

In the hospital Nikanor Ivanovich has a dream - he is again interrogated about dollars, but this happens in the premises of some strange theater, in which, in parallel with the concert program, the audience is required to hand over currency. He screams in his sleep, the paramedic calms him down.

Barefoot's screams woke up his hospital neighbors. When Ivan Homeless falls asleep again, he begins to dream about the continuation of the story about Pilate.

Chapter 16. Execution

Those sentenced to death, including Yeshua, are being taken to Bald Mountain. The place of the crucifixion is cordoned off: the procurator fears that they will try to take the convicts away from the servants of the law.

Soon after the crucifixion, spectators leave the mountain, unable to withstand the heat. The soldiers stay and suffer from the heat. But one more person lurked on the mountain - this is Yeshua's disciple, the former Yershalaim tax collector Matthew Levi. When the suicide bombers were taken to the place of execution, he wanted to get to Ha-Nozri and stab him with a knife stolen from a bread shop, saving him from a painful death, but he failed. He blames himself for what happened to Yeshua - he left the teacher alone, fell ill at the wrong time - and asks the Lord to give Ha-Nozri death. However, the Almighty is in no hurry to fulfill the request, and then Matthew Levi begins to murmur and curse him. As if a thunderstorm is gathering in response to the blasphemy, the soldiers leave the hill, and the commander of the cohort in a crimson robe rises to meet them. By his order, the sufferers on the pillars were killed with a spear prick in the heart, ordered to praise the magnanimous procurator.

A thunderstorm begins, the hill becomes empty. Levi Matthew approaches the pillars and removes all three corpses from them, after which he steals the body of Yeshua.

Chapter 17. A Troubled Day

Variety's accountant Lastochkin, who remained in charge of the theater, has no idea how to react to the rumors that Moscow is full of, and what to do with the incessant phone calls and investigators with a dog who have come to look for the missing Rimsky. The dog, by the way, behaves strangely - at the same time it is angry, afraid and howling, like an evil spirits - and does not bring any benefit to the search. It turns out that all the documents about Woland in the Variety have disappeared - even the posters are gone.

Lastochkin is sent with a report to the commission of spectacles and amusements. There he discovers that in the office of the chairman, instead of a man, an empty suit is sitting and signing papers. According to the tear-stained secretary, her boss was visited by a fat man who looked like a cat. The accountant decides to visit the branch of the commission - but there a certain checkered type in a broken pince-nez organized a choir singing circle, he disappeared, and the singers still cannot shut up.

Finally, Lastochkin arrives at the financial entertainment sector, wishing to hand over the proceeds from yesterday's performance. However, instead of rubles, his portfolio turns out to be currency. The accountant is arrested.

Chapter 18. Unlucky Visitors

The uncle of the late Berlioz Maxim Poplavsky arrives in Moscow from Kiev. He received a strange telegram about the death of a relative, signed with the name of Berlioz himself. Poplavsky wants to claim an inheritance - housing in the capital.

In the apartment of his nephew, Poplavsky meets with Koroviev, who sobs and paints describes the death of Berlioz. The cat speaks to Poplavsky, reports that it was he who gave the telegram, and demands the guest's passport, and then informs him that his presence at the funeral is canceled. Azazello expels Poplavsky out, telling him not to dream of an apartment in Moscow.

Immediately after Poplavsky, the barman Variety Sokov comes to the "bad" apartment. Woland voiced him a number of complaints about his work - green cheese, sturgeon of "second freshness", tea "looks like slops." Sokov, in turn, complains that the gold pieces at the checkout have turned into cut paper. Woland and his retinue sympathize with him and, incidentally, predict death from liver cancer in nine months, and when Sokov wants to show them the former money, the paper turns out to be gold pieces again.

The barman rushes to the doctor and begs him to heal the disease. He pays for the visit with the same chervonets, and after he leaves, they turn into wine labels.

Part two

Chapter 19. Margarita

The master's beloved, Margarita Nikolaevna, did not forget him at all, and the secure life in her husband's mansion was not dear to her. On the day of strange events with the barman and Poplavsky, she wakes up with the feeling that something will happen. For the first time during the time of separation, the master dreamed of her, and she goes to sort through the relics associated with him - this is his photograph, dried rose petals, a passbook with the remnants of his winnings and the charred pages of the novel.

Walking around Moscow, Margarita sees Berlioz's funeral. A small, red-haired citizen with a protruding fang sits down next to her and tells her about the head of the deceased, stolen by someone, after which, calling her by name, invites her to visit “a very noble foreigner”. Margarita wants to leave, but Azazello quotes lines from the master's novel after her and hints that by agreeing, she can find out about her lover. The woman agrees, and Azazello hands her some magic cream and gives her instructions.

Chapter 20. Cream of Azazello

Having smeared with cream, Margarita becomes younger, prettier and acquires the ability to fly. “Forgive me and forget about it as soon as possible. I leave you forever. Don't look for me, it's useless. I became a witch because of the grief and calamity that struck me. I have to go. Goodbye, ”she writes to her husband. Her maid Natasha enters, sees her and learns about the magic cream. Azazello calls Margarita and says that it's time to fly out - and a revived broom rushes into the room. Having saddled her, Margarita flies out the window in front of Natasha and her neighbor below, Nikolai Ivanovich.

Chapter 21. Flight

Margarita becomes invisible and, flying around Moscow at night, has fun with petty pranks, frightening people. But then she sees a luxurious house in which writers live, and among them is the critic Latunsky, who killed the master. Margarita enters his apartment through the window and arranges a pogrom there.

As she continues her flight, Natasha catches up with her on a hog. It turns out that the housekeeper rubbed herself with the remnants of the magic cream and smeared her neighbor Nikolai Ivanovich with it, as a result of which she became a witch, and he became a hog. After swimming in the night river, Margarita sets off back to Moscow in a flying car given to her.

Chapter 22. By candlelight

In Moscow, Koroviev escorts Margarita to a "bad" apartment and talks about Satan's annual ball, at which she will be the queen, mentioning that royal blood flows in Margarita herself. In an incomprehensible way, ballrooms are placed inside the apartment, and Koroviev explains this by using the fifth dimension.

Woland lies in his bedroom playing chess with the cat Behemoth, and Gella is rubbing ointment on his sore knee. Margarita replaces Gella, Woland asks the guest if she is suffering from something: "Perhaps you have some kind of sadness that poisons your soul, longing?" , but Margarita answers in the negative. It’s not long before midnight, and they’ll take her out to get ready for the ball.

Chapter 23. Satan's Great Ball

Margarita is bathed in blood and rose oil, the queen's regalia is put on her and she is led to the stairs to meet guests - long dead, but for the sake of a ball of criminals who have resurrected for one night: poisoners, pimps, counterfeiters, murderers, traitors. Among them is a young woman named Frida, whose story Koroviev tells Margarita: “When she was serving in a cafe, the owner once called her into the pantry, and nine months later she gave birth to a boy, took him into the forest and put a handkerchief in his mouth. and then buried the boy in the ground. At the trial, she said that she had nothing to feed the child. " Since then, for 30 years now, Frida has been brought that very handkerchief every morning.

The reception ends, and Margarita must fly around the halls and pay attention to the guests. Woland came out, to whom Azazello offered Berlioz's head on a platter. Woland releases Berlioz into oblivion, and his skull turns into a bowl. This vessel is filled with the blood of Baron Meigel, shot by Azazello, a Moscow official, the only living guest at the ball, in which Woland identified a spy. The cup is brought to Margarita, and she drinks. The ball ends, everything disappears and in the place of the huge hall there is a modest living room and a slightly open door to Woland's bedroom.

Chapter 24. Retrieving the Master

Margarita has more and more fears that there will be no reward for Satan's presence at the ball, but the woman herself does not want to remind of her out of pride, and even to a direct question from Woland replies that she does not need anything. “Never ask for anything! Never and nothing, and especially with those who are stronger than you. They themselves will offer and they themselves will give everything! " - says Woland, pleased with her, and offers to fulfill any wish of Margarita. However, instead of solving her problem, she demands that Frida stop serving the handkerchief. Woland says that the queen can do such a little herself, but his proposal remains in force - and then Margarita finally wishes that her "this very second, her lover, the master, should be returned to her."

The Master appears in front of her. Woland, hearing about the novel about Pilate, becomes interested in him. The manuscript, which the master burned, turns out to be completely intact in Woland's hands - "the manuscripts do not burn."
Margarita asks to return her and her lover to his basement, and so that everything will be as it was. The master is skeptical: others have lived in his apartment for a long time, he has no documents, they will look for him for escaping from the hospital. Woland solves all these problems, and it turns out that the master's living space was occupied by his "friend" Mogarych, who wrote a denunciation against him that the master keeps illegal literature.

At the request of her and Margarita, Natasha is left a witch. Neighbor Nikolai Ivanovich, to whom his appearance was returned, demands a certificate for the police and his wife that he spent the night at Satan's ball, and the cat immediately composes it for him. Administrator Varenukha appears and begs to release him from vampires, because he is not bloodthirsty.

In parting, Woland promises the master that his work will still bring him surprises. The lovers are taken to their basement apartment. There the master falls asleep, and the happy Margarita rereads his novel.

Chapter 25. How the procurator tried to save Judas

A thunderstorm is raging over Yershalaim. The head of the secret service, Afranius, comes to the procurator and reports that the execution has taken place, there is no disorder in the city, and the general mood is quite satisfactory. In addition, he talks about last hours life of Yeshua, quoting at the same time the words of Ha-Nozri that "among human vices one of the most important he considers cowardice."

Pilate orders Afranius to urgently and secretly bury the bodies of all three executed and to take care of the safety of Judas from Kiriath, whom, as he allegedly heard, “secret friends of Ha-Nozri” should be slaughtered that night. In fact, the procurator himself right now allegorically orders the chief of the secret guard for this murder.

Chapter 26. Burial

The procurator understands that he missed something very important today and that no orders of this will return. He finds some consolation only in communication with his beloved dog Banga.

