Date: 14.12.2017
The first volume of the “M. A. Bulgakov: Annotated Bibliographic Index” has been released as a result of many years of work by specialists at the Russian State Art Library (RSAL).
The index reflects the published texts of Mikhail Bulgakov and printed materials in Russian: books, articles from periodicals and their fragments connected with the name of the author, along with the dissemination of his works and with their stage performances in Russia, the USSR, and abroad. Considerable bibliographic information is introduced into publication for the first time.
The chronological scope of the index — 1919–1940 — dates from the year of Bulgakov’s first publication (the essay “Future Prospects”) to the year of his death, inclusive.
In the history of the distribution of Bulgakov’s publications in print and theatrical performances, many gaps exist in, not only abroad, but also in the USSR in the 1920-1930s. The current picture of Bulgakov’s existing works determined the course of work on the bibliography. Not only were archive materials in the author’s personal collections in the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library (RSL) and in the Manuscript Department of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkinskij Dom) studied, but also those in the archives of the theatres and theatrical groups with which he collaborated. The compilers worked with the collections of the Department of Archive and Book Collections of the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT) Museum, with the collections of the Evgeny Vakhtangov Theatre Museum and the Yale Dramatic Association (New Haven, CT, USA), as well as with archive materials related to the history of the Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre.
When compiling the personal bibliography of the writer, taken into consideration was the information received by the compilers when accessing the collections of authors’ and theatrical organisations, some personal collections of personages in culture and art — Bulgakov’s contemporaries — stored in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Arts (RGALI), in foreign archive collections (the Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European History and Culture of the Columbia University libraries, in the archives of the New York Public Library, etc.).
The index consists of two sections — “Texts by Mikhail Bulgakov” and “Publications about the Life and Work of Mikhail Bulgakov”, supplementary materials, and the “List of Scanned Periodicals”. Within the sections, the bibliographic records are grouped in chronological order; then information within each year is first listed in alphabetical order by author and title, by description of books and their fragments (content), and finally by descriptions of articles in periodicals.
The edition prepared by the RSAL specialists is addressed to researchers of the creative heritage of Mikhail Bulgakov — literary and theatre researchers — but it can also be useful for university professors, students, archivists, libraries, and museums — all those who are interested in the author’s work.
“M.A. Bulgakov: Annotated Bibliographic Index.” Vol. 1: 1919–1940 / Russian State Art Library; comp. M. V. Mishurovskaya, [E.I. Alekseenkova], I.S. Efimova, Y.G. Slizun; Ed. S.P. Bavin, M.V. Mishurovskaya; Bibliographical Ed. A.V. Akimenko (Moscow: Russian State Art Library, 2017), 704 pp.
