Russian Language Blog

Maybe you’re asking yourself «кто это?» [who is this?] looking at the painting above. But if you’ve been reading «Мастер и Маргарита» [“Master & Margarita”] together with us the past two months, then you should know by now that this is «Михаил Булгаков» [Mikhail Bulgakov]. Though you might still wonder «где это?» [where is this?]. Well, it happens to be on the wall «в одном знаменитом московском подъезде» [in one famous Moscow doorway (entrance)]…

…and this «знаменитый подъезд (нынче подъезд номер 6 (шесть), видимо)» [famous entrance (or I would call it ‘staircase’ rather) (currently entrance number 6, apparently)] leads up to the part of «музей М. А. Булгакова в Москве» [the M. A. Bulgakov Museum in Moscow] which is also known as «квартира номер 50 (пятьдесят)» [apartment number 50].

The walls have been re-painted many times to cover up the curios remarks and talented artworks left by various «поклонники писателя» [devotees/admirers of the writer] over the years. But there’s no stopping «любовь читателей» [the love of the readers], for new paintings and fresh messages keep appearing and re-appearing on these walls. That’s why every time you go there you might find something entirely new! When I visited the museum in June I especially liked where it says «Булгаков – гений» [Bulgakov is a genius] with BIG letters, and then in smaller letters (not visible on the picture above, sadly):«это правда, я проверил» [it is true, I (male) verified/tested/checked it]. «Как?» [how?] There’s no further explanation! Oh, and then there’s the «МАСТЕРство не пропьёшь» [‘you can't drink your skill (handicraft; trade) away’]. I hope that’s true! «А кто-нибудь проверил?» [Did anyone verify it?]

Chapter 12 – «Явление героя» [“The Appearance of the Hero”, or an even better English translation might be: ”The Hero Appears”] – is where we, the readers of “Master & Margarita”, finally come to understand what the novel’s title means. In this chapter an enigmatic «гость» [mas. guest] comes into the room of «Иван Бездомный» [Ivan ‘Homeless’] in the mental hospital in the middle of the night – through the balcony. During his visit he asks about how Ivan came to be there as well as manages to tell the story of his life, all without ever mentioning his own name. Not even once! The stranger is fascinated with how Ivan’s arrival to the mental hospital is tightly linked to Pontius Pilate – a historical figure about whom he himself once wrote an entire novel. After receiving this piece of curious information Ivan asks the mysterious man: «Вы – писатель?» [”Are you a writer?”]. But he almost corrects him: «Я – мастер» [“I am a master”]. He points at this hat which has the letter «М» sown onto it in yellow silk and comments: «Она своими руками сшила её мне» [“She sew it for me with her own hands”]. Who is «она» [she]? The Master does not mention her name while telling Ivan the whole story about how they met. But we all can guess that she must be the «Маргарита» [Margarita] from the book’s title, right? Chapter 12 might just as well be called «Явление героя и героини» [“The appearance of the Hero and the Heroine”] for from this chapter on she comes to play an equally important part to the story as he does – perhaps an even greater one! In my strictly personal opinion, the title of the novel might just as well have been «Маргарита и Мастер» [“Margarita and The Master”] instead of the other way around. Chapter 12 is only our first introduction to the novel’s two ‘main’ characters, but the further we reach in their stories and their involvement in the plot, the more will we understand that it is not entirely clear who of these two are really «главный» [main, chief, principal; head (in mas. sing.)] – or should I perhaps say «главная» [the same adjective but in fem. sing]?

Chapter 12 is where the according to some scholars «фантастический роман» [fantastic/fantasy novel] transforms from «реалистический роман с элементами фантастики» [a realistic novel with elements of fantasy] into «любовный роман» [a love novel]. Or it might be more correct to call that aspect of the novel for «история одной любви» [the history of one love] – what love is that, you might ask? Well, the love «между мастером и одной замужней женщиной» [between the Master and one married woman] «без имени» [without a name]. We all realize that she’s «Маргарита» [Margarita] – as we find out that their love came upon them like a thief on the street, according to what the Master told Ivan.

Since they are indeed a «знаменитая пара из русской литературы» [famous couple from Russian literature], I thought to myself: “Why not finish this post with a quiz to see if you can pair some literary couples with the books that chronicle their love story?” I had a bit of «кризис с фантазией и памятью» [crisis with (my) fantasy and memory] while trying to come up with at least five couples – not all of them necessarily had a happy ending. If you know more couples than this, please share them in the comments (and don’t forget to mention in which book we might find them)!