Afranius, meanwhile, is visiting a young woman named Niza. Soon she meets in the city with Judas of Kiriath, who is in love with her, who has just received payment from Kaifa for betraying Yeshua. She makes an appointment with the young man in a garden near Yershalaim. Instead of a girl, Judas is met there by three men, they kill him with a knife and take a purse with thirty pieces of silver. One of these three - Afranius - returns to the city, where the procurator, awaiting the report, has forgotten himself to sleep. In his dreams, Yeshua is alive and walking with him along the lunar road, both of them are happy to argue about necessary and important things, and the procurator understands that, indeed, there is no vice worse than cowardice - and it was cowardice that he showed, being afraid to justify the free-thinker philosopher to the detriment of their career.

Aphranius says that Judas is dead, and a package with silver and a note "I return the damned money" was thrown to the high priest Kaifa. Pilate tells Aphranius to spread a rumor that Judas committed suicide. Further, the head of the secret service reports that Yeshua's body was found near the place of execution at a certain Levi Matthew, who did not want to give it up, but when he learned that Ha-Nozri would be buried, he resigned himself.

Levi Matthew is brought to the procurator, who asks him to show him the parchment with the words of Yeshua. Levi reproaches Pilate for the death of Ha-Nozri, to which he notes that Yeshua himself did not blame anyone. The former tax collector warns that he is going to kill Judas, but the procurator informs him that the traitor is already dead and he, Pilate, did it.

Chapter 27. End of Apartment No. 50

In Moscow, the investigation into the Woland case continues, and the police once again go to the "bad" apartment, where all ends lead. There is a talking cat with a primus stove. He provokes a firefight, which, however, dispenses with casualties. The voices of Woland, Koroviev and Azazello are heard, saying that it is time to leave Moscow - and the cat, having apologized, disappears, spilling burning gasoline from the primus. The apartment is on fire, and from its window four silhouettes - three men and one woman - fly out.

A subject in a plaid jacket and a fat man with a primus in his hands, who looks like a cat, come to the store that sells currency. The fat man eats tangerines, herring and chocolate from the shop window, and Koroviev calls on the people to protest against the fact that scarce goods are sold to foreigners for foreign currency, and not for their own - for rubles. When the police appear, the partners hide, setting up a fire beforehand, and move to Griboyedov's restaurant. Soon it will light up too.

Chapter 29. The fate of the master and Margarita is determined

Woland and Azazello are talking on the terrace of one of the Moscow buildings, looking at the city. Levi Matthew comes to them and says that "he" - meaning Yeshua - has read the master's novel and asks Woland to give the author and his beloved a well-deserved peace. Woland tells Azazello "to go to them and arrange everything."

Chapter 30. It's time! It's time!

Azazello visits the master and Margarita in their basement. Before that, they talk about the events of the past night - the master is still trying to comprehend them and convince Margarita to leave him and not ruin herself with him, she absolutely believes Woland.

Azazello sets fire to the apartment, and all three, riding on black horses, are carried away into the sky.

On the way, the master says goodbye to Homeless, whom he calls a disciple, and bequeaths to him to write a continuation of the story about Pilate.

Chapter 31. On Sparrow Hills

Azazello, the master and Margarita reunite with Woland, Koroviev and Begemot. The master says goodbye to the city. “In the first moments, an aching sadness crept up to my heart, but very quickly it was replaced by a sweetish anxiety, a wandering gypsy excitement. […] His excitement turned, as it seemed to him, into a feeling of bitter resentment. But that was unstable, disappeared and for some reason was replaced by a proud indifference, and it - a foreboding of constant peace. "

Chapter 32. Farewell and Eternal Refuge

Night comes, and in the light of the moon, the riders flying across the sky change their appearance. Koroviev turns into a dark knight in purple armor, Azazello into a desert demon-killer, Behemoth into a slender young page, "the best jester that has ever existed in the world." Margarita does not see her transformation, but the master acquires a gray scythe and spurs before her eyes. Woland explains that today is such a night when all the scores are settled. In addition, he informs the master that Yeshua has read his novel and noted that, unfortunately, it is not finished.

A person sitting in a chair and a dog next to them appear before the eyes of the riders. For two thousand years Pontius Pilate has seen the same dream - the lunar road, which he cannot follow. “Free! Free! He's waiting for you!" - shouts the master, letting go of his hero and completing the novel, and Pilate finally leaves with his dog along the lunar road to where Yeshua awaits him.

The very same master and his beloved awaits, as promised, peace. “Don't you want to walk with your friend during the day under the cherries that are starting to bloom and listen to Schubert's music in the evening? Wouldn't it please you to write by candlelight? goose feather? Do you really not want, like Faust, to sit over a retort in the hope that you will be able to fashion a new homunculus? There, there. There is already a house and an old servant waiting for you, the candles are already burning, and soon they will go out, because you will immediately meet the dawn, ”Woland describes him in this way. “Look, ahead of you is your eternal home, which you were given as a reward. I can already see the Venetian window and the climbing grapes, it rises to the very roof. I know that in the evening those whom you love, whom you are interested in and who will not disturb you will come to you. They will play for you, they will sing to you, you will see what kind of light is in the room when the candles are burning. You will fall asleep, putting on your greasy and eternal cap, you will fall asleep with a smile on your lips. Sleep will strengthen you, you will begin to reason wisely. And you won't be able to drive me away. I will take care of your sleep, ”Margarita picks up. The master himself feels that someone is releasing him, as he himself had just released Pilate.

Epilogue

The investigation into the Woland case reached a dead end, and as a result, all the oddities in Moscow were explained by the intrigues of a gang of hypnotists. Varenukha stopped lying and being rude, Bengalsky gave up the entertainer, preferring to live on his savings, Rimsky refused the position of findirector of the Variety, and his place was taken by the enterprising Aloisy Mogarych. Ivan Homeless left the hospital and became a professor of philosophy, and only on full moons he is disturbed by dreams about Pilate and Yeshua, the master and Margarita.

Conclusion

The novel "The Master and Margarita" Bulgakov originally conceived as a satire about the devil called "The Black Magician" or "The Great Chancellor". But after six editions, one of which Bulgakov burned with his own hand, the book turned out to be not so much satirical as philosophical, in which the devil in the form of the mysterious black magician Woland became only one of the characters. Motives came first. eternal love, mercy, the search for truth and the triumph of justice.

A brief retelling of "The Master and Margarita" by chapters is enough only for an approximate understanding of the plot and the main ideas of the work - we recommend that you familiarize yourself with full text novel.

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When studies are in full swing, there is absolutely not enough time to re-read the path, even your favorite work. Of course, the main thing in studying it is to remember and understand the main events in the novel, because in literature lessons, some questions about the plot can be confused. In order not to miss anything, it is best to make notes in the reader's diary, which the Literaguru team helps to compile.

(687 words) The events in the novel begin in Moscow in 1829: at the Patriarch's Ponds, the aspiring poet Homeless and the chairman of MASSOLIT Berlioz meet the real Satan, who has arrived in the capital with his retinue. Of course, Woland does not reveal his essence, but pretends to be a professor of black magic. Entering into a conversation, the stranger tells Berlioz that his head will be cut off, and the prediction comes true before Bezdomny's eyes: Berlioz was run over by a tram. After unsuccessful attempts to pursue the predicting stranger, Homeless tries to tell about what happened in Massolita, but the hero is mistaken for a madman and taken to a psychiatric clinic.

In the work, in parallel, the plot develops in ancient Yershalaim, told on behalf of Woland, or written by the hand of the Master in his novel. Interrogating Yeshua Ha-Nozri, Pontius Pilate realizes that he is by no means a criminal, but a philosopher, therefore he is trying to influence his release. However, the prosecutor does not succeed in this, as a result of which the convicted person is crucified on the cross for insulting the authority of Caesar.

Once again transported to Moscow, the reader observes the tricks of Woland's retinue - Koroviev, Behemoth, Azazzello and Gella. The company moves into the apartment of the late Berlioz, mysteriously expelling Stepan Likhodeev to Yalta. The chairman of the housing association, Bosoy, ends up in a psychiatric clinic because of bewilderment why the bribe from Koroviev turned into currency. And Likhodeev never received an answer to his telegrams from Yalta from the administrator Varenukha and the findirector of Variety Rimsky, who had lost him.

An important part of the novel is a performance at the Variety Theater, where evil spirits either make money rain or open a free ladies' store. Black magic impresses the audience, but after the performance everything "presented" by Woland's retinue disappears. Varenukha, turned by Gella into a vampire, frightens Rimsky, and he, turning gray with fear, leaves for Leningrad.

In a psychiatric clinic, Homeless meets the Master, who tells him about his meeting with Margarita and the novel, the writing of which he devoted all the time after winning a decent amount (in the lottery). The poet retells the dialogue with Satan to him, and the Master rejoices that what Woland said coincides with the manuscripts.

The hero's love story proceeded in secret, his chosen one is married. The chance meeting of the Master and Margarita on the street grew into a real feeling, and the girl went to her beloved man every day. When the novel was written to the end, the Master was refused publication. Yet the printed passage was heavily criticized as to why the Master chose to burn his creation. Margarita managed to save several sheets, and decided, after saying goodbye to her husband, to return to her beloved Master forever, but she did not find him.

Having met Azazello in the Alexander Garden, Margarita desperately agrees to meet with a noble foreigner in the hope of learning at least something about the Master. She also takes a magic cream from Azazello, thanks to which she acquired the ability to fly and the gift of invisibility. Having arranged a rout in the house of the critic Latunsky for persecuting her beloved, Margarita meets Woland, who asks her to be queen at his ball in exchange for fulfilling her wish. The girl has no choice but to take on the role of the hostess of Satan's ball, because Woland can return her loved one to her. However, after the ball, Margarita makes plans to help Frida so that she no longer sees the scarf reminding her of the tragedy with the child (the woman strangled him). After the fulfillment of this desire, Satan returns the Master and his burned manuscript to Margaret.

