The Dark Purple Knight, or the Mystery of Koroviev. Where did Bulgakov find his demons? Bassoon is the name of the demon

Koroviev-Fagot

This character is the eldest of the demons subordinate to Woland, a devil and a knight, who introduces himself to Muscovites as a translator for a foreign professor and former regent of a church choir.

The surname Koroviev is modeled after the surname of a character in the story by A.K. Tolstoy's "Ghoul" (1841) of the state councilor Telyaev, who turns out to be a knight and a vampire. In addition, in the story by F.M. Dostoevsky’s “The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants” has a character named Korovkin, very similar to our hero. His second name comes from the name of the musical instrument bassoon, invented by an Italian monk. The Koroviev-Fagot has some similarities with the bassoon - a long thin tube folded in three. Bulgakov's character is thin, tall and in imaginary servility, it seems, ready to fold himself three times over in front of his interlocutor (in order to then calmly harm him).

Here is his portrait: “...a transparent citizen of a strange appearance, On his small head there is a jockey cap, a checkered short jacket..., a citizen a fathom tall, but narrow in the shoulders, incredibly thin, and his face, please note, is mocking”; “...his mustache is like chicken feathers, his eyes are small, ironic and half-drunk.”

Koroviev-Fagot is a devil who emerged from the sultry Moscow air (unprecedented heat for May at the time of his appearance is one of the traditional signs of the approach of evil spirits). Woland's henchman, only when necessary, puts on various disguises: a drunken regent, a guy, a clever swindler, a sneaky translator for a famous foreigner, etc. Only in the last flight does Koroviev-Fagot become what he really is - a gloomy demon, a knight Bassoon, who knows the value of human weaknesses and virtues no worse than his master.

Azazello

The name Azazello was formed by Bulgakov from the Old Testament name Azazel. This is the name of the negative hero of the Old Testament book of Enoch, a fallen angel who taught people how to make weapons and jewelry.

Bulgakov was probably attracted by the combination of seduction and murder in one character. It is for the insidious seducer that we take Azazello Margarita during their first meeting in the Alexander Garden: “This neighbor turned out to be short, fiery red, with a fang, in starched underwear, in a good-quality striped suit, in patent leather shoes and with a bowler hat on his head. “Absolutely a robber’s face!” - thought Margarita"

But Azazello's main function in the novel is related to violence. He throws Styopa Likhodeev out of Moscow to Yalta, expels Uncle Berlioz from the Bad Apartment, and kills the traitor Baron Meigel with a revolver.

Azazello also invented the cream that he gives to Margarita. The magic cream not only makes the heroine invisible and able to fly, but also gives her a new, witch-like beauty.

In the epilogue of the novel, this fallen angel appears before us in a new guise: “Flying at the side of everyone, shining with the steel of his armor, was Azazello. The moon also changed his face. The absurd, ugly fang disappeared without a trace, and the crooked eye turned out to be false. Both of Azazello's eyes were the same, empty and black, and his face was white and cold. Now Azazello was flying in his true form, like a demon of the waterless desert, a killer demon.”

This time we will talk about a nameless knight in dark purple, who came up with the idea on occasion to call himself Koroviev, although he was also called Fagot, which of course was not his real name, but was associated with his previous occupation... yes, it was he - in a jester's checkered vestment and in a cracked pince-nez, he was working off his centuries of service to the Prince of Darkness for having once made a bad joke. The knight who never smiled...

Who could it be?

“The night overtook the cavalcade, fell on top of it and threw out white specks of stars here and there in the sad sky.

The night thickened, flew nearby, grabbed those jumping by the cloaks and, tearing them off their shoulders, exposed the deceptions. And when Margarita, blown by the cool wind, opened her eyes, she saw how the appearance of everyone flying towards their goal was changing. When the crimson and full moon began to emerge from the edge of the forest to meet them, all the deceptions disappeared, the witch’s unstable clothes fell into the swamp, and drowned in the mists.

It is unlikely that Koroviev-Fagot, a self-proclaimed translator for a mysterious consultant who did not need any translations, would now be recognized as the one who was now flying directly next to Woland on the right hand of the master’s girlfriend. In the place of the one who, in tattered circus clothes, left the Sparrow Hills under the name of Koroviev-Fagot, now galloped, quietly ringing the golden chain of the reins, a dark purple knight with the gloomiest and never smiling face. He rested his chin on his chest, he did not look at the moon, he was not interested in the earth beneath him, he was thinking about something of his own, flying next to Woland.