1. «Соня и Раскольников» [Sonia and Raskol'nikov];

2. «Лара и Живаго» [Lara and Zhivago];

3. «Наташа и Безухов» [Natasha and Bezukhov];

4. «Татьяна и Онегин» [Tatiana and Onegin];

5. «Одинцова и Базаров» [Odintsova and Bazarov].

*

A. «Война и мир» [“War and Peace”];

B. «Отцы и дети» [“Fathers and Sons”];

C. «Преступление и наказание» [“Crime and Punishment”];

D. «Евгений Онегин» [“Evgeny Onegin”]

E. «Доктор Живаго» [“Doctor Zhivago”].

Leave your answers – or guesses, if that’s how you’d rather define them – in the comments like this “1 + E” (if you think that’s right). You get extra points if you can also add who the writers behind each of the novels are! I’ll publish the correct answers on Thursday. If this was super-easy for you, then let me introduce a more difficult task: How come (almost) all the female characters on the list above are mainly called by their first names, whereas the male go by their last names?

And this week «мы читаем Булгакова у бассейна» [we're reading Bulgakov by the pool].

«Да, да, знаю, знаю» [yes, yes, I know, I know] – it has been almost two months since we all started reading «Мастер и Маргарита» [“Master & Margarita”] together and we haven’t made it further than chapter ten. «Честно говоря» [honestly speaking] I think we’re just going to keep reading this novel and writing a post about a chapter (or like in today’s post: TWO chapters, because one of them is really short) every week until we finish it because in every chapter there’s something interesting. By now I think it’s clear to all of us that we can find some little detail in every chapter – or in some cases, too many and too big details! – to focus on that’ll not only help us understand what «шедевр Булгакова» [Bulgakov’s masterpiece] is about, but also a little bit more about the Russian language. Today we’re covering mainly «глава 10 (десятая): Вести из Ялты» [chapter 10: News from Yalta], but also «глава 11 (одиннадцатая): Раздвоение Ивана» [chapter 11: The ‘Splitting’ of Ivan]. In chapter 10 we find ourselves at the «Варьете» [Variety Theater], located «на той же Садовой (улице)» [also on Savodaya (Garden) Street], where its financial director «Римский»  [Rimsky] and administrator «Варенуха» [Varenukha] are about to receive just what the title of the chapter is called: news from Yalta. Back in the 1930’s «не было интернета» [there was no internet] and «ни у кого не было сотового телефона» [nobody had a cellular phone] so it was not as easy it is now to get a message from «Крым» [the Crimea] to reach «Москва» [Moscow] instantly. We know that the director of the Variety Theater, «Лиходеев» [Likhodeev], has just been magically removed from Moscow to Yalta by Voland’s «шайка» [gang]. Now if this had happened right now, Likhodeev could’ve just updated «свой статус на фейсбуке» [updated his status on Facebook] to say something like «Воланд меня послал непонятным образом в Ялту!» [Voland has sent me in a strange way to Yalta!]. He could even have taken a picture of himself in Yalta with his phone and posted it on Facebook, just to prove to Rimsky and Varenukha that he was actually IN Yalta. But in the Soviet Union there was no Facebook, and smart phones had yet to be invented in the world at this point in history. So what did people in the 1930’s do to communicate with other people in places far away? They sent each other telegrams! In this chapter, a woman brings the Variety Theater something called «сверхмолния» [‘super-lightning’]. This is the same thing as «телеграмма» [telegram]: made from the word «молния» [lightning] with the prefix «сверх» which in this case means ‘super’ like in the word «сверхъестественно» [supernatural]. When sending a telegram people in the olden days tended to leave out the words that they could so as to save space. These were usually those words that the reader would understand as implied. In Russian it is not that difficult to understand which words are left out, because Russian language’s worst curse (for those of us trying to learn it at least!) also turns out to be a huge blessing sometimes: «падежи» [the cases]! Let’s see if we can put back the ‘missing’ words from the first telegram from Likhodeev in Yalta to his colleagues in Moscow:

«Ялты Москву Варьете Сегодня половину двенадцатого угрозыск явился шатен ночной сорочке брюках без сапог психический назвался Лиходеевым директором Варьете Молнируйте ялтинский розыск где директор Лиходеев».

