The Master and Moscow map was supposed to be released in time for Walpurgis Night, April 30th, and also to coincide with the 135th anniversary of Mikhail Bulgakov's birth. But I finished it "on the night between the second and third of January"—the 14th, Osip Mandelstam's 135th birthday. It happened completely by accident, if such accidents are possible.
There are two Masters on my map—and this is certainly no coincidence. One is the alter ego of Mikhail Bulgakov, the author of The Master and Margarita. The other is the one a certain tyrant on the phone called a Master. The one who said of himself, "I am a man of the era of the Moskvoshvei." It seems to me that the words of one resonate with the words of the other. Mandelstam and Bulgakov are the same age, and both were not spared by the wolfhound of the century. They even lived for a time in the same house on Nashchekinsky Lane.
This map is a mix of high tragedy, everyday drama, romance, and even pulp fiction (from Tverskoy to Gogol), buffoonery, and devilry. It features seven trams, four witches, three impudent buffoons, two (or three) Masters, one primus stove, and a sturgeon of the first freshness.
The Fagot and Azazello fonts were also created for it, and the Elzenskok font became Margarita's voice.
The final stage of the subscription is "First Fresh Sturgeon." It's almost symbolic—a savings of 100 rubles on the small format and 200 rubles on the large. But you can snag cards in rare colors: ash-violet, boudoir-burgundy, and even mirror-like. The subscription is valid for a week, until next Saturday.
