In the early 1920s, M. Bulgakov successively created three stories: 'The Devil's Play' (1923), 'The Fatal Eggs' (1924), and 'Heart of a Dog' (1925). This was a direct and violent reaction to the 'Sovietization' of Russia, to the accession of the 'Sharikov' caste.
The stories 'The Devil's Play' and 'The Fatal Eggs' were published, respectively, in 1924 and 1925. 'Heart of a Dog' waited for its moment for forty-three years. Bulgakov the satirist continues the traditions of Russian prose - Gogol and Saltykov-Shchedrin. And in his early stories, one can already discern the outlines of future chapters of 'The Master and Margarita.'