Turning to chapters two storyline, which Margarita reads in the novel The Master. We discover that Pontius Pilate did not calm down, so he gives the order to the head of his secret service to kill Judas, because he allowed Yeshua to be arrested for money. After the murder was committed, the follower of the philosopher, Levi Matthew, was brought before the prosecutor with the written sermons of Yeshua, and Pontius Pilate reads that "the most important vice is cowardice."

Koroviev and Begemot finish their own adventures, and the entire "dark" gang ends their stay in the capital. Levi Matthew appeared and passed on Yeshua's request to Woland to take the Master with him. The hero did not deserve the light, so peace will be his best reward.

Azazello appears in the apartment of the Master and Margarita and gives them the wine presented by Woland, but after drinking it, the lovers die. Further, the action takes place in the other world: in flight, Woland shows the Master Pontius Pilate, who is still tormented for having executed Yeshua. But the Master frees his hero, and Pontius Pilate strives along the lunar road to the wandering philosopher Yeshua. The Master and Margarita remain together in the other world.

The epilogue of the work unfolds on attempts to find an explanation for the tricks of evil spirits, and the only thing that plausibly justifies what happened in Moscow is hypnosis. The poet Homeless, now known as Ponyrev, becomes a professor at the Institute of History and Philosophy, and in a dream he sees the Master and Margarita, as well as Yeshua telling Pontius Pilate that there was no execution.

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It was unusually hot in Moscow on an ordinary spring day. Two men were walking by the Patriarch's Ponds. Their names were Mikhail Aleksandrovich Berlioz and Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, who had the pseudonym Homeless. The first was the editor of a certain art magazine, and his interlocutor was an aspiring poet. They wanted to quench their thirst, so they bought a warm apricot at the Beer and Water booth and went to an unexpectedly empty and deserted alley. Sitting down on a bench, they continued their conversation. Berlioz said that his heart suddenly became ill and that he intended to rest in Kislovodsk. He saw some skinny ghostly citizen in a plaid jacket. Berlioz was seriously scared, which is why he closed his eyes. When he looked at the place again, the vision was gone. The topic of the conversation turned to the creation of Bezdomny. The latter wrote a poem, the purpose of which was to show that Jesus Christ did not exist. The homeless man negatively portrayed his hero, which allowed Berlioz to decide that Jesus was portrayed too believably. The chairman of MASSOLIT persistently expressed his point of view and anti-religious attitude. At this time, a stranger walked along the alley, asking permission to join Berlioz and Bezdomny. In the future, no one could reliably describe him, but he was a brunette of about 40 years old with different eyes and a crooked mouth. There was a clear impression that he was a foreigner. The stranger was delighted that his interlocutors did not believe in God, but he worried - if there is no Almighty, then who controls human life? For example, a person may be going to leave for Kislovodsk, but how will he do it if on the same day he will be hit by a tram? Berlioz began to argue with him, but the stranger insisted that no one knew what would become of him in the evening. After all, Annushka had already managed to buy and even spill sunflower oil ... The homeless man was terribly unhappy with the foreigner's speeches, to which he only advised to find out what schizophrenia was. Here Woland began his story about Jesus ...

Chapter 2

On the day of the events described, Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea, tortured headache... Nevertheless, the accused of destroying the Yershalaim temple was brought to him. Of this young man name was Yeshua Ha-Nozri. He argued that he did not call for the destruction of the temple, and this is just a ridiculous mistake. However, Yeshua still said that he recently spoke about the collapse of the temple of the old faith and the creation of a new one. Pontius Pilate asked the accused his understanding of the truth, to which he received an accurate description of his headache. After a while, the pain subsided, which made the procurator believe in magical powers stranger. Pontius Pilate already wanted to release Yeshua, but received a denunciation against him, which spoke of his negative attitude towards the great Caesar, which could not be forgiven. Yeshua realized that he was speaking only to Judas. The prisoner was sentenced to death, and he was not acquitted even in honor of Easter.

Chapter 3

Evening came. The story interested the audience, although it did not correspond to the Gospel. Woland claimed that he saw it with his own eyes. Berlioz, thinking that he had contacted a madman, decided to call the address. Finally, the foreigner said that Satan exists. On the way to the phone, Berlioz saw the same man in a checkered jacket. Approaching the turnstile, the chairman lost his balance and fell straight onto the rails. Berlioz's head flew down Bronnaya Street.

Chapter 4

The homeless man was shocked by what was happening. Girls passed by him, discussing a certain Annushka who had spilled oil. The homeless man began to chase after the mysterious professor. The young poet went to the Griboyedov House, hoping to find a foreigner there

Chapter 5

In the House of Griboyedov, the meetings of MASSOLIT were held, on the ground floor one could have an excellent dinner in a magnificent restaurant. Twelve writers sat waiting for Berlioz. Homeless came and announced the sad news. The poet behaved extremely strangely, wanting to find a foreigner, so his colleagues decided to call the workers of the psychiatric hospital.

Chapter 6

In the psychiatric hospital, Bezdomny persistently tried to explain what was the matter, but in response he received only an injection of a sedative. The doctor suggested that Ivan developed schizophrenia.

Chapter 7

Waking up in his apartment, Styopa Likhodeev only wanted to be shot, he had such a headache after drinking the day before. The hero of this chapter was the director of the Variety Theater and lived with the late Berlioz in an apartment at 302-bis on Sadovaya Street. Getting out of bed, Styopa saw Woland, a specialist in black magic, with whom he somehow managed to conclude an agreement for 7 performances. Likhodeev spoke on the phone with Rimsky about the poster and began to call the servant Grunya, complaining about the presence of a cat in the apartment, but the housekeeper was in his native Voronezh. Returning to the room, he was surprised that his guests were a foreign professor, a stranger in pince-nez and a huge cat. Woland said that he and his retinue needed a place to live. A strange redhead with a protruding fang emerged from the mirror. Without noticing it, Styopa Likhodeev ended up in Yalta.

Chapter 8

At the same time, Ivan Homeless woke up in the hospital. He was asked to take a bath. Inadvertently, the nurse mentioned foreigners, which infuriated the poet, but he restrained himself in time. Then Bezdomny was interrogated by doctors in white coats. They managed to find out everything that happened to Ivan from childhood until the day he met Woland. Hearing the doctors talk about schizophrenia, Bezdomny remembered the words of a foreigner. Was he right and foresaw everything in advance? Ivan decided to inform the doctor about this, since an intruder is roaming free in Moscow. The doctor advised me to put everything on paper.

Chapter 9

Nikonor Ivanovich Bosoy, the chairman of the housing association of the building 302-bis, was tormented by the "housing problem", since after the death of Berlioz others wanted to take his place. Nikonor Ivanovich hid from the annoying visitors in the office, but there he saw a man who introduced himself as Koroviev. The purpose of his visit was a request to rent the apartment of the deceased Berlioz and the departed Likhodeev for a week. Barefoot signed a contract and asked for two tickets for a foreign professor to speak, whose translator was Koroviev. Some time after the latter left, it was reported to Barefoot that he was allegedly speculating in currency. In the ventilation in Nikonor Ivanovich's apartment, they found not rubles, as Bossy expected, but dollars. He wanted to show the translator's passport and a copy of the contract, but they were not in the suitcase.

Chapter 10

The workers of the Variety Theater, Rimsky and Varenukha began to worry about the absence of Styopa Likhodeev. They were preparing for the speeches of the professor of black magic Woland, whom, as it turned out, no one had seen. A telegram came from Yalta, in which Likhodeev asked to urgently send him money and said that he did not know how he got there. Varenukha was ordered to urgently carry the telegram where necessary. When he was about to carry out the assignment, the phone rang. Varenukha picked up the receiver and heard a voice forbidding him to go anywhere. Varenukha ran out into the garden in horror, and then went into the lavatory to check the light bulb. There he saw a fat red-haired man and a huge cat. They were unhappy that Varenukha did not heed the warning. It started raining heavily. The robbers carried Varenukha to a bad apartment on Sadovaya and disappeared. The naked girl kissed him, after which he fainted.

Chapter 11

Despite countless attempts, Ivan was never able to notify the suspicious foreigner about the arrival. After a sedative injection, Homeless abandoned his plan. However, he was not left alone by the professor's story about Yeshua and Pontius Pilate. Suddenly, a certain person appeared on the balcony, thereby disrupting the poet's sleep.

Chapter 12

Rimsky is shocked by the sudden disappearance of Varenukha and Likhodeev. A black magician and two of his attendants arrived at the theater. Entertainer Bengalsky announced that at the performance they would not only show the wonders of black magic, but also expose them. Koroviev began the show. He truthfully said that a deck of cards is in the pocket of one of the spectators along with a subpoena. The assistant magician was objected that this was an old trick, to which Koroviev said that now this citizen has the deck. However, it turned out to be not cards, but money. The audience was asked to joke like this with others. Money rain fell. Bengalsky decided that this was an example of general hypnosis. He got tired of the speakers, and when they asked what can be done with the annoying master of ceremonies, someone said that he had to tear his head off. Behemoth the cat agreed with the proposal. The audience was shocked and asked to return the head to its place, which was immediately done. Further, it was mainly women who had fun. A store of chic, expensive French outfits appeared on the scene. The spectators immediately ran to exchange their clothes for foreign dresses. Meanwhile, Sempleyarov demanded the exposure of the tricks, but instead he himself was exposed.