Why did he change so much? - Margarita asked quietly as the wind whistled from Woland.

“This knight once made a bad joke,” Woland answered, turning his face to Margarita with a quietly burning eye, “his pun, which he made when talking about light and darkness, was not entirely good.” And after that the knight had to joke a little more and longer than he expected. But today is the night when scores are settled. The knight paid his account and closed it!”

Bassoon.

Let us turn to the research of I.L. Galinskaya, the author of a small publication “Riddles of Famous Books” Moscow. "Science" 1986.

“The complex of dictionary meanings of the modern French lexeme “fagot” (“bundle of branches”) has lost its relation to a musical instrument - literally “bundle of pipes” (“bassoon” is “basson” in French)—and among these meanings there are such phraseological units as as “ktrehabillé commeunefagot” (“to be like a bundle of firewood”, i.e. to dress tastelessly) and “sentirlefagot” ( “to give by heresy”, i.e. to give by fire, with bundles of branches for the fire). It seems to us that Bulgakov did not ignore the cognate French word “fagotin” (jester) related to the lexeme “fagot.”

Of course he is a jester, of course tastelessly dressed - his checkered suit, which fit him absurdly, his cracked pince-nez and much more, and of course it was he - an old bunch of pipes - who repeatedly showed musical talent in the novel:

“The buffoonish manner of behavior and Koroviev-Fagot’s involvement in music (vocal) are indicated already at the beginning of the novel, when, upon meeting Berlioz, he asks “a quarter liter... to get better... to the former regent!” And in the middle of the novel, Koroviev as a “prominent specialist on the organization of choir circles” is recommended to his subordinates by the head of the city entertainment branch, after which the “specialist choirmaster” yelled:

“— Do-mi-sol-do! - pulled the most shy ones out from behind the closets, where they were trying to escape from singing, told Kosarchuk that he had perfect pitch, whined, whined, asked to respect the old regent-singer, tapped his fingers with a tuning fork, begging him to strike “The Glorious Sea.”

They thundered. And they thundered gloriously. Checkered really understood his business. Finished the first verse. Here the regent apologized and said: “I’ll be a minute!” - and... disappeared "" (I.L. Galinskaya, "Riddles of famous books" Moscow. "Science" 1986.)

So where in our history can we find a musical tradition that organizes certain circles of “choral singing”, reeking of heresy, burned like a bundle of firewood in the fire of the Inquisition? Let's look back centuries, namely 8 centuries. XII-XIII centuries to Provence, the era of the spread of the Albigensian heresy, when the last troubadours of Languedoc glorified the legendary past, resisting the advent of new times and a new social and religious formation.

"Here, however, in the interests of further analysis of the novel, we should briefly touch upon some of the tragic, bloody events of the era of the Albigensian heresy, which took place in 1209-1229, that is, during the crusades declared by Pope Innocent III against the Albigensians. The reason for them was the murder papal legate Peter de Castelnau. It was committed by one of the close associates of the leader of the heretics, Count Raymond VI of Toulouse. Consisting mainly of the northern French knighthood, the army of the crusaders under the leadership of Count Simon de Montfort dealt with the heretics in the most brutal way, especially since the Catholic army expected to profit at the expense of the rich cities of Languedoc, and Montfort, in particular, was promised the possessions of the excommunicated pope, Raymond VI.

In the city of Beziers alone, at least fifteen thousand people were killed by the crusaders. There is a legend that, having burst into Beziers, the Catholic knights asked the papal legate Arnold Amalrich which of the townspeople should be killed. “Kill everyone! “- said the legate, “God will recognize his own.” Montfort was no less ferocious, who once ordered not only to blind a hundred thousand heretics, but also to cut off their noses.”

“The theme of light and darkness, for example, was often played up by the troubadours of Provence. Guillem Figueira (1215 - ca. 1250) cursed church Rome in one of his sirventas precisely because the papal servants stole the light from the world with crafty speeches. That the Catholic monks plunged the earth into deep darkness, wrote another famous troubadour, Peire Cardenal (c. 1210 - late 13th century).

So we had a guess, which, to a first approximation, can be formulated as follows: does Bulgakov’s knight trace its origins back to the troubadour knights of the Albigensian times? And it remains nameless because the name of the author of the most famous epic work of that era is unknown - the heroic poem “Song of the Albigensian Crusade”, which also, as will be shown later, features the theme of light and darkness?

