Diaboliad

Diaboliad (Russian: Дьяволиада) is a short story by Mikhail Bulgakov. It was the only story of his to be published as a book in his lifetime.



History
In 1923 Mikhail Bulgakov 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 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 of the USSR confiscated the edition, although Angarskiy secured approval from the Glavlit 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 during the realism epoch. Korotkov is portrayed as a victim of the Soviet bureaucratic machine. Bulgakov also uses references and literary techniques of both Nikolai Gogol and Fyodor Dostoevsky.