Chapter 13

The stranger cautiously entered Ivan's room. It showed that he was also being treated at the hospital. The homeless man introduced himself as a poet, but said that he did not like his poetry. The visitor advised them not to write any more. He was also surprised that both he and Ivan ended up here because of the book about Pontius Pilate. Nevertheless, the poet's story about a foreigner at the Patriarch's Ponds did not arouse any emotions in him, and he immediately said that Ivan had met Satan. The night visitor asked to call himself a master. He used to work in a museum, but then he won 100 thousand rubles in the lottery and started writing a novel. In the spring, the master met his love in one deserted Moscow alley. Both of them were unhappy in their previous relationship, and now they have become inseparable. But their serene life was interrupted by a series of failures due to the refusal to print the novel. However, then some piece was published, but the critic Latunsky immediately gave him a negative review, thereby putting an end to the fate of the novel. The master threw the manuscripts into the oven. Shortly before these events, he became friends with a certain journalist Aloisy Mogarych. It was to him that the master gave the novel to read. Once the beloved master decided to confess to her husband that she did not love him and finally settle with her lover. After she left, there was a knock on the door ... To this the master breaks off his story, saying only that in mid-January his former apartment was occupied, and he came here without warning his beloved.

Chapter 14

Rimsky examined the remnants of the rain of money in his study. Outside the window, the police trill and the screams of women who suddenly found themselves in their underwear could be heard. Rimsky decided that something should be done about this, but the phone rang. An insidious female voice ordered to remain inactive. Varenukha came and said that Likhodeev was simply writing drunk telegrams from the Yalta tavern near Moscow. Rimsky did not believe, which made him even more frightened. He saw that Varenukha did not cast a shadow. A red-haired girl flew in through the window. Rimsky, escaped by the crows of a rooster, drove away the evil spirits, immediately left for Leningrad.

Chapter 15

Nikanor Ivanovich was sent to mental asylum, but he tried to find out at least some details of what happened. He talked about what happened, but the doctors decided that he was completely out of his mind and gave an injection. Falling asleep, he saw a man on the stage, calling for the surrender of currency. Then the cooks ran out. But in fact, there was a paramedic in front of him, who gave him another injection, after which Barefoot plunged into deep dream... Ivan also dreamed of what was happening on Bald Mountain.

Chapter 16

Three perpetrators were taken to Bald Mountain. The heat was unprecedented. Onlookers, who wanted to look at the tortured convicts, fled to their homes at four o'clock. Everyone except Matthew Levi, Yeshua's friend. He wished Ha-Nozri a speedy death, which would save him from torment. Having lost patience, Levi Matthew cursed God. Thunder burst out. The prisoners were killed. Levi Matthew took the body of Yeshua.

Chapter 17

Onlookers crowded around the Variety Theater. There was no one in the building except for the minor staff and the accountant Lastochkin. The latter had to carry the proceeds to the financial entertainment department. All taxi drivers refused to take him, because such ducats turn into pieces of paper. The Commission of Spectacles was also uneasy - in the place of its chairman there was only one talking suit. All the employees of the branch sang in chorus and could not stop, after which they were also sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Chapter 18

Citizen Poplavsky, Berlioz's uncle, arrived from Kiev, since his nephew personally invited him to his funeral. Poplavsky had long wanted to move to Moscow, so he wanted to inherit this apartment. In the apartment he was met by a cat and a man in plaid. The latter began to talk about the death of the tenant of the apartment. The cat demanded a passport and ordered Poplavsky to return to Kiev. Azazello let Uncle Berlioz down the stairs. The next visitor was the barman of the Variety Theater, who wanted to exchange the papers for chervonets. Woland predicted his imminent death from liver cancer. The frightened barman went to the doctor. His analyzes were perfect.

Chapter 19

The beloved master's name was Margarita Nikolaevna. It was smart and beautiful woman 30 years old, since 19 years old she has been in a childless marriage with a large and wealthy specialist. Although Margarita lived in prosperity, her husband adored her, she was unhappy. Her heart did not know love until she met the master, but then he also disappeared. One day she woke up with the thought that something must change. She went for a walk to the Kremlin walls. The funeral of Berlioz was going on there, but, surprisingly, someone stole the head of the deceased. Azazello was next to Margarita. He invited her to visit. At first, Margarita wanted to refuse the dubious offer, but it turned out that Azazello knew where the master was, and she immediately agreed. Finally, he left her a jar of cream, which Margarita had to rub herself with, stripping naked.

Chapter 20

At half past nine, Margarita fulfilled the prescribed instructions. She has turned into an adorable witch. Margarita left a note to judge and gave all her clothes to the servant Natasha and flew away after Azazello's call.

Chapter 21

Flying a little invisible over Moscow, she went to the apartment of the critic Latunsky, who killed the master. Margarita destroyed everything that was possible there. Flew out, she saw a small frightened boy and began to calm him down. Then she flew over the woods. Natasha caught up with her, smeared with a miraculous ointment. Margarita flew to the river, where witches and mermaids met her. Then she returned to Moscow by car.

Chapter 22

After escorting Margarita to a bad apartment, Azazello disappeared. Koroviev met her there. Instead of an ordinary apartment inside there is a huge hall with columns. Koroviev explained why Margarita was to become the queen of the ball - she was the only woman in Moscow in whom royal blood flowed. The woman was taken to a room where Woland and his retinue were. The host of the ball advised Margarita to drop all fears and not drink anything but water.

Chapter 23

For the time of the ball, a heavy chain was put on Margarita's neck, and a diamond was injected into her hair. Before she was bathed in blood and rose oil. The guests were the dead who once took upon themselves a grave sin. They all approached Margarita and kissed her knee. She singled out one guest especially - it was Frida, who buried her illegitimate son alive. Before that, she put a handkerchief with a blue border in his mouth. Since then, she was given the same handkerchief every day. Frida asked Margarita to stop returning the handkerchief. Woland came into the hall with the head of Berlioz. The curious Baron Meigel somehow entered the ball. The uninvited guest was killed, and his blood was filled into a cup, into which Berlioz's head turned into. The crowing of the roosters gradually began to disperse the guests.

Chapter 24

As a reward for the reception of the ball, Margarita could ask for whatever she wanted. She asked to stop giving Frida a handkerchief. Woland complied with the request, but did not take it seriously and gave a second chance. Margarita demanded that the master be returned to her. The master came and told about everything that had happened in the last few months. Woland also resurrected the master's novel. From the basement where used to live master, expelled Aloisy Mogarych, who later occupied him. The Master and Margarita returned home.

Chapter 25

In Yershalaim, Pontius Pilate met with an employee of the secret service, who told that Yeshua did not drink before his death and did not blame anyone for what had happened, only mentioned that terrible sin Is cowardice. Pontius Pilate warned his interlocutor that the greedy Judas of Cariathos would be killed at night, and gave him a bag of money.

Chapter 26

The head of the secret service met with the girl Niza, who had an appointment with Judas in Heximania. But they never saw each other - Judas was killed, and the money was taken away. On Bald Mountain, only two bodies were found. Levi Matthew decided to bury Yeshua personally. Pontius Pilate dreamed of a living Ha-Notsri, and the only thing that the procurator wanted was to save the philosopher. He was awakened by the news of the death of Judas. Pontius Pilate wanted to see Matthew Levi.

Chapter 27

Further attempts were made to eliminate the magician. The special services found out that he was hiding in a bad apartment. However, no evidence was found there. Woland and his retinue were found in the ill-fated place only a few days later during breakfast. No one was caught. The fire started.

Chapter 28

Saying goodbye to the capital, Koroviev and Begemot decided to have some fun. They ate some chocolate and tangerines and then fled. A fire started in the store. Koroviev and Behemoth went to the "Griboyedov House". The director of the restaurant, realizing that these were not easy guests, ordered them to pass and serve. the best way... Two men came and started shooting at the unexpected visitors. They "washed away" again after the start of the fire.

Chapter 29

Woland and Azazello stood on the roof of Pashkov's house and admired Moscow. Levi Matthew came to them. He was sent by Yeshua with a request to grant peace to the master and Margarita. Azazello was instructed to carry out the decree.

Chapter 30

The Master and Margarita were living peacefully in their basement when Azazello came to them. They began to drink brandy. Then Azazello took out a bottle of wine, a gift from Woland, which Pontius Pilate himself had been drinking. After trying the drink, the lovers fell asleep with eternal sleep. Then they put a few more drops in their mouths, which made them wake up. Azazello said that they were granted peace and set fire to the apartment along with the novel.

Chapter 31

On Sparrow Hills, Woland with his retinue met the master and Margarita. They said goodbye to the city, cherishing in their hearts the hope for a happy future.

Chapter 32

After a long flight, they landed in a rocky area, where Pontius Pilate was sitting in a chair, and next to him was a loyal dog. He was granted immortality, which tormented him incredibly. Margarita asked to relieve the procurator of agony, but only the master could do this. The mountains collapsed, and Pontius Pilate walked along the moonlit path, where Yeshua met him. The Master and Margarita now lived in a cozy house surrounded by a blossoming cherry orchard and listened to Schubert.

Epilogue

In Moscow, they were still trying to catch evil spirits. Ivan Bezdomny became a professor of history and philosophy. Every year he suffered on the day of the spring full moon, and at night he dreamed of the heroes of his previous poems.

Everyone has their own love story in life. For some there are no barriers to fully love and be loved, but for others there are many barriers on the way to love. And it all comes down to the fact that everyone has different love stories that cannot be compared.

Margarita is a woman who truly and faithfully loved her Master, who loved her the same way. And this still young woman was capable of anything for the sake of her beloved. The master is a person whom no one could understand, and therefore he ended up in a psychiatric hospital, and they did not want to release him, and at that time it was very strict with this. This man once wrote a book in his life - a novel about Pontius Pilate, which nobody liked except his beloved. But nevertheless, one passage came out of this book from the editorial office, which was printed in the magazine, but it drew a lot of criticism. One of the critics was especially strict and critical of the writer. So the Master was simply placed in a hospital for psychiatric patients. Margarita did not know where her beloved had disappeared. But in the end, she had no choice but to live her life further, albeit without a Master. She is, after all, a married woman who secretly made a lover, that is, she eats the Master, who loved him so mutually. But her husband is rich - and therefore, she began to behave accordingly, often recalling these sad and beautiful moments in her life.

