The Master and Margarita (chs. 1-9) by Bulgakov

The Slavic Literature Pod

Show Notes:

This week, Matt and Cameron kick off their next big read, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, covering chapters one through nine. Join us as we talk about how the devil definitely doesn’t exist according to the USSR, how the devil definitely does exist according to the Devil, and the true story of the Gospels (at least, if you believe the Devil). Oh, also there’s a lot to say about Soviet life. And, somehow, all these features come together much more neatly than you’d expect. But you’ll have to tune in to learn how.

Major themes: Speculating on currency, writing in the USSR, The Devil as chance

02:31 - Our episode on Mikhail Bulgakov’s “Morphine”

02:33 - Our episode on “Heart of a Dog” by Bulgakov

11:08 - A quick background on the Komsomol

39:58 - Check out our episode on Leviathan here

42:38 - “Satan in Moscow: An Approach to Master and Margarita“ by A. C. Wright

43:52 - “Neither God nor Devil: A New Theological Approach to Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita” by Hannah Schneider

The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.

Check out the work of Shae McMullin, who did our wonderful podcast art.

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