Mikhail Bulgakov

Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940), Russian novelist and playwright, who gained international fame after the posthumous publication of his novel Master i Margarita (1966-1967; The Master and Margarita, 1967). Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Bulgakov was educated to be a physician but gave up medicine for writing. His early works are satirical stories, such as Dvavoliyada (1925; Diaboliad,1972), and comedies, such as Zoyinka kvartira (1926; Zoe's Apartment,1972). The long novel Belaya Gvardiya (1925; The White Guard,1971) is set in Kyiv during the Russian Revolution (1917) and was dramatized as Dni Turbinykh (1926; Days of the Turbins,1934). Master i Margarita was written between 1929 and 1940 but was not published until 1966 to 1967.