“What is known, however, about the creator of the poem? There are two versions: the poem was either entirely composed by a troubadour, hiding under the pseudonym Guille of Tudela, or he created only the first part of the poem, and the remaining two were written with no less skill by an anonymous person - another remarkable poet of the 13th century . All information about the author (or authors) of the poem can only be gleaned from its text. This is an Albigensian knight-troubadour, a participant in battles with the crusaders, which is why he hides his real name, fearing the Inquisition. He calls himself a student of the wizard Merlin, a geomancer who can see the hidden and predict the future (and predicted, in particular, the tragedy of Languedoc), as well as a necromancer capable of summoning the dead and talking with them" (I.L. Galinskaya, "Riddles of famous books" Moscow. "Science" 1986.)

The “maid” Gella asks the newcomer what he wants.

“I need to see the citizen artist.

- How? So, himself?

“Him,” answered the barman sadly.

“I’ll ask,” the maid said, apparently hesitating, and, opening the door to the late Berlioz’s office, she reported: “Knight, a little man has appeared here, who says that he needs a sir.”

“Let him come in,” Koroviev’s broken voice came from the office.”

“How much savings do you have?

The question was asked in a sympathetic tone, but still such a question cannot but be considered indelicate. The barman hesitated.

“Two hundred and forty-nine thousand rubles in five savings banks,” a cracked voice responded from the next room, “and two hundred gold tens under the floor at home.”

The barman seemed attached to his stool.

“Well, of course, this is not the amount,” Woland said condescendingly to his guest, “although, by the way, you don’t actually need it either.” When will you die?

At this point the barman became indignant.

“This is not known to anyone and does not concern anyone,” he answered.

“Well, yes, it’s unknown,” the same trashy voice was heard from the office, “just think, Newton’s binomial!” He will die nine months later, in February next year, from liver cancer in the clinic of the First Moscow State University, in the fourth ward.

The barman turned yellow-faced.

“Nine months,” Woland thought thoughtfully. - Two hundred and forty-nine thousand... That comes out to a total of twenty-seven thousand a month? It’s not enough, but it’s enough for a modest life. And even these dozens.

“It won’t be possible to sell dozens,” the same voice chimed in, chilling the bartender’s heart, “after Andrei Fokich’s death, the house will be immediately demolished and dozens will be immediately sent to the State Bank.”

So, Koroviev-Fagot, aka the nameless knight, is able to see the hidden and predict the future. In addition (this is already indicated by the scene of Satan’s ball), he is no less knowledgeable, so to speak, in matters beyond the grave, for he knows all the ins and outs of each of the guests about their earthly and otherworldly existence.

“This knight once made a bad joke,” Woland replied, turning his face to Margarita with a quietly burning eye, “his pun, which he made when talking about light and darkness, was not entirely good

“But what about that unfortunate pun about light and darkness for Bulgakov’s knight, which Woland told Margarita? We believe that we also found it in the “Song of the Albigensian Crusade” - at the end of the description of the death of the leader of the crusaders during the siege of Toulouse - the bloody Count Simon de Montfort. The latter at some point believed that the besieged city was about to be taken. “One more onslaught, and Toulouse is ours!” - he exclaimed and gave the order to reorganize the ranks of the attackers before a decisive attack. But just during the pause caused by this reorganization, the Albigensian warriors again occupied the palisades and places left by the stone-throwing machines. And when the crusaders went on the assault, they were met by a hail of stones and arrows ". Montfort's brother Guy, who was in the front ranks near the fortress steppe, was wounded by an arrow in the side. Simon hurried to him, but did not notice that he was right under a stone-throwing machine. One of the stones hit him on the head with such force that it pierced his helmet and crushed him. scull.

The death of Montfort caused terrible despondency in the camp of the crusaders. But in besieged Toulouse she was greeted with stormy jubilation, because the Albigenses had no enemy more hated and more dangerous than him! It is no coincidence that the author of the “Song of the Albigensian Crusade” reported:

Atotzcelsdela vila, carenSymosmoric,

Venc aitals aventura que 1"escurs esclarzic.

(On everyone in the city, since Simon died,

Such happiness descended that light was created from darkness).

