The Master and Margarita

The Master and Margarita depicts the chaos that ensues when Satan, incarnated as a mysterious professor of black magic named Woland, arrives in Moscow during the oppressive Stalin years of the 1920s. With his entourage of goulish pranksters-including a giant talking, vodka-swilling cat named Behemoth, the fanged Azazello, and assorted witches and demons-Woland wreaks supernatural havoc on the covetous, corrupt, and cowardly citizenry of the Soviet capital. At the center of the storm is an author known as the Master, who has written a controversial novel about the “true” story of the crucifixion of “Yeshua Ha-Nozri” by Pontius Pilate in the Middle Eastern town of “Yershalayim.” The atheist Soviet regime has banned his novel, and the Master has been committed to a state mental asylum. In order to secure Satan’s help in achieving the release of her true love, Margarita, the Master’s beloved, agrees to a Faustian bargain and serve as the queen of Woland’s annual demonic ball, a macabre event attended by dark spirits and tortured souls.