Mikhail Bulgakov

Mikhail Bulgakov (1891–1940) was a Soviet playwright, novelist and short-story writer, born in Kiev and best known for his humour and satire. A doctor by training, he gave up medicine for writing; his works include the novel The White Guard, the play The Days of the Turbins, the novella Heart of a Dog (1925) and the novel The Master and Margarita. By 1930 he was effectively barred from publishing, and he died in Moscow in 1940.

May 15, 1891