There is a reason as to why I didn’t translate the Russian text above into English straight away. A lot of the forms of the words, like «Ялты» and «Москву», give away the meaning to the native speaker who would know that what is implied is really «из Ялты» and «в Москву». And that’s why the translation would have to be ‘from Yalta’ and ‘to Moscow’ – leaving out all the fun in the Russian original! Let’s see if we can make sense out of this sentence. I’ve placed the words I think are left out and implied in CAPITAL LETTERS, just to make it easier. If you don’t agree with me, then let your opinion be heard!

«ИЗ Ялты В Москву: В Варьете. Сегодня В половину двенадцатого В уголовный розыск явился шатен, В ночной сорочке, В брюках, без сапог, психический назвался Лиходеевым, директором Варьете. Молнируйте ялтинский розыск, где НАХОДИТСЯ директор Лиходеев» [From Yalta to Moscow: to the Variety Theater. Today at 11.30 in the department of criminal investigation a brow-haired man turned up, in a nightgown, in pants, without boots, psychologically called himself Likhodeev, the director of the Variety Theater. Send a telegram to the Yalta investigation, where director Likhodeev is].

Because it would be physically impossible for Likhodeev – who just moments earlier made a phone call from his apartment to the Variety Theater – to suddenly be «в Ялте» [in Yalta], they don’t believe he is the one behind the telegram. Rimsky and Varenukha think it has been sent from a «Лжёдмитрий» [lit. ‘False Dmitry’, but in modern Russian meaning anyone who is an impostor]. The next telegram Likhodeev sends to Varenukha and Rimsky in Moscow is shorter than the first, but not as cryptically composed:

«Умоляю верить брошен Ялту гипнозом Воланда молнируйте угрозыску подтверждение личности Лиходеев».

In ‘complete’ Russian this would translate into:

«Я умоляю верить МНЕ. Я брошен В Ялту гипнозом Воланда. Молнируйте уголовному розыску подтверждение МОЕЙ личности. Лиходеев» [I beg you to believe. I have been thrown to Yalta by Voland's hypnosis. Send the department of criminal investigation a proof of my identity. Likhodeev].

It is indeed too bad that the ‘ancient’ art form of writing and sending telegrams is not something a person has to master these days – not even in Russian! The genre is quite interesting, especially to someone who is not yet fluent but still trying to figure out what the «падежи» [cases] mean and what they’ll do to those innocent Russian words. In telegrams, the case will not only be visible in the form of the word itself, but also important to the whole meaning of it. Isn’t that something to think about while you’re making your way through chapter 10 of Master and Margarita?

If telegrams are a genre of writing itself, then so is the famous act of «писать заявление» [to write an announcement; statement; application]. This is a very important thing to know how to do properly both in Russian language as well as if you’re going to spend some time living in Russia. In Russia you’d have to write a formal «заявление» [announcement; statement; application] for just about everything – Russians prefer to have everything documented and in writing on proper paper. Not very surprising then, that this is what we find «Иван» [Ivan] doing in his room at the mental hospital in chapter 11: writing a «заявление в милицию» [report to the police (I’m not sure if this is the proper English translation of the act, but that’s what I think you could explain the formal process of reporting a crime to police)] to let them know about the incident with professor Voland and his involvement in Berlioz’ death. Writing a «заявление» is not that difficult, and it sure isn’t worth making it harder than it should be – especially considering that you have to do it so often in Russia! This is how it’s done:

First you answer the question «Куда?» [To where?] and put the person or the place in accusative case like this: «В милицию» [To the Police].

Then you answer «От кого?» [From whom?] and put your own name in the genitive case, just like Ivan did in his: «Члена Массолита Ивана Николаевича Бездомного» [From member of Massolit Ivan Nikolaevich Bezdomny].

All of this is written in the right top corner of the paper – usually a blank, white paper without any lines is used. After this you write «ЗАЯВЛЕНИЕ» in big letters in the middle of the paper.

The finishing formality – before you go on and explain the reason behind why you’re writing this in the first place – is usually: «Прошу…» [I ask…]. And then you put everything that you want to ask for after that. Sometimes it seems silly in Russia to have to write a whole big paper like this when the actual request is only one sentence. Ivan’s «заявление» was a much more serious piece of work – so serious that he didn’t go on to finish it but as a matter of fact ended up not caring as much about the whole incident anymore. Maybe that’s what too many formalities will do to a person? Or maybe that’s the work of… the devil, also known as Voland?

I’m no «букинист» [book dealer, typically specializing in rare or antiquarian books], so it came as a surprise to learn that first edition of Master and Margarita such as this one was listed on the Russian rare books site for approximately $3,600.