Unfortunately, the pun “1"escursesclarzic” (“out of darkness was created light”) cannot be adequately conveyed in Russian. In Provençal, from the point of view of the phonetic game, “1”escursesclarzic” sounds beautiful and very elegant. So the dark purple knight’s pun about light and darkness was “not very good” (Woland’s assessment) not in form, but in meaning. And indeed, according to Albigensian dogmas, darkness is a region completely separated from light, and, therefore, light cannot be created from darkness, just as the god of light cannot be created from the prince of darkness. That is why, in terms of content, the pun “1"escursesclarzic” could equally not suit either the forces of light or the forces of darkness." (I.L. Galinskaya, “Riddles of famous books” Moscow. “Science” 1986.)

Knight in dark purple.

"The French historian of the 19th century. Napoleon Peyra, who studied the struggle of Catholic Rome with the Albigensians from manuscripts of that time, reports in the book “History of the Albigensians” that in the manuscript containing the songs of the knight-troubadour Cadenet, who was in the retinue of one of

French historian of the 19th century. Napoleon Peyra, who studied the struggle of Catholic Rome with the Albigensians from the manuscripts of that time, reports in the book “History of the Albigensians” that in the manuscript containing the songs of the knight-troubadour Cadenet, who was in the retinue of one of

Albigensian leaders, he discovered in the vignette of the capital letter an image of the author in a purple dress.

Bulgakov could read the work of N. Peyre, containing this message, in the Lenin Library (it is there to this day). We know that the writer often resorted to the services of the Brockhaus-Efron encyclopedic dictionary, which he always had at hand. And there, in the article “The Albigensians”, there is a reference to this particular work of Peyre (by the way, as well as to the “Song of the Albigensian Crusade”). The question arises, couldn’t the color of the troubadour Cadenet’s costume, which N. Peyra spoke about, be deposited in Bulgakov’s memory and realized in the epithet “dark purple”? (I.L. Galinskaya, “Riddles of Famous Books” Moscow. “Science” 1986. )

The same Peira, dwelling on the artistic features of the “Song of the Albigensian Crusade,” notes that the heart of the creator of the poem, like the heart of the poet’s homeland, “cries an immortal cry.” When the Albigensian heresy was destroyed, and the lands of Provence were ravaged and devastated, the troubadours created so-called lament songs about the death of “the most musical, the most poetic, the most chivalrous people in the world.” One of these songs - the lament of the troubadour Bernard Sicart de Marvejols - is quoted (or used as an epigraph) by the authors of many works on the history of the Albigensian wars: “It is with deep sadness that I write this mournful sirventa. Oh my God! Who will express my torment! After all, deplorable thoughts plunge me into hopeless melancholy. I am unable to describe either my grief or my anger... I am furious and angry always; I groan at night, and my groaning does not cease, even when sleep overtakes me. Wherever I am, everywhere I hear the court brethren humiliatingly shouting to the French: “Sire!” The French only condescend to pity if they smell prey! Ah, Toulouse and Provence! And the land of Agen! Beziers and Carcassonne! How I saw you! How I see you!”

How did Bulgakov himself feel about the poetry of the troubadours and did he really have anything to do with it?

The answer to this question is simple!

In the poetry of the troubadours, the term “coblas capfinidas” denoted one of the strophic forms. It obliged the poet to connect the first verse of a new stanza with the last verse of the previous one using the method of repetition (or the so-called “repetition in capture”) This is exactly how the stanzas of the second and third parts of the “Song of the Albigensian Crusade” are linked (while in the first part a different canon is used - “ coblas capcaudadas”, according to which the beginning of a new stanza had to repeat only the rhyme of the last verse of the previous one).

It is this style that we find in Bulgakov in his novel “The Master and Margarita”.

So, is Fagot a knight-troubadour, the author of the “Song of the Albigensian Crusade”, hiding his real name for the purpose of conspiracy? Something still remains unsaid... Namely: why, for a bad joke, did the knight have to serve such a long service with the Prince of Darkness, and, according to the materials presented, with the elven lord?

One day I came across information that there was once such an old legend that one knight made a bad joke, and for this he had to serve the elven queen for some time. Is it possible that this mysterious story of a knight in dark purple came from the legendary past in the novel “The Master and Margarita”? But I will write about this later.

“But today is the night when scores are settled. The knight paid his account and closed it!” Smile, nameless knight... It's not evening yet!

Koroviev Fagot June 15th, 2014

Koroviev-Fagot is the eldest of the demons subordinate to Woland, a devil and a knight, who introduces himself to Muscovites as a translator for a foreign professor and a former regent of a church choir.