Meanwhile, the following events are taking place on Patriarch's Ponds Street in Moscow. Two passers-by, sitting on a bench, begin to argue about the existence of Jesus Christ. One of them, who is particularly atheistic, is Berlioz, a writer, and the other is Ivan the homeless, who is a poet. And suddenly a third person appears who looks like a foreigner, since he is dressed all in black, and his eyes are of a strange color - so deep and dark that it then makes them nervous. This man is Woland. He introduces himself as a black magician. And proves that Jesus Christ once really existed on Earth. And he says that he saw it, since he was present at the same time. He also, to prove his words, tells what will soon happen to Berlioz. He will die in just a few minutes. After all, a certain Annushka has already poured sunflower oil, and a woman - a member of the Komsomol will cut off his head. Berlioz quietly goes to call the bureau of foreigners, which leads to his death, recently predicted by Woland.

Ivan Bezdomny begins to accuse Woland, but here a guy in a checkered suit steps in for the foreigner. Then the poet sees this strange couple together, and also, next to him, a huge black cat. He begins to follow them, and therefore, from his nerves, he commits many strange and extraordinary actions - and ends up in the same hospital. And the unusual company continues to create various antics, because of which people either die or end up in a mental hospital. And everyone is talking about some Woland, a black magician. Previously, there were posters with his participation in the show, but suddenly they all disappeared at once, and also, Woland himself and his friends, too, sank into the water. The police starts looking for these strange people, because they made so much rustle that even the police believed in the end.

Once Margarita was walking around the city, and sat down on a bench to rest, but suddenly a strange subject appeared in a plaid suit and the same cap, who spoke to her and told her an unusual story. He also invited her to visit a certain foreigner named Woland. The woman did not want to listen further, and was about to go, but after the man said words to her that made her change her mind. After all, these were quotes from the Master's novel about Pontius Pilate. Then she becomes a witch, and also gets to the ball to Satan, that is, Woland, as the queen of the ball. Woland returns the masters to her, and they continue to travel the world together with the magician and his friends.

What does the story Master and Margarita teach

The novel teaches justice, honesty and true love.

Read a detailed summary of Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita" by chapters

Chapter 1

Patriarch's Ponds in Moscow. At this time, the poet Homeless and Mikhail Berlioz were arguing there about whether Jesus Christ exists. And suddenly a stranger intervenes in their conversation, who claims that he knows that Jesus still lived once on Earth. As proof of this, he predicts the future of Berlioz, whose head will soon be cut off under the tram wheels, since a certain Annushka has already spilled oil. Also, he begins to talk about Pontius Pilate.

Chapter 2

Pontius Pilate must, as a judge, approve the sentence concerning the young man who was brought before him, whose name is Yeshua. Yeshua's accusation is that he allegedly called people to destroy the temple. However, Pontius Pilate begins to like an unusual person, and therefore he tries to do everything to save him from death. But he does not succeed, and it is Yeshua who will be executed, instead of Bar-Rabban.

Chapter 3

Berlioz does not believe Woland, a foreigner, since, moreover, the foreigner says that he was personally present. The poet and Berlioz think that he is crazy. Therefore, the head of MASSOLIT goes to call the Bureau of Foreigners to confirm his guess about espionage. But he slips in oil spilled on the road, and the tram cuts his head.

Chapter 4

The poet is shocked, and besides, he hears that some Annushka really spilled sunflower oil. He tries to force a foreigner to answer for this, but he pretends that he does not understand anything. And a man in a checkered yellow suit stands up for him. Then the poet sees them together. He also sees in this strange company a huge black cat that looks like a hippopotamus. Then Ivan goes crazy, he bursts into someone else's apartment, and pursues a strange company.

Chapter 5

In MASSOLIT, a meeting of writers takes place, and Berlioz is expected there, but since he has been gone for a long time, they simply go down the floor to the restaurant. When they are told that in fact Berlioz is already dead, they only groan, but nevertheless continue to eat further. Poet Homeless, in anger, starts a fight, and he is taken to a psychiatric hospital.

Chapter 6

Ivan Homeless ends up in a hospital, where he is seen by a psychiatrist. The doctor listens patiently to a patient who is behaving strangely. After all, he tells a very strange story about a foreigner who allegedly killed a man by forcing him to climb under a tram. And also, he connects all this with evil spirits, which makes the doctor involuntarily conclude that the patient is sick with schizophrenia.

Chapter 7

Berlioz's apartment, in which he shared it with the director of the Moscow theater, Styopa Likhodeev. He suddenly sees next to him a strange stranger in black - Woland, who says that he has an appointment. Further, after checking this information, Styopa also sees a huge cat, as well as a stranger who comes out of the mirror, and offers to throw it away. And Likhodeev at the moment finds himself in Yalta.

Chapter 8

Ivan Bezdomny was placed in a psychiatric ward. A doctor and other doctors soon come to see him again. Then Doctor Stravinsky asks to repeat the story again, and then asks what the poet will do if he is released. And when he says that he will go to the police, he is asked to write a written statement to the police and just relax.

Chapter 9

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy is a man who is the chairman of the living space in the house where Berlioz lives. After all, the apartment was vacated, and therefore there are many applicants for this place. And he personally goes upstairs and sees that a strange person in a checkered suit is sitting in the office of the deceased, and declares that he is the translator of a foreigner - the artist Woland. And he lives here with the permission of Likhodeev, who left for Yalta. And gives him a bribe and rent for the fact that they live here. Then he calls the police at the request of Woland, and Barefoot will go to jail for a bribe.

Chapter 10

Varenukha is an administrator who, together with the financial director, does not understand where Likhodeev has gone. And suddenly an urgent telegram arrives that a certain person claims that he is Stepan Likhodeev, which surprises these two. The administrator thinks this is a joke. And yet Varenukha goes to the police station, but a voice on the phone orders him not to go there. On the way, he is attacked by a subject that looks like a fat cat, and a man in a plaid suit. They take him to Likhodeev's apartment, and the last thing he saw was a red-haired girl, all naked and with green eyes.

Chapter 11

Ivan Bezdomny is trying to write a statement on paper in his ward. But he is failing. And therefore, after a calming injection, he thinks about what should be done and ask Woland about the continuation of the story. And suddenly a stranger appears outside the window.

Chapter 12

A strange procession, consisting of Woland, a black magician, Koroviev and a cat, arrives at the Moscow theater, where Likhodeev worked. Then they start to show a performance. The audience is in captivity, but everything ends in a loud scandal. After all, Woland offered to change women's clothes for old ones, which everyone bought into, and also money poured from the ceiling.

Chapter 13

The person who appeared outside the window at the poet's hospital is the Master, who is also a patient. Another patient explains to the poet that Woland is actually Satan. And he also reports that he wrote a novel about Pontius Pilate. But the novel was not put into print, and the Master himself was placed in a hospital. He recalls that he had a beloved woman who liked the book.

Chapter 14

The financial director of the tetra sees a strange picture from his window - several ladies were suddenly left without clothes, as she suddenly disappeared on them. He decides to call about many scandals that happened that day, but a woman's depraved voice does not allow him to do so. And suddenly a strange subject appears in the room after a while, which closes him in the room, and a red-haired girl enters through the window. But the director is saved by a cock crow, and they all disappear.

Chapter 15

Barefoot Nikanor Ivanovich continues to insist that he took the currency as a bribe only with Soviet money, but not in dollars. Therefore, law enforcement agencies go to the apartment, and find it sealed, as it should be. He also ends up in a psychiatric hospital.

Chapter 16

Yeshua is led with other prisoners to the execution, which will be performed on the mountain. After the crucifixion, the condemned Yeshua is still alive, and therefore Matthew Levi, his disciple, wanted to kill him so that he would not suffer. And after all, the corpses are removed. The body of Ga-Nozri is taken by Matvey. A thunderstorm happens, as if in response to Levi's curses.

Chapter 17

The theater's accountant Lastochkin, who remains because of everything that happened, does not know what to do for the main thing, because the phone simply does not go off. All because of these strange events that happened with the magician Woland, the posters of which disappeared and they themselves too. The police with dogs are looking for them, but the animals are only angry, because they smell them, but do not hear. Lastochkin comes to the commission of spectacles and various amusements, where he sees that instead of the chairman there is only an empty suit, which, like a living person, moves and writes. And the boss himself is not, and the charges are singing, and cannot stop because of the guy in the plaid suit who came then and did all this. And when Lastochkin hands over the proceeds from the theater, there is foreign currency, and therefore he is arrested.

Chapter 18

After Berlioz's death, his relative Maxim Poplavsky arrives in Moscow, who receives a strange telegram signed with Berlioz's name. But the same strange subjects kick him out of his apartment. In addition, they make claims to the barman Variety Sokov, because his food is stale. And they also predict his death from a diseased liver in nine months. But the barman also complains about the money, which became paper after being handed it.

Chapter 19

Margarita still cannot forget her beloved - the Master. When she walks around the city, one strange man with a fang in his mouth and in a plaid suit tells her a story about a man's head. And then he invites her to visit a foreigner, and calls her by name. Margarita wants to leave, but when she hears the quoted words from the Master's novel, she stays behind. And he gets the cream, and what to do next.

Chapter 20

Margarita spreads cream all over her body at the appointed hour, and she becomes younger and more beautiful. Also, she can fly. She writes a letter to her husband, where she asks for forgiveness, and also - no longer look for her. Her maid sees everything, and her mistress flies away on a mop.

Chapter 21

Margarita also becomes invisible, and therefore has fun for herself, and also takes revenge on the one who ruined her lover by pogroming his apartment. Also, Natasha, her maid, who also became a witch, catches up with her, and the hog made Nikolai Ivanovich, their neighbor. And then in a flying car they fly to Moscow.

Chapter 23

Margarita becomes the queen of the ball at Satan's, where she is first of all bathed in blood, and then put on everything that is supposed to be a sovereign. There are many guests at the ball, all of whom are criminals. When the reception ends, Margarita must fly around everyone and pay attention to everyone. Then she drinks the blood of a shot spy, after which everyone disappears.

