Diaboliad ( Russian: Дьяволиада) is a short story by

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...

. It was the only story of his to be published as a book in his lifetime.

History

In 1923

met Nikolai Semenovich Angarskiy, who was the senior editor and manager of the almanac ''Nedra''. After making acquaintance, Angarskiy subsequently began publishing Bulgakov's stories in the journal, such as

The Fatal Eggs ''The Fatal Eggs'' (russian: Роковые яйца, ) is a novella by Mikhail Bulgakov, a Soviet novelist and playwright whose most famous work is ''The Master and Margarita''. It was written in 1924 and first published in 1925. The novel becam ...

and others. Bulgakov read the story to Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, who liked it very much, however Bulgakov himself noted in his diary twice that he himself was not pleased with the story. ''Diaboliad'' was first published in 1924. In 1925, the story was published separately as Bulgakov's own book. Two months after publication, the

Joint State Political Directorate The Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU; russian: Объединённое государственное политическое управление) was the Intelligence agency, intelligence and state security service and secret police ...

of the USSR confiscated the edition, although Angarskiy secured approval from the

Glavlit Main Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press under the Council of Ministers of the USSR (russian: Главное управление по охране государственных тайн в печати при СМ С� ...

to publish a second edition of the book. In 1926, it was successfully published again, however Bulgakov then cut ties with the publishing house. Literary critic Yevgeny Zamyatin lauded the story for its cinematic structure and blend of the fantastic and everyday.

Plot

Varfolomey Korotkov, the main character, is a clerk in a match factory. The factory is marked by disorder - employees receive their wages with constant delays; they are paid not with money, but with matches; and the management changes inexplicably often for unknown reasons. One day, a new manager is appointed to the factory. He immediately fires Korotkov for a minor mistake, who in return tries to justify himself. Suddenly it turns out that there are two completely identical managers of the factory, a shaved one and a bearded one. Korotkov attempts to talk to a singular manager in regards to his position are in vain. Korotkov finally goes insane, and jumps from a high-rise building while being chased by criminal investigation.

Themes

The story's main character, Korotkov, is portrayed as the classical "little man" literary hero that appeared in

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were c ...

during the

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

epoch. Korotkov is portrayed as a victim of the Soviet bureaucratic machine. Bulgakov also uses references and literary techniques of both

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

and

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

References

{{Reflist 1924 short stories Works by Mikhail Bulgakov