The second part of the name, Bassoon, is considered by many to be the name of a musical instrument. They say the hero looks like a bassoon - tall, thin and narrow-shouldered. However, there is a more elegant version. I. Galinskaya believes that the name “Bassoon” was associated not so much with a musical instrument, but with the word “heretic”: “Bulgakov combined two multilingual words in it: the Russian “bassoon” and the French “fagot”, and Among the meanings of the French lexeme “fagot” (“bundle of branches”), she names such a phraseological unit as “sentir le fagot” (“to give with heresy,” that is, to give by the fire, with bundles of branches for the fire).”

The original prototype of the knight Bassoon here was, in all likelihood, the bachelor Samson Carrasco, one of the main characters in Bulgakov’s dramatization of the novel “Don Quixote” (1605-1615) by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616).

Samson Carrasco by artist Jesus Barranco and Alexander Abdulov, in the image of Bassoon.

Sanson Carrasco, trying to force Don Quixote to return home to his relatives, accepts the game he has started, impersonates the Knight of the White Moon, defeats the Knight of the Sorrowful Image in a duel and forces the defeated man to promise to return to his family. However, Don Quixote, having returned home, cannot survive the collapse of his fantasy, which has become life itself for him, and dies. Don Quixote, whose mind has become clouded, expresses the bright principle, the primacy of feeling over reason, and the learned bachelor, symbolizing rational thinking, does a dirty deed, contrary to his intentions. It is possible that it was the Knight of the White Moon who was punished by Woland with centuries of forced buffoonery for his tragic joke on the Knight of the Sad Image, which ended in the death of the noble hidalgo.

In the last flight, the buffoon Koroviev transforms into a gloomy dark purple knight with a never smiling face.

“In place of the one who, in tattered circus clothes, left the Sparrow Hills under the name Koroviev-Fagot, now galloped, quietly ringing the golden chain of the reins, a dark purple knight with the gloomiest and never smiling face. He rested his chin on his chest, he did not look at the moon, he was not interested in the earth beneath him, he was thinking about something of his own, flying next to Woland.
- Why has he changed so much? – Margarita asked quietly as the wind whistled from Woland.
“This knight once made a bad joke,” Woland answered, turning his face to Margarita with a quietly burning eye, “his pun, which he made when talking about light and darkness, was not entirely good.” And after that the knight had to joke a little more and longer than he expected. But today is the night when scores are settled. The knight paid his account and closed it!” M.A. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita"

Isn’t this the same knight now standing in the niche of house number 35 on Arbat?

He is not interested in earthly vanity, and he does not look at the sky, he thinks about his own... This is how Bulgakov saw him, this is how the flying Margarita saw him, this is how we see him in our time. Eternally motionless and thoughtful, he gazes into emptiness. Koroviev-Fagot not in our usual buffoon guise, but in his real appearance. Mikhail Bulgakov undoubtedly knew about this knight and often saw him when he went to the Vakhtangov Theater for performances and during the production of his play “Zoyka’s Apartment.”

A. Abdulov as Koroviev.

A lanky man in a checkered suit. Bulgakov's courtyard. st. Soviet Army, 13

Koroviev and Behemoth on M.Molchanovka.

;
former regent, translator for a foreign consultant

In the future, Fagot’s role is mainly associated with “dirty work” and “tricks” - he tries to lead Ivan Bezdomny, who is pursuing Woland’s retinue, astray, gives the chairman of the housing association Bosom a bribe in rubles, which then magically turns into dollars, together with Azazello he escorts him out of a bad apartment Styopa Likhodeev, and then Berlioz Poplavsky’s uncle, occupies the audience during a performance at the Variety Theater. The author devotes one of the last chapters in the novel to the “adventures” of Koroviev and his page Behemoth, during which they set fire to Torgsin and Griboyedov’s house.

During Satan's great ball, Fagot, together with Hippopotamus and Queen Margot, greets the guests, and later gives Woland a cup filled with the blood of Baron Meigel.

In the scene of the last flight, Fagot appears as a dark purple knight with an eternally gloomy face. According to Woland, Fagot was doomed to joke for many centuries for an unsuccessful pun about Light and Darkness, which he composed during his reasoning.