Chapter 24

Woland offers his services for attending Margarita's ball. At first she refuses, but then asks to return her lover, the Master. He appears right there in front of her, and all problems are settled with this sudden disappearance of him. Natasha asks to leave her as a witch, and the neighbor Nikolai, who was a hog, asks for a note to confirm that he was at Satan's ball. The manuscript, when burned, is in Woland's hands - safe and sound. And the lovers find themselves in their apartment.

Chapter 25

The head of the secret service is informed that the execution has taken place. Also, he orders the bodies of those killed to be interred. And also, hints that you need to quietly kill Judas of Kiriath.

Chapter 26

Niza knows that Judas from Kiriath is in love with her, and therefore makes him a date, to which he comes, but she is not there, only people who kill him. The money received from the betrayal, they toss to the high priest Kaifa. Meanwhile, the procurator has a dream in which he communicates closely with Yeshua, but after waking up, he realizes that he is a coward and that nothing will be returned.

Chapter 27

In Moscow, they are still looking for a strange troika that has done so much in this short time. But in the bad apartment where Woland lived, the police meet only a cat with a primus stove, which forces them to start a firefight. But there are no casualties. After that, he disappears, and spills the gasoline from the primus goodbye. Everything is ablaze, and only three silhouettes of men and one of women fly out through the window.

Chapter 28

Koroviev, what is the name of the checkered type, and also, the cat, appear for a start in the store where they sell currency, where they make a scandal, and then the cat spills gasoline from the same primus stove. Then they appear in a restaurant named after Griboyedov, where a fire also soon breaks out.

Chapter 29

Woland talks with Azazello at the site of a building in Moscow. Matthew Levi comes to them and says that Yeshua has read the Master's book, and therefore asks Woland to arrange peace for the Master and Margarita, which they both deserve. Azazello, by order of Satan, is sent to do everything.

Chapter 30

Azazello finds the Master and Margarita in the basement of the house, where they are arguing that Margarita should leave him, the poor and unfortunate Master. But she is against it, and completely trusts Woland. Meanwhile, Azazello sets fire to the rooms, and the dead souls are sent on black horses into the sky. And also, the Master says goodbye to his disciple, Homeless, and bequeaths to him to write a sequel to the novel about Pilate.

Chapter 31

Now the Master and Margarita are together with Woland and his team. And the Master says goodbye to the city. It seemed that there was something very sad in the writer's parting with this beautiful city.

Chapter 32

Everyone begins to change appearance in the light of the moon. Koroviev becomes a knight in purple armor, Azazello becomes a demon killer, Behemoth becomes a slender young page, the Master has a gray scythe and spurs. But Margarita does not see her appearance. Also, the Master finally releases Pilate, who is still worried that he could not prevent Yeshua's execution. And eternal rest awaits the beloved.

The novel teaches that you must always believe in justice and be honest with yourself and with other people.

Picture or drawing Master and Margarita

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MICHAEL BULGAKOV

The Master and Margarita

PART ONE
... so who are you, finally?
- I am part of the power that always wants
evil and always does good.
Goethe. Faust

Chapter I. NEVER TALK WITH AN UNKNOWN
The spring sun was setting and it was unusually hot. Two men walked along the Patriarch's Ponds. The first was Mikhail Aleksandrovich Berlioz, chairman of the board of one of the largest Moscow literary associations, abbreviated as MASSOLIT, and even the editor of a thick art magazine - a short, well-fed, bald, clean-shaven, in huge glasses in black horn-rimmed, for some reason carrying a hat in hand, despite the heat, and the second - the poet Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, pseudonym Homeless - broad-shouldered, reddish young man in a cowboy shirt, chewed white trousers and black slippers. In the "Beer and Water" booth, to which they rushed together, there was nothing but warm apricot juice, which smelled like a hairdresser's and wanted to hiccup. Strangely enough, the alley was completely empty. The writers, hiccupping, sat down on a bench facing the pond and with their backs to Bronnaya. And then another strange thing happened - it concerned only Berlioz. His heart beat and for a moment seemed to fail, and returned with a needle stuck in him. Berlioz suddenly felt so scared that he wanted to run away. He wiped his pale forehead, thinking it was from overwork. “Perhaps it's time to throw everything to hell and to Kislovodsk ...” But then, in a sultry haze, a transparent citizen of a very strange type appeared in front of him. “On a small head there is a jockey cap, a checkered kurgozny airy jacket ...” The citizen was bright and thin, with a mocking face. Somehow it happened that nothing strange was encountered in Berlioz's life. He paled even more, widening his eyes. "It can't be!" But the long one continued to swing left and right in front of him. In horror, Berlioz closed his eyes, and when he opened, there was no one there, and his heart no longer ached. He decided that it was a hallucination from the heat, gradually calmed down and continued the conversation with Ivan Bezdomny.
The point was this: on the instructions of the editorial board, Ivan wrote a large anti-religious poem, in which Jesus, of course, was painted in very black colors. But the trouble is that Jesus still turned out to be just like living, albeit negative. It was necessary to rewrite. Berlioz, a well-read man, sitting on a bench, reads him a real lecture on ancient religions. The most important thing is to prove that no Jesus existed at all. During this conversation, a man appeared in the alley. Subsequently, no one could describe it with accuracy. And he was like this: “In appearance - more than forty years. In an expensive gray suit, foreign, in the color of the suit, shoes. The mouth is kind of crooked. Shaved smoothly. Brunet. The right eye is black, the left one is green for some reason. The eyebrows are black, but one is higher than the other. In a word - a foreigner ”.
Berlioz, meanwhile, was proving everything to Ivan that, according to his story, it turns out that Jesus was actually born ... in the middle. The foreigner is delighted that his interlocutors are atheists. But what about the evidence of the existence of God, of which, as you know, there are exactly five. And the sixth thing - Kant! And he is worried about one question: if there is no God, then who controls human life and everything in general order on earth? The homeless man replies angrily that the man himself is in control. But in order to manage, one must have a plan for a certain, at least somewhat decent period. But how can a person make a plan, for example, for such a ridiculous short term like a millennium if he can't even vouch for his tomorrow? For example, he suddenly falls ill with sarcoma - and he has no time for anything. “And it can be even worse: as soon as a person is going to go to Kislovodsk, - here the foreigner squinted at Berlioz, - he will slip and fall under a tram! Isn't it more correct to say that someone else was in charge here, and not himself? "
“It will be necessary to object to him, - decided Berlioz, - yes, man is mortal, no one argues against this. And the fact is that ... "His speech was continued by a foreigner:" Yes, man is mortal, but that would be half the trouble. The bad news is that he is sometimes suddenly mortal, that's the trick! And in general he cannot say what he will do tonight. " Berlioz does not agree, he knows what he will do, unless, of course, a brick falls on his head on Bronnaya. "You will die another death," the foreigner whispered something and said: "Your head will be cut off." No, Berlioz is going to preside over Massolit! “No, that can't be true,” the foreigner objected firmly. - Because Annushka has already bought sunflower oil, and not only bought it, but even spilled it. So the meeting will not take place. " Outraged Ivan hints to a foreigner that he is a schizophrenic. He advises him to find out from the professor in due time what schizophrenia is. The writers stepped aside - this is a spy, that's who, we need to detain him, check his documents. When they approached, the foreigner was standing with documents in his hands. It turned out that he was a specialist in black magic and was invited as a consultant. He is a historian, and tonight there will be interesting story... The professor beckoned the editor and the poet over to him, and when they leaned over to him, he whispered: “Keep in mind that Jesus existed. And no evidence is required. Everything is simple, in a white cloak ... "