What is «жилплощадь»? Ah, the wonderful or rather wonder-inspiring language of «Совдепия» [Sovietdom]! «Жиплощадь» is short for «жилая площадь», meaning «обитаемая, предназначенная для жилья площадь дома, квартиры» [floor space of a living areas of an apartment or a house]. So why not say «квартира» [apartment] or «комната» [room] when referring to one’s living quarters?

Back in the days, including when «история Мастера и Маргариты» [story of Master and Margarita] took place, few individuals or even families could boast living in separate apartments. Instead, a certain number of square meters of living space was allocated to each and every city dweller.

Do you know the old Communist principle «каждому – по потребностям, от каждого – по способностям» [to each - according to his needs; from each - according to his abilities]? Except when it came to «получение жилплощади» [obtaining living space] it was exactly the opposite and «каждому – по способностям» [to each - according to his abilities], specifically – abilities to make all the right moves and pull all the right strings.

One couldn’t buy «жилплощадь» [living space]. Instead, they could «достать» [to obtain], «выбить» [to wheedle out], or «получить» [to receive] the coveted square meters from «жилотдел» [office responsible for keeping track of and allocating housing]. In order to do this, one had to «встать в очередь» [to queue], «подать заявление» [to submit application] or «предъявить претензию» [to file a claim], «собрать справки» [to collect supporting documents], and «ждать» [to wait]. Thanks to «долгострой» [never-ending construction projects], insufficient resources directed to the public housing and all-pervasive «волокита» [red tape] such «ожидание» [wait] could last «до второго пришествия» [‘til the Second Coming].

The problem of insufficient housing existed long after hapless «председатель жилищного товарищества дома №302-бис Никанор Иванович Босой» [chairman of the housing committee of #302-B Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoi] fell victim to «Коровьевские штуки» [Koroviev’s tricks].

You’d think that now that Russia embraced capitalism, the housing difficulties «остались в прошлом» [are left in the past]. No such thing! In fact, catchy late-Soviet «каждой семье – отдельную квартиру к 2000 году» [a separate apartment for each family by the year 2000] slogan notwithstanding, the issue has never been resolved.

The hand-written sign on the bathroom door in a «коммунальная квартира»: Don’t smoke! Smart? Leaving? Turn the water off!!! Floor is wet? Clean it up! Is the bath tub clean? Did YOU clean up after YOURSELF?!! (You can seem more photos of communal flats on Brikinzewall LiveJournal).

No one knows how many Russians still live in «коммуналки» or «коммунальные квартиры» [communal apartments], but by some estimates it’s 1 out of 10 Russian citizens. In case you don’t know, «коммунальная квартира» is a large apartment shared by several individuals and/or families. Each family has its own room and all share common areas – bathroom, kitchen and hallway. If you’d like, you can have a virtual tour of a typical «коммуналка» from the comfort of your home.

No wonder that Russian language has quite a few words that deal with «жильё» [housing]. For example, in addition to the already-mentioned «жилплощадь» and «жилотдел», there is «жилуправление» – a department that deals with maintenance and repairs issues staffed with «жилуправленцы» [bureaucrats working at the housing maintenance and repairs department].

Agglomerations of faceless apartment buildings built «по типовому проекту» [according to generic design plan] are referred to as «жилмассивы».

Not to mention a slew of acronyms, including «ЖЭК – жилищно-эксплуатационная контора» [local building and utilities office]. By the way, while the word «контора» [office] is feminine, the acronym «ЖЭК» is masculine thus determining the ending of the word «реагировать» [to react; here - to respond] in the following sentence – «крыша протекла, а ЖЭК не реагировал на жалобы» [the roof leaked, but ZhEK did not respond to complaints].

Needless to say, many of the officials in the building and utilities sector, including the aforementioned «Никанор Босой» [Nikanor Bosoi] were corrupt and used their «служебное положение» [position] « в корыстных целях» [in order to ingratiate themselves]. Not only were they, using Korovyev’s description, «выжиги и плуты» [greedy rogues and cheats], but «взяточники» [bribe takers] as well.

As to the ordinary Russians, in addition to communal flats, they had such wonderful inventions as «семейное общежитие» [dormitories for married couples and families] and «подселение» [a situation when one room in a single-family apartment is allocated to another individual or even a family]. Individual apartments were (and many still are) small, often housing three and even four generations under one roof. Understandable, «квартирный вопрос стоял остро» [housing problem was acute].