One cannot travel to kyiv and not visit the museum dedicated to the author Mikhail Bulgakov. Andreevsky Spusk 13 is his old house, located in one of the most beautiful streets of the city. This attraction offers those looking to get out and wear some shoe leather the luxury of walking from their Kiev apartment or hotel while taking in many of the surrounding buildings that were first built in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The museum was founded in 1989, with many friends and family members donating valuable and unique relics. These range from the writer’s personal items and books to autographs and a fascinating collection of photographs. This gives it the feeling of a living museum where everything is authentic. He tries and manages to preserve the spirit of the man and his time, carefully recreating all the decoration of the rooms from old photographs and drawings of the time.
Mikhail Bulgakov was a journalist, playwright, novelist, and short story writer whose major work was a Gogolesque fantasy titled: The Master and Margarita. This tells the story of the devil disguised as a professor who is going to wreak havoc in Moscow. The work was suppressed almost instantly, because the author flatly refused to make any of the changes required by the authorities; the first Soviet edition was finally published only in 1967.
Born in Kiev and the eldest son of a theology professor at the Kiev Theological Academy, Bulgakov first studied medicine and actually served as a physician between 1916 and 1918 in front-line and district hospitals. Witnessing the occupation of Kiev by the Germans and then the Red Army, he became addicted to morphine as a means of escape, eventually giving up his medical practice in favor of a writing career.
His mostly autobiographical book, ‘The White Guard’, was an account of those turbulent years he spent in kyiv that brought him overnight success, but also drew some hostile criticism. It was then banned in 1929 and only fully published in 1955.
If someone really wants to get the real feel for the city of Kiev, buying ‘The White Guard’ is a great way to do it, as this is a man who loved his city very much. He conveys his sheer passion for a time and place to the reader through his myriad of characters and accurate descriptions of life at the time. Any kyiv hotel should be able to direct you to a bookstore to get a copy. Take it with you and read it in Andreyevsky Spusk and then visit the museum, but get a guide when you are in the museum as that really enhances the whole experience. Bulgakov managed to survive through Stalin’s purges until his natural death. Many believe this was because none of his novels were published in full during his lifetime, and Stalin, too, apparently appreciated the ruthless honesty his characters in the novel displayed everywhere, and in a world of betrayal, doubt, and rumor. which Bulgakov captures so well. that even sides have sides, this may well have been something Stalin secretly admired.
The museum is open every day except Wednesday from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in summer and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the winter months and is easily accessible from most Kiev apartments and hotels.