Chapter II. PONTIUS PILATE
“In a white cloak with a bloody lining, a shuffling cavalry gait, in the early morning of the fourteenth of the spring month of Nisan, the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, entered the covered colonnade between the two wings of the palace of Herod the Great.”
More than anything, he hated the smell of rose oil, and today this smell began to haunt the procurator from dawn, which foreshadowed a bad day. It seemed to him that the smell was heard from everywhere. He had an attack of hemicrania, in which half his head hurts. But things don't wait. He must decide who will be executed today on Bald Mountain. The accused is brought in, a man of about twenty-seven. “This man was dressed in an old and torn blue tunic. His head was covered with a white bandage with a strap around his forehead. The man had a large bruise under his left eye, and an abrasion with caked blood in the corner of his mouth. " He allegedly persuaded the people to destroy the Yershalaim temple. “The man with his hands tied leaned forward a little and began to say:" good person! Believe me ... ” , he is from the city of Gamala, as he was told, his father was a Syrian, there is no permanent home, he always travels from city to city, he has no relatives, he is alone in the world, is literate, except Aramaic, knows Greek. Pilate asks him in Greek, Is it true that he was going to destroy the building of the temple and called on the people to do so. He replies that he never intended to do this in his life and did not persuade him to do this senseless action. The procurator accuses him of lying, because it is clearly recorded that he instigated the destruction of the temple. The accused explains that this is a confusion, and it will continue for a long time. This is due to the fact that the one who follows him with the parchment does not write at all like that. He once looked into the parchment and was horrified. He begged to burn this parchment, but he snatched it from from his hands and ran away. Pilate asks whom he means. The accused says that this is Leviy Matvey, a former tax collector. At first he scolded, called names, but after listening to him, he threw the money on the road and followed him ... He said that from now on he hated money, and since then became his companion. But what did he say about the temple to the crowd in the bazaar? “I, hegemon, said that the temple of the old faith would collapse and a new temple of truth would be created. He said it so that it would be clearer. " But what idea does he, a tramp, have about the truth? What is Truth? “And then the procurator thought:" Oh my gods. I ask him about something unnecessary at the trial ... My mind does not serve me anymore ... "And again he imagined a bowl with a dark liquid. "Poison to me, poison!" "" And again he heard a voice:
- The truth is, first of all, that you have a headache, and it hurts so badly that you faintly think about death. You are not only unable to speak to me, but it is difficult for you even to look at me ... But your torment will now end, your head will pass. "
"The secretary goggled at the prisoner and did not finish the word." Meanwhile, he continued his speech, but the secretary did not write down anything else ... trying not to utter a single word.
The accused tells the hegemon that the head is gone, isn't it? He should have walked in the garden on foot, and he would be happy to accompany him. He came up with some new thoughts that might interest the hegemon, because he gives the impression of a very intelligent person. "The secretary turned deathly pale and dropped the scroll on the floor." The prisoner says, meanwhile, that the hegemon is too withdrawn, has finally lost faith in people, is attached only to his dog. His life is meager. The hegemon orders the prisoner's hands to be untied. He asks him if he is a great doctor? No. Maybe the prisoner also knows Latin? Yes, he does.
Hegemon demands that the prisoner swear that he did not call for the destruction of the temple. "What do you want me to swear by?" - asked, very animated, untied. "Well, at least by your life," replied the procurator, "it's time to swear by it, since it hangs by a thread, know this!" “Don't you think you hung her up, hegemon? the prisoner asked. "If so, you are very wrong." Pilate shuddered and answered through clenched teeth: "I can cut this hair." “And you’re wrong about that,” the prisoner objected, smiling brightly.
The procurator asks if the prisoner really considers all people to be good? “Everyone. Of angry people not in the world ”, - he answers. And this he preaches.
The hegemon develops a plan: he examined the case of the wandering philosopher Yeshua, nicknamed Ha-Notsri, and found no corpus delicti in it. The wandering philosopher turned out to be mentally ill. As a result, the Procurator does not approve the death sentence of Ha-Notsri by the Lesser Sanhedrin. But in view of the fact that the crazy, utopian speeches of Ha-Nozri can be the cause of unrest in Yershalaim, the procurator removes Yeshua from Yershalaim and subjects him to imprisonment in Kemaria Stratonova, that is, exactly where the procurator's residence is.
But then the secretary hands him another parchment. The blood rushed to the head of the procurator. He asks the prisoner if he ever said anything about the great Caesar. “Answer! Did you speak? .. Or ... did you not ... speak? " - Pilate stretched out the word “not” and sent Yeshua in his gaze some thought that he would like to instill in the prisoner. He raised his hand, as if shielding sunbeam and behind this hand, as if behind a shield, he sent a hinting glance to the prisoner. But the prisoner honestly tells about the kind man Judas from Kiriath, who invited him to his house and treated him to. He asked Yeshua to express his views on government. He was extremely interested in this question. “Among other things, I said,” says the prisoner, “that all power is violence against people and that the time will come when there will be no power of either the Caesars or any other power. A person will pass into the kingdom of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all ”. After that, nothing could be done. “Thoughts rushed short, incoherent and extraordinary:“ Perished! ”, Then:“ Perished! .. ”And some absolutely ridiculous among them about something that must certainly be - and with whom ?! - immortality, and immortality for some reason caused unbearable melancholy. "
Pilate announced that he was confirming the death sentence for the criminal Yeshchua Ha-Notsri, and the secretary wrote down what Pilate said.
The Sanhedrin had the right to release one of the two convicts. The procurator asked who - Bar-Rabban or Ha-Notsri? They decided to free the first one. The procurator gently insists that the Sanhedrin reconsider its decision, because Bar-Rabban's crime is much more serious, but he is unshakable. The petition of the procurator is not taken into account. The procurator threatens the high priest Kaifa. Let him know that from now on there will be no rest for him. “Not to you, not to your people,” says Pilate. They will hear weeping and groaning. And then the high priest will remember the saved Bar-Rabban and regret that he sent a philosopher to his death with his peaceful sermon!
But Pilate still has something to do, he asks Kaifa to wait, and he goes up to the balcony and then inside the palace. There, in a room shaded from the sun by dark curtains, he has a date with a man whose face was half covered by a hood. This date was very short. The procurator quietly said only a few words to the man, and he left. Pilate announces to the crowd the release of Barravvan. It was about ten o'clock in the morning.

Chapter III. SEVENTH PROOF
“Yes, it was about ten o'clock in the morning, Honorable Ivan Nikolaevich,” said the professor.
Ivan suddenly discovered that it was already evening on the Patriarch's. It means that the professor has been talking for so long. Or did I just fall asleep and I dreamed it all? No, he probably did, because Berlioz said that the story was extremely interesting, although it does not at all coincide with the Gospel stories. “If we begin to refer to the Gospels as a historical source ...” the professor said, and Berlioz recalled that he had said the same to Bezdomny as he walked along Bronnaya to the Patriarch's Ponds. “But I'm afraid that no one can confirm that what you told us actually happened,” Berlioz noted. "Oh no, who can confirm it!" - Speaking in broken language, the professor answered confidently and mysteriously beckoned both friends closer to him. They leaned towards him ... and he said: "The fact is that I was personally present at all this." I have to go and call - he is clearly crazy. "Isn't there a devil either?" the patient suddenly asked Ivan Nikolaevich cheerfully. “There is no devil! cried Ivan Nikolaevich. “This is the punishment!” So, it was necessary to run to the nearest pay phone and inform the bureau of foreigners that a consultant from abroad was in a state of obviously abnormal at Patriarch's Ponds.
- Call? Well, call me, ”the patient agreed sadly and suddenly asked passionately:“ But I beg you goodbye, believe at least that the devil exists! Keep in mind that there is seventh proof for this, and the most reliable one! And it will be presented to you now.
“Good, good,” Berlioz said in a falsely affectionate manner ... and rushed to the exit from the Patriarch's, which is located at the corner of Bronnaya and Ermolaevsky Lane.
And the professor shouted:
- Would you like to order, I will now order to give a telegram to your uncle in Kiev.
At the very exit to Bronnaya, the same citizen, whom Berlioz had previously mistaken for a hallucination, rose from the bench towards the editor, only not airy, but ordinary - Berlioz made out in the twilight his mustache like chicken feathers, small half-drunk eyes and high tucked up, so that they were dirty white socks are visible,
plaid trousers.
- Looking for the turnstile, citizen? - in a cracked tenor voice inquired
checkered. - Here please!
Berlioz ran to the turnstile and took hold of it with his hand. Turning it, he was about to step onto the rails, when suddenly the inscription "Beware of the tram!" The tram immediately flew up. The cautious Berlioz, although he was standing safely, shifted his hand on the turnstile's revolver, taking a step back. But his hand immediately slipped and fell off, his leg, as if on ice, went down the cobblestone slope, the other leg jumped up, and Berlioz was thrown onto the rails. He tried to grab onto something: he managed to turn on his side, pulled his legs up to his stomach and saw a car driver's face, completely white with horror, rapidly approaching him. She pulled on the brake, the car jerked and jumped, glass flew. Here in Berlioz's brain someone desperately shouted: “Really? ..” The moon flashed for the last time, and it became dark.
Something dark, round, jumped out from under the tram and jumped over the cobblestones of Bronnaya. It was the severed head of Berlioz.

Chapter IV. CHASE
Everything calmed down - hysterical screams, police whistles, the remains were collected and taken to the morgue, and the wagon driver, wounded by the glass, went to the hospital, the janitors swept away the windows and covered the blood with sand - and Ivan Nikolayevich was sitting on the bench on which he fell before he reached the turnstile. He rushed to the turnstile at the first yell and saw how his head jumped along the pavement. People walked by, exclaiming something, Ivan did not hear anything. And suddenly two women stopped near him, and one of them said: “Annushka, our Annushka! From Sadovaya! This is her job! She took sunflower oil from the grocery store, and smash the liter on the turntable! And he, poor man, therefore slipped and went on the rails ... ”Annushka ... - got stuck in Ivan's brain. Then the words "sunflower oil" appeared, and then for some reason "Pontius Pilate". So it was the professor who said that Annushka had already spilled oil, that a woman would cut off Berlioz's head! So he's not crazy! Or set it up. But how?
Ivan Nikolaevich with difficulty got up from the bench and rushed to the professor, who was on the spot. He was standing by the bench, and it seemed to Ivan that under his arm was not a cane, but a sword. And on the bench sat a checkered one, this time in a pince-nez, in which one glass was not at all, and the other was cracked. This made him even nastier than when he showed Berlioz the way to the rails.
The professor, hearing Ivan's question about who he was, pretended not to understand Russian. "The documents!" - Ivan shouted furiously. The vile regent interrupted again: “Citizen! Why are you worried about this foreign tourist? If this is a criminal, you have to shout “Help!”. Come on, let's get together! " Ivan's cry sounded lonely and only caused bewilderment of some girls. Ivan tried to catch the regent, but he suddenly disappeared. And suddenly he saw him in the distance, at the exit to Patriarshy Lane together with the professor. “But that's not all: the third in this company was a cat who came from nowhere, huge as a hog, black as soot or a rook, and with a desperate cavalry mustache.” He walked on his hind legs. Ivan tried for a very long time to catch up with the trinity, but nothing came of it. After the most bizarre incidents, he for some reason decided that he had to go to the Moscow River. He undressed, entrusted the clothes to some nice bearded man smoking a cigarette, and rushed into ice water... When he, dancing from the cold, approached the place where his clothes were, it turned out that everything was gone: both the clothes and the bearded man. All that remained were striped underpants, a torn sweatshirt, a candle, an icon, and a box of matches. The worst thing is that the MASSOLI-Ta identity card has disappeared. And how can you get through Moscow like this? They paid attention to him, they had to sneak up the alleys. Ivan went to Griboyedov. He's probably there!