It is unlikely that they would now recognize Koroviev-Fagot, a self-proclaimed translator for a mysterious consultant who does not need any translations <...> In the place of the one who, in tattered circus clothes, left the Sparrow Hills under the name of Koroviev-Fagot, now galloped, quietly ringing the golden chain of the reins, a dark purple knight with the gloomiest and never smiling face. He rested his chin on his chest, he did not look at the moon, he was not interested in the earth beneath him, he was thinking about something of his own, flying next to Woland.

There was nothing scary or abrupt in this relatively slow awakening.
His last days and hours passed as usual and simply. And Princess Marya and Natasha, who did not leave his side, felt it. They did not cry, did not shudder, and lately, feeling this themselves, they no longer walked after him (he was no longer there, he left them), but after the closest memory of him - his body. The feelings of both were so strong that the external, terrible side of death did not affect them, and they did not find it necessary to indulge their grief. They did not cry either in front of him or without him, but they never talked about him among themselves. They felt that they could not put into words what they understood.
They both saw him sink deeper and deeper, slowly and calmly, away from them somewhere, and they both knew that this was how it should be and that it was good.
He was confessed and given communion; everyone came to say goodbye to him. When their son was brought to him, he put his lips to him and turned away, not because he felt hard or sorry (Princess Marya and Natasha understood this), but only because he believed that this was all that was required of him; but when they told him to bless him, he did what was required and looked around, as if asking if anything else needed to be done.
When the last convulsions of the body, abandoned by the spirit, took place, Princess Marya and Natasha were here.
– Is it over?! - said Princess Marya, after his body had been lying motionless and cold in front of them for several minutes. Natasha came up, looked into the dead eyes and hurried to close them. She closed them and did not kiss them, but kissed what was her closest memory of him.
“Where did he go? Where is he now?..”

When the dressed, washed body lay in a coffin on the table, everyone came up to him to say goodbye, and everyone cried.
Nikolushka cried from the painful bewilderment that tore his heart. The Countess and Sonya cried out of pity for Natasha and that he was no more. The old count cried that soon, he felt, he would have to take the same terrible step.
Natasha and Princess Marya were also crying now, but they were not crying from their personal grief; they wept from the reverent emotion that gripped their souls before the consciousness of the simple and solemn mystery of death that had taken place before them.

The totality of causes of phenomena is inaccessible to the human mind. But the need to find reasons is embedded in the human soul. And the human mind, without delving into the innumerability and complexity of the conditions of phenomena, each of which separately can be represented as a cause, grabs the first, most understandable convergence and says: this is the cause. In historical events (where the object of observation is the actions of people), the most primitive convergence seems to be the will of the gods, then the will of those people who stand in the most prominent historical place - historical heroes. But one has only to delve into the essence of each historical event, that is, into the activities of the entire mass of people who participated in the event, to be convinced that the will of the historical hero not only does not guide the actions of the masses, but is itself constantly guided. It would seem that it is all the same to understand the significance of the historical event one way or another. But between the man who says that the peoples of the West went to the East because Napoleon wanted it, and the man who says that it happened because it had to happen, there is the same difference that existed between the people who argued that the earth stands firmly and the planets move around it, and those who said that they do not know what the earth rests on, but they know that there are laws governing the movement of it and other planets. There are no and cannot be reasons for a historical event, except for the only cause of all reasons. But there are laws that govern events, partly unknown, partly groped by us. The discovery of these laws is possible only when we completely renounce the search for causes in the will of one person, just as the discovery of the laws of planetary motion became possible only when people renounced the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe affirmation of the earth.

