John Bushnell

A Popular Reading of Bulgakov: Explication des Graffiti

Since its publication in 1966-1967, Mikhail Bulgakovs Master i Margarita has been enormously popular with literary critics. Bulgakov generated creative tension and at the same time provided the critics with irresistible puzzles by suggesting parallels between his tale and biblical and Faustian myths. The allusions to mythic prototypes are especially alluring because the parallels are in no case exact; Bulgakovs characters resist identification with any of the suggested literary antecedents, and his meanings are as elusive as the parallels to which he misdirects us. Critics can only rise to the challenge. Furthermore, Bulgakov brought characters with mythic overtones to earth in early Stalinist Moscow, and that has set the critics off on a hunt for the historical prototypes of the Muscovites. The novels refusal to be pinned down, in its allusions to Stalinist reality no less than in its demonology and Christology, accounts for much of its literary appeal. With so many interpretive ambiguities and so many contrasting elements, Master i Margarita does indeed merit the critical attention it has received. The novel is also immensely popular with the Soviet reading public, as anyone who has talked with Soviet readers about their literary preferences can attest. This popular appeal has been taken for granted, but it ought not to be: Literature fascinating to both critics and ordinary readers is the exception not the rule. We ought not to assume that Master i Margarita attracts the common reader and the critic for the same reasons. Many readers, as one might guess, do not catch the Faustian allusions at all. Readers understand the references to the Bible story, but they are apt to think the parallels more exact than is the case. The common reader cannot place Master i Margarita in its full literary context, and there is no a priori reason to identify any one, or combination, of its elements as the source of its mass appeal. One might suspect that the novels affirmation of religion accounts for its popularity. Alternatively, its popularity might stem from the supernatural and demonological elements; Stephen King has a very large Soviet following, too. The purely comic element-Behemoth and Koroviev raising havoc in Moscow-is another possibility. Readers may be drawn to the novel because of the obvious parallels between the fate of the Master and his novel, and Bulgakov and his; Bulgakovs life and work can easily assume mythic qualities in their own right. Or perhaps the novel is popular because it can be read and misread as a parable of life in the Soviet Union. In brief, the novel can sustain a broad range of readings. In the absence of information supplied by Soviet readers, we can only guess at the sources of the novels appeal. As it happens, there is an unusual source that does reveal one popular reading of the novel: a very large accumulation of graffiti devoted to Bulgakov in stairwell 6, Bolshaia Sadovaia 10, in Moscow. That is the present address of the building in which Bulgakov lived briefly-in apartment 50, stairwell 6-in the early 1920s. The critic Berlioz inhabited the same apartment in Master i Margarita, and after Berliozs decapitation by a streetcar, Woland and his companions moved in. In the novel, Bulgakov disguises the street address slightly as Sadovaia 302-bis, but the numbers he gives to

The Russian Book Trade

Abstract The publishing industry has been one of the success stories of privatization and the new market economy in Russia in the last decade. Nevertheless, some problems persist. Among them are the fate of unproductive state publishing houses, failing book stores, and poor distribution to outlying areas and to Russians in the former Soviet republics. The authors report on publishing and distribution developments during 1999. The publishing industry survived the crash of 1998 intact. The number of titles published increased; even the number of academic titles increased. Private publishers were responsible for over 70% of the titles, with the state sector producing less than 30%. Distribution of books within Russia is improving, although slowly. Book prices rose by 22% in dollar terms. Prices of books from Russian Press Service rose 4%.

The Russian Book Market in 2006

The authors examine trends in Russian book publishing in 2006, including statistics and subjects covered. Russia has been the guest of honor at several recent international book fairs, a testament to the vibrancy of its publishing culture. Major prizes and anniversaries related to books, journalism, and scholarship are discussed. The article concludes with a consideration of past, present, and future price increases for books and serials—wholesale prices in Russia and Russian Press Services prices for its library customers. Editors Note: Russian Press Service went out of business at the end of April 2008, after this article was submitted.

Making History out of Current Events: The Gorbachev Era

Voices of Glasnost: Interviews with Gorbachevs Reformers. By Stephen F. Cohen and Katrina vanden Heuvel. New York: W.W. Nortoin, 1989. 339 pp. Har-d bouLndC; paper. Soviet Historians and Perestroika. The First Phase. Ecd. Donaldl J. Raleigh. Armonik: M.E. Sharp, 1989. xvi, 289 pp. Hard bouind. Five Years That Shook the World. Gorbachevs Unfinished Revolution. Ecd. Harley D. Balzer. Boulder: Westview Press, 1991. xii, 267 pp. Har-d bound. Soviet Reforms and Beyond. By Leo Cooper. New York: St. Martins Press, 1991. viii, 190 pp. Hard bouncd. Perils of Perestroika. Viewpointts from the Soviet Press, 1989-1991. Ed. Isaac J. Tar-asulo. Wilmington: Scholarly Resources, 1991. xxi, 355 pp. Harcd bouLndC; paper.

The diversificaiton of Russian scholarly publishing, 1995-2005

SUMMARY Russian scholarly publication has doubled since 1995, led by private scholarly imprints, which have tripled. The increase in the publication of monographs, in which private publishers now dominate, is particularly noticeable. The majority of private scholarly publication is in history and literary studies, but private presses account for a relatively larger share of publications in philosophy and religion. Scholarly publishing is to a considerable extent funded by a robust network of government and private foundations.

Russian Publishing in 2003 and early 2004: Publishers thrive while the noose tightens around the media: A report to Slavic librarians, July 2004

ABSTRACT The article discusses publishing trends in Russia during 2003 and the beginning of 2004. The Russian Book Chamber reports a total of over 80,000 titles published in 2003, a record. However, that figure is certainly too low. The number of scholarly books has also increased over the total in previous years. Meanwhile, the independent news media have had to contend with an ever-increasing amount of government interference.

Russian Democracy's Fatal Blunder: The Summer Offensive of 1917.

Preface Of Dates and Calendars Background Three Meetings: Paris, Chantilly and Mogilev The Petrograd Conference Why and How the Provisional Government Planned an Offensive: Government, Soviet, Military, and Allies Conditions at the Front: Casualties, Personnel Reassignments, Troop Deployment, and MaTEriel Conditions at the Front: New Regulations and New Institutions Conditions at the Front: Morale and Attitude of the Soldiers The Offensive Aftermath and Conclusions Appendix Bibliography Index