Chapter V. THERE WAS A BUSINESS IN GRIBOEDOV
This old two-storey house on the Boulevard Ring in the depths of a stunted garden, separated from the sidewalk by a carved cast-iron lattice, it was called "Griboyedov's House", although any relation to the writer was very doubtful. But that was what they called him. It was owned by the same MAS-SOLIT, headed by the unfortunate Mikhail Berlioz before his appearance on the Patriarch's Ponds. The house was simply called “Griboyedov”. It was simply difficult to think of anything more comfortable than him. When entering Griboyedov, the first thing he did was involuntarily familiarize himself with the notifications of various sports clubs and with group and individual photographs of MASSOLIT members, which covered the walls of the stairs leading to the second floor. There, above, there were many of the most tempting and even mysterious announcements, for example: “Perelygino”. The longest, even from the most Swiss one on the first floor, stretched a line to the inscription on the door, where every second crowded people: “ Housing problem”. There were many and all sorts of other tempting announcements, so that everyone who got here immediately understood how well the members of MASSOLIT were living. Among other things, there was a restaurant on the ground floor, and what a restaurant! He was considered the best in Moscow. Firstly, it was inexpensive here, and secondly, everything was fresh and prepared like nowhere else. Yes, it was, it was! .. Old-timers remember the famous Griboyedov dinners with boiled perch, with sterlet in a silver saucepan, with blackbird fillets, with truffles ... And jazz!
That evening, when Berlioz died, at half past ten the lights were on upstairs only in one room - twelve writers were waiting for the meeting of Chairman Mikhail Alexandrovich. It was very stuffy, even the open windows did not help. The writers were nervous, angry and at the same time gossiping about those who got more benefits than them. "He could have called!"
But Mikhail Aleksandrovich Berlioz could not call anywhere from the morgue, where Berlioz's deputy for MASSOLIT, the writer Zhel-dybin, was summoned. They decided how best to do it: whether to sew on the severed head or to expose the body in the Griboyedov hall, simply covering the body up to the chin with a black scarf?
Exactly at midnight, angry writers went down to the restaurant and again remembered Mikhail Alexandrovich with an unkind word: all the tables on the cool veranda were, of course, already occupied, they had to sit in stuffy halls. And exactly at midnight, jazz struck, and a thin male voice screamed desperately: "Hallelujah !!" Everything around me cheered and danced. The thin voice was no longer singing, but howling: "Hallelujah!" The rumbling of golden cymbals in jazz sometimes covered the rumbling of dishes that dishwashers lowered down an inclined plane into the kitchen. In a word, hell.
And suddenly the word flew over the tables: "Berlioz !!" Screams and bustle began. Zheldybin, who arrived, gathered all the board members from the restaurant, and they began to discuss urgent issues of the requiem and funeral. And the restaurant has started to live its usual nightlife, only without jazz. But suddenly a light flashed near the cast-iron grate and began to approach the veranda. A white ghost was approaching. When it entered the veranda, everyone saw that it was only Ivan Nikolaevich Bezdomny, the most famous poet, in a torn thick "sheep" with an icon pinned to it and in underpants. He was carrying a lighted candle in his hand. "Hello, friends!" - he said loudly and looked under the nearest table. "No, he is not here," he said sadly. Ivan urges everyone to urgently catch the consultant who killed Misha Berlioz on the Patriarchs. "Who killed?" - "Foreign consultant, professor and spy!" - Ivan responded, looking around. He does not remember his last name. There were two more with him, some long, checkered, in a cracked pince-nez ... and a black, fat cat. I sense that he is here! Ivan began to peer under the tables. Then he began to brawl.In the end, Ivan was carried out, swaddled like a doll, by the doorman, the policeman, the waiter and the poet Ryukhin and taken to a psychiatric hospital.

Chapter VI. Schizophrenia, as it was said
In the hospital, Ivan angrily scolds everyone, and especially the poet Ryukhin, "a fist in his psychology, and, moreover, masquerading as a proletarian." Ivan explains why he appeared in Griboyedov in such a strange form - his clothes were stolen. He caught the consultant, who "purposely put Berlioz under the tram, he knew in advance that he would fall under the tram ... he, the consultant, knows with evil spirits ...". So he took a candle. This consultant spoke personally with Pontius Pilate. Ivan tries to call the police, demands to send five motorcycles with machine guns to catch the foreign consultant, then he is going to leave, but he is given a soothing injection, and he falls asleep safely. The doctor tells Ryukhin that Ivan apparently has schizophrenia.
Ryukhin is driving a truck to Moscow and longingly thinks that Ivan was right. He writes nonsense, does not believe in anything that he writes. The truck stops at the monument to Pushkin, and Ryukhin tells himself that this is an example of real luck. “But what did he do. I do not comprehend ... Is there anything special in the words "The storm in the darkness ..."? I do not understand! Lucky! ” he concludes venomously. At Griboyedov's, the poet was warmly greeted by the head Archibald Archibaldovich, and a quarter of an hour later Ryukhin was drinking glass after glass all alone, realizing and admitting that nothing could be fixed in his life, but one could only forget.

Chapter VII. NON-GOOD APARTMENT
The next morning, Styopa Likhodeev would not have agreed to get out of bed, even under the threat of being shot. A heavy bell was buzzing in my head, brown spots floated under my closed eyelids, I felt sick. Styopa tried to remember at least something, but only one thing was recalled - it seems that yesterday he stood in an unknown place and tried to kiss some lady and asked to visit her today at twelve o'clock. And that is not all. Styopa could not figure out where he was. With difficulty opening the eyelids of his left eye, he saw the dressing table and realized that he was lying in his own bed.
“Let us explain: Styopa Likhodeev, director of the Variety Theater, woke up in the morning in his very apartment, which he occupied in half with the late Berlioz, in a large six-story building, quietly located on Sadovaya Street.” This apartment, no. 50, had a strange reputation.
Two years ago, it belonged to the widow of the jeweler de Fougere. The widow rented out three rooms out of five to the tenants, one of whom was called, it seems, Belomut, and the second one is no longer remembered. And two years ago, people began to disappear from this apartment. Once a policeman came and told the unnamed one that he was being summoned to the police station to sign something - and since then they have not seen either one or the other. The second tenant disappeared on Monday, and on Wednesday Belomut fell into the ground like a sinkhole - a car drove behind him to take him to the service - and with it all. Madame Belomut was in grief and despair. On the same night, the hostess, returning with her housekeeper Anfisa from the dacha, where for some reason she hastily went, did not find citizen Belomut in the apartment. But this is not enough: the doors of both rooms, which were occupied by the Belomut spouses, turned out to be sealed. Anna Frantsevna got sick of insomnia. On the third day, she hastily left for the dacha ... and Anfisa did not return, being left alone, she cried and went to bed at two o'clock in the morning. What happened to her next is unknown, but in the morning Anfisa was gone.
The apartment stood empty and sealed for only a week, and then the late Berlioz with his wife and Styopa, also with his wife, moved into it. And the devil knows what began for them - both spouses disappeared within one month. But not without a trace. They seemed to be seen, one in Kharkov, and the other on
Bozhedomka.
Styopa suffered. He tried to call Misha for help, but, as you understand, he did not receive an answer. It was necessary to get up, although it was inhumanly difficult Styopa barely opened his eyes and saw himself in the dresser in the most terrible form. And next to him in the mirror he saw an unknown man in black. Styopa sat down on the bed, staring at the stranger. He greeted. There was a pause, after which Styopa asked with the greatest effort: "What do you want?" The stranger explained that Styopa himself had made an appointment for him at ten o'clock in the morning, and now it was already an hour that he was waiting for his awakening. First, Styopa had to be brought back to normal. Styopa suddenly saw small table, and on it white bread, pressed caviar in a vase, marinated porcini mushrooms on a plate, something in a saucepan and, finally, vodka in a voluminous decanter. And then my eyes brightened and something began to be remembered. But not a stranger. He explained everything to him himself. He is a professor of black magic Woland, yesterday he came from abroad to Moscow, immediately came to Styopa and offered his tour in a variety show. Styopa agreed on the issue with the Moscow Regional Entertainment Commission and signed a contract with the professor for seven performances. We agreed that Woland would come to Styopa today at ten o'clock ... Arriving, he met the housekeeper Grunya, who said that Berlioz was not at home, and let Stepan Bogdanovich wake him up himself. Seeing the state of the sleeping man, he sent Grunya for vodka and a snack. Styopa wanted to look at the contract. It was fine, signed by Styopa himself. There was also an oblique inscription on the side by the hand of the findirector Rimsky with permission to give the artist Woland ten thousand rubles in advance. Moreover, he has already managed to get this money! Styopa said that he needed to leave for a minute and ran into the hall to the telephone. There was no grit, and on the handle of the door to Berlioz's office, he saw a wax seal on a rope. It means that he did something, and after all, he, Styopa, sometimes had dubious conversations with him, well, not very dubious, but it would be better not to start such conversations. But there was no time to grieve. Styopa called the findirector of Variety Rimsky, and he said that the posters would now be ready. Turning away from the telephone, Styopa saw in the unwashed mirror in the front hall of some strange subject — long as a pole and wearing a pince-nez. He flashed and disappeared, and a huge black cat walked behind him in the mirror. Styopa's heart sank, he staggered. He shouted to Grunya what kind of cats were hanging around here, but Woland said from the bedroom that the cat was his, and Grunya was not - he sent her to Voronezh, to her homeland. Confused, Styopa found a whole group in the bedroom - in the second armchair the very long one with a feathery mustache and with the only glass in his pince-nez was sitting, and on a pouf a cat with a shot of vodka in one paw and a fork with a mushroom attached to it sprawled in a cheeky pose of an eerie size another.
Styopa's eyes darkened, he grabbed the doorpost. Woland said that this was his retinue, and that the retinue needed a place, so that someone was not needed here in the apartment. And it seems to him that this is Styopa. And then another event happened, from which Styopa slid to the floor, scratching the lintel. Right out of the mirror came “small, but unusually broad-shouldered, in a bowler hat on his head and with a fang sticking out of his mouth, disgracing an already unprecedentedly disgusting physiognomy. And while still fiery red. " “I don’t understand at all how he got into the director,” he said nasally. "Shoot!" the cat suddenly barked, rearing its fur.
The bedroom spun around Styopa, he hit his head on the lintel and, losing consciousness, thought: "I'm dying ..."
But he didn't die. He ended up in Yalta. Learning this, Styopa fainted.