After the Battle of Borodino, the enemy’s occupation of Moscow and its burning, historians recognize the most important episode of the War of 1812 as the movement of the Russian army from the Ryazan to the Kaluga road and to the Tarutino camp - the so-called flank march behind Krasnaya Pakhra. Historians attribute the glory of this ingenious feat to various individuals and argue about who, in fact, it belongs to. Even foreign, even French historians recognize the genius of the Russian commanders when speaking about this flank march. But why military writers, and everyone after them, believe that this flank march is a very thoughtful invention of some one person, which saved Russia and destroyed Napoleon, is very difficult to understand. In the first place, it is difficult to understand wherein lies the profundity and genius of this movement; for in order to guess that the best position of the army (when it is not attacked) is where there is more food, it does not require much mental effort. And everyone, even a stupid thirteen-year-old boy, could easily guess that in 1812 the most advantageous position of the army, after the retreat from Moscow, was on the Kaluga road. So, it is impossible to understand, firstly, by what conclusions historians reach the point of seeing something profound in this maneuver. Secondly, it is even more difficult to understand exactly what historians see as the salvation of this maneuver for the Russians and its detrimental nature for the French; for this flank march, under other preceding, accompanying and subsequent circumstances, could have been disastrous for the Russians and salutary for the French army. If from the time this movement took place, the position of the Russian army began to improve, then it does not follow from this that this movement was the reason for this.
This flank march not only could not have brought any benefits, but could have destroyed the Russian army if other conditions had not coincided. What would have happened if Moscow had not burned down? If Murat had not lost sight of the Russians? If Napoleon had not been inactive? What if the Russian army, on the advice of Bennigsen and Barclay, had given battle at Krasnaya Pakhra? What would have happened if the French had attacked the Russians when they were going after Pakhra? What would have happened if Napoleon had subsequently approached Tarutin and attacked the Russians with at least one tenth of the energy with which he attacked in Smolensk? What would have happened if the French had marched on St. Petersburg?.. With all these assumptions, the salvation of a flank march could turn into destruction.
Thirdly, and the most incomprehensible, is that people who study history deliberately do not want to see that the flank march cannot be attributed to any one person, that no one ever foresaw it, that this maneuver, just like the retreat in Filyakh, in the present, was never presented to anyone in its entirety, but step by step, event by event, moment by moment, flowed from a countless number of very diverse conditions, and only then was presented in all its entirety, when it was completed and became the past.

Not only the main characters have mysterious origins. Characters are described whose appearance is extraordinary, and the features of the image are hidden in the chapters of the novel, waiting for the reader to decipher their background. Among them is Koroviev from the retinue.

History of creation

Many nuances in The Master and Margarita require clarification. Work on the novel began in the early 1920s and continued until Bulgakov's death. The first version contained 160 pages of a story about Christ and the procurator and told how Woland drove several dozen Muscovites crazy by suddenly appearing in the capital with his extravagant retinue. The leitmotif of "The Master and Margarita" was deliberately omitted. Thanks to him, the work subsequently acquired diversity and multi-layeredness.

The literary monument could have had a different name. The options considered were “Engineer’s Hoof”, “Black Magician”, “Prince of Darkness” and “Woland’s Tour”. In 1937, Bulgakov decided to call the book “The Master and Margarita.” During the writer's lifetime it was not completed and published. The painstaking work of editing and promoting the book was carried out by his wife.

Novel "The Master and Margarita"

Quotes from the book have become aphorisms, but the most famous one: “Manuscripts don’t burn!” appeared for a reason. In the spring of 1930, due to public pressure and his own dissatisfaction with the result of his work, Bulgakov burned the first version of the book. The master will repeat the writer’s action and will be caught. Woland will restore his manuscripts.

Bulgakov will continue to work two years after the incident. In 1940, he could no longer move due to illness, but still took dictation to his wife, his chief assistant and editor. The edits took twenty long years. The work was published thanks to Bulgakov’s widow.

Publishers refused to print the manuscript, explaining that the work was untimely. For a conservative era, the novel was progressive and freethinking. The book was published in 1967-68 in the Moscow magazine. Many episodes were edited and shortened, and some were eliminated. Among the excised passages are Woland's monologues, a description of the ball and a characterization of Margarita. The book was self-published thanks to the Posev publishing house. The book was first published in its entirety in Germany in 1969. In the Soviet Union it became publicly available in 1973.

The image of Koroviev, a minor character in the work, belongs to the traditions of literary mysticism. The prototype of the hero can be found in the work “Ghoul”, where the state councilor Telyaev had a similar surname. Bulgakov called Koroviev with the strange name Fagot and gave him the status of a knight. The character's duality can be seen throughout the novel. For Woland's retinue, the joker remains Fagot, but turns into Koroviev when meeting with Muscovites. What name is relevant for a knight of darkness?

The philologist Stenbock-Fermor, who analyzed the novel in 1969, tried to understand the intricacies of the image. He claimed that Koroviev was a companion of Satan. A passing character, a “translator,” he plays an important role in the novel. In 1975, researcher Yovanovitch characterized Koroviev as a hero related to Woland’s philosophizing companions.

Bassoon Koroviev is a representative of demonic force. Woland's assistant, he holds the title of knight and personifies the devil. Muscovites are sure that Koroviev is a translator for a professor of foreign origin. Previously, he was allegedly the director of a church choir.

