Have you ever been hung over after an especially rowdy night of partying? If yes then you can probably relate especially well to the opening of the Chapter 7 of M&M, «Нехорошая квартира» [The Evil Apartment]. After all, poor «Стёпа Лиходеев» [Styopa Likhodeyev] suffered through a horrible «похмелье» [hangover] all through this short chapter.

Another Russian word for hangover is «бодун» as in «Стёпа был с такого бодуна, что с трудом узнал себя в зеркале» [Styopa was suffering from such a horrid hangover that he had a hard time recognizing himself in the mirror].

By the way, the last name «Лиходеев» is made up of two words – «лихо» [trouble, mischief] and «делать» [to do]. Thus the name describes and labels its owner as a scoundrel even before we get to learn any specifics about him. Ok, so Styopa isn’t evil or malicious. After all, his list of «свинство» [smut, piggery] includes just the ordinary stuff – «пьянство» [drunkenness], «ничего не деланье» [not doing anything], and «неумение выполнять свою работу» [inability to do one’s work]. «Больше того» [moreover], he sounds like someone who «знает, как устроиться» [knows how to get comfortable in life]. As for «втирать очки начальству» [blow smoke in the authorities’ eyes], that can even be a source of pride and a measure of one’s ability to make the most out of circumstances.

Interestingly, Woland seems to treat Styopa nicely, at least at first. He addresses Styopa as «симпатичнейший Степан Богданович» [most amiable Stepan Bogdanovich]. He treats Styopa’s hangover with some impeccably-served «холодные и горячие закуски» [cold and hot appetizers] and a bit of cold vodka, relying on the good old «клин клином вышибается» [the hair of the dog that bit you] approach. He obliges Styopa’s «забывчивость» [forgetfulness] and fills in the blanks in Styopa’s memory.  And even though he teaches Styopa a lesson after all, the punishment is relatively mild compared to those metered to Berlioz (death) and the young poet Bezdomniy (madness).

And how about the «нехорошая квартира №50» [the evil apartment #50]? Turns out, Woland taking up residence there only reinforces the apartment’s already-established reputation as a place where «чёрт знает что творится» [devil knows what happens]. The apartment was a place of many «необъяснимые происшествия» [unexplained incidents] when people disappeared without a trace or as they say in Russia, «как в омут канули» [lit. to fall into a deep swimming hole]. And you probably know who lives at the bottom of that deep hole, right? (Hint: «в тихом омуте черти водятся» [lit. the demons lurk in the deep water]).

The novel was written during the time when purges where getting more and more terrifying and all-encompassing; when a single ill-spoken word could lead to the disappearance of not only the hapless person who uttered it, but those who were near enough to hear it. It was the time when people left for work not knowing whether they would return to their loved ones that evening or not, as the nameless lodger who «не вернулся не только через десять минут, а вообще никогда не вернулся» [not only did not return in ten minutes, he never returned at all].

Many were picked up in the middle of the night, hence Anfisa’s comment that she «знает, кто утащил и жильца и милиционера, только к ночи не хочет говорить» [knows who it was that had spirited away both the lodge and the policeman, only she didn’t want to say because it was almost night time.]

Those arrested were subjected to intense interrogations and threats and frequently confessed to things they’ve never said or done and listed other innocents as their accomplices. Those poor souls were arrested next and the cycle repeated itself, drawing more and more terrified people into the vortex. «Ну, а колдовству, как известно, стоит только начаться, а там уж его ничем не остановишь.» [Well, as everyone knows, once witchcraft gets started, there’s no stopping it.]

The arrests were accompanied by searches – «в №50-м всю ночь слышались какие-то стуки и… до утра в окнах горел электрический свет» [knocking sounds were heard in #50 all night long and… the lights were on until daybreak].

Personally, I think Chapter 7 is the first chapter in which Bulgakov openly declares that forces a lot more dangerous and evil than Woland had been at play in Moscow for quite some time. So for all the tomfoolery around Styopa’s hangover, the introduction of Woland’s unusual servants, and the light-hearted description of the evil apartment, this seems to be the darkest chapter so far.