The Master and Margarita

Mikhail Bulgakov

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov is one of my all time favourite books. The story is fantastical about the devil causing all sorts of mischief in Moscow. Yesterday we visited the area where the writer lived and also walked around some of the areas that are mentioned in the book. I'm such a book geek that I loved every minute of it and tried to imagine Bulgakov sitting where I was sitting and coming up with such a satirical fantasy! The area known as Patriarch Ponds is the most pricey area in Moscow and has such former residents as Bulgakov, Chekhov, Tolstoy and Gorky. We have some flats to see here but they are small and expensive so I don't think this will be our address! The Metro station nearest to Patriarch ponds has incredible architecture (you really don't get bored on the tube here - so much to see!)-

Metro Spotters

On Metro wall

I'm a pure Metro Geek

We first entered the Aquarium gardens where the audience of Woland's magic show suddenly realised they were all naked -

Aquarium Gardens

The plaque below shows that Mikhail Bulgakov was a resident here from 1921-1924 -

 I nearly missed it as it's now on the front of a health food shop but actually his residence lies through an archway which is lined with scenes from the book -

It's incredible when you see places that the author describes in the book as in your mind they are magical and yet in reality the author has just taken his simple local places that he walks through everyday and turned them into iconic imagery that millions of people feel a connection to. We visited his flat - Number 50 that was besieged by followers of the book in the 80's and the entrance way is still covered in fans graffiti to the great annoyance of the other residents no doubt! -

The Door of his apartment block

People still pay homage with Graffiti 

There is a tiny museum in his old house 'Dom Bulgakova' that I ran round as it was up steps and all in Russian and Arthur was starting to squirm and get bored of his mother's literary obsession!

His Sitting room

Art in the museum

We then walked on to Patriarch's Pond itself where the opening scene from the book is played out with Woland and Berlioz on a bench by the pond - I kept trying to guess which bench it could have been!

Patriarch Ponds

Graeme sat down on right bored of my Bulgakov tour...

The Pond area was lovely and we even found a swing for Master Ogilvie.

Down the shoot behind him next.....

I was starting to think that they didn't have swings in Moscow as every children's park we have stumbled across was minus swings - and we know how his master loves the swings!
Anyway, it was a fun day all round although there is so much to see here that I'm glad we've got a while to look round - so many literary greats to investigate - no wonder the Russians love talking about literature - they have so many to chose from! There are quite a few literary cafes where people lounge around swapping stories - I think this might be a bit advanced for my Russian at this time - knowing one to ten and hello doesn't really count as a high brow intellectual conversation - but people I'm aiming high - I want to be able to sit in a corner of a literary cafe with a beret on smoking a gaulouis cigarette, quoting from 'The Seagull' - you heard it here first.

The Pond

Oh and if you haven't read the book....go and get it now!