There are several options for where his name came from. It has been suggested that the image is associated with the heroes of “The Village of Stepanchikovo”. Characters named Korovkins have the same relationship to Fagot as some knights from works of different times and authors.

Some of Bulgakov’s friends insisted that the prototype of Koroviev’s image was an acquaintance of the writer, the mechanic Ageich. The drunkard and hooligan repeatedly told Bulgakov that in his youth he was involved in a church choir.

"Master and Margarita"

The name Fagot was given to the hero for a reason. Its appearance resembles a folding tool. Tall and skinny Koroviev obsequiously folds himself in front of his opponent in order to later do something nasty.

Researchers believe that Woland's retinue is united by Hebrew. Koroviev in translation means close, - cattle, - demon.

The character appears before the public in the first chapter of the novel, first becoming a hallucination of Berlioz. Then it takes on physical embodiment. Having identified himself as a regent, he pushes Berlioz to unconsciously commit suicide under the wheels of a tram. Koroviev does the dirty work, pulling off fantastic stunts. He is trying to deceive, Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy receives rubles from his hands, which will turn into dollars. Styopa Likhodeev becomes an exile due to the tricks of Koroviev and Azazello. In Variety, the character continues to perform tricks, deceiving Poplavsky and the audience.

Bulgakov assigns a special place in the novel to the interaction between Koroviev and Behemoth. The couple sets fire to Torgsin and the house. Together with Margarita, he meets guests at Satan's ball. They left notes in the book of visitors to Griboyedov's house, introducing themselves as Skabichevsky and Stravinsky, caused a commotion in the store and each time appeared before the reader in a strange form. For example, Koroviev and Azazello, having taken off their tailcoats, sat at a table in a bad apartment with a cat, creating a strange impression. Koroviev personified the devil's tricks and bore the heavy stamp of demonism in Woland's retinue. His jokes were forced, as was his funny appearance.

Bulgakov describes Koroviev during the last flight as a knight with a gloomy face, wearing a dark purple robe. The hero was thoughtful and looked down, not paying attention to the moon. Woland explained Koroviev’s transformation by saying that the knight once made a bad joke. For this he was awarded a buffoonish appearance, unsightly, ridiculous clothes and a gay look. Bassoon wore a jockey's cap, a light checkered jacket that was too tight, checkered trousers and white socks. Small eyes and a strange mustache made his appearance unpleasant.

Film adaptations

The Master and Margarita is a novel that offers directors a lot of possibilities for interpretation and use of special effects. Five films dedicated to the adventures of Woland and his retinue are considered popular.

The first film, Pilate and Others, was directed by Andrzej Wajda. The Polish director turned to this theme in 1972, focusing on the biblical motif, paying tribute to the Second World War. The picture was a kind of challenge and was banned in Poland. The image of Koroviev was absent from it.

In the same year, the Serbian Alexander Petrovich made the film “The Master and Margarita,” excluding the biblical plot and focusing on the Moscow events of the novel, as well as on the line of the Master and Margarita. In this project, Koroviev was portrayed by Bata Zhivoinovich.

In 1988-90, Maciej Wojtyszko shot a four-part film based on Bulgakov’s novel, making it close to the described plot. Computer graphics and special effects attracted the audience no less than the ensemble cast. The role of Koroviev was played by Janusz Michalovsky.

1994 gave Soviet cinema the film. This was the first Russian film version of the book. After filming, the film lay on the studio shelves for 16 years due to disagreements with the producers and descendants of the writer, so the 2011 premiere did not have the desired effect. The image of Bassoon was embodied in the film.

The artist managed to take part in a movie made by , but in the role of Azazello. Koroviev became on the screen. The film used computer graphics and modern technologies. Popular artists of Russian cinema were invited to work.

Quotes

Koroviev is an ambiguous hero of a mystical novel. He gives readers a lot of aphorisms and philosophical remarks.

“There is no document, there is no person,” Koroviev declares, uttering a phrase that will later become immortal.

It is used to characterize the bureaucratic chaos that reigned in Soviet authorities and has survived to this day.

Koroviev, aka Bulgakov, gives an answer to critics and researchers in the phrase:

“A writer is not determined by his certificate, but by what he writes! How do you know what plans are swarming in my head? Or in this head?

The philosopher Koroviev often proclaims eternal truths that do not lose relevance in any era:

“Do you judge by the suit? Never do this, most precious guardian! You can make a mistake, and a very big one at that.”

This is what makes the character attractive and curious, despite his negative characteristics.