From the world in the picture: VK has released a popular edition of the "Dog's Heart"

The exclusive edition of the "Dog's Heart" is the result of the national illustration competition of VK, Eksmo and the Mikhail Bulgakov Museum. The book, which has been banned in the homeland for more than 60 years, is now considered not just a classic and must-read, but everyone imagines the plot and characters in their own way. This heterogeneous, but at the same time integral view was united, according to the plan of its initiators, by the new edition. Izvestia was among the first to appreciate how illustrators from different parts of the country saw the events of the "Heart of a Dog" and talked with the project participants.

What did the "Dog's Heart" come with for the anniversary

It has been 100 years since Mikhail Bulgakov wrote the satirical novel "The Heart of a Dog". An essay with a difficult fate has been read for many years only from Samizdat pages. It was not until 1968 that the novel was first published, but not in the author's homeland, but abroad - in Frankfurt and London. It was only in 1987 that the story of Professor Preobrazhensky, Dr. Bormental and Sharikov appeared on the pages of the magazine "Banner". A year later, Vladimir Bortko filmed "The Heart of a Dog" at Lenfilm starring Evgeny Evstigneev, Boris Plotnikov, Vladimir Tolokonnikov and Nina Ruslanova. The film went into quotes.

For some reason, the centenary of the novel in Russia went unnoticed. Of the notable events, only Anton Fedorov's production at MTUSE a year ago can be mentioned offhand. To be fair, even a year later, the play remains one of the most important events in the capital's cultural life, and there are almost no tickets for the September screenings. But neither the film show nor any major exhibitions happened, which, of course, is a big omission.

Nevertheless, the appearance of a new publication of Bulgakov's work is not the only gift for fans of the classic. The Mikhail Bulgakov Museum dedicated an annual festival dedicated to the writer's birthday, Bulgakov Fest, to the 100th anniversary of the story. A number of thematic events were held at the sites of the museum and the partner. And in the fall, the museum and the Moscow Young Spectator Theater are preparing an exhibition dedicated to the anniversary of the story and the first performance by Henrietta Yanovskaya at the Moscow Art Theater in 1987.

The first readers were able to get acquainted with the "Dog's Heart" on July 29 in the creative space opposite the new building of the Tretyakov Gallery. The presentation took place within the framework of the "Summer in Moscow" festival. On the same day, a new edition of the book went on sale.

Who worked on the new edition of "Heart of a Dog"

This Bulgakov volume is interesting because the works of the winners of the VK Bookshelf contest, organized by VK in collaboration with Eksmo Publishing House and the Mikhail Bulgakov Museum, were used in its design. 120 authors took part in the competition. The artists were faced with the task of presenting their work in a manner peculiar to each. But at the same time, the illustrations created had to correspond to the idea of the story. Based on the results of the submitted works, the jury selected 14 winners. No matter how different the artists are in their techniques and backgrounds, their work is very similar in style.

"In my work, I wanted to find a balance between the gloom of the events and the humorous component of the story," artist Evdokia Yeremeyeva told Izvestia. — The black and white color scheme resembles an old photographic film. The main character of the work, Sharikov, is inscribed in the frame. It would seem that this should be a serious formal portrait, but the frame is crooked, and the hero is dressed in an awkward striped suit with a garish brooch.

Sharikov's hairstyle, according to the artist's idea, resembles animal ears, and the skull in his hands speaks not about the transience of life, as is customary in portraiture, but about nature, the inner core of the character, from which it is impossible to escape.

The artist Maria Boyko admits that when creating the illustration for the story, she tried to portray a classic work in a completely new way, in a style atypical for great literature. Therefore, she kept Sharikova more dog-like features. And all the elements of the character's clothing remained as described in the book by the author.

"For me, The Heart of a Dog is a story about human nature, the danger of interfering with the natural course of life, the limits of science and the responsibility of the creator," illustrator Valli, who designed the book's cover, shared with Izvestia. — Through the metaphor of turning a dog into a human, Bulgakov shows that external changes are not the main thing. The real human being is shaped by years, environment, and experience.

As you know, "The Heart of a Dog" is still not in the public domain, as it was released in 1968. And everything related to Bulgakov's legacy attracts the attention of copyright experts. But in this case, there were no problems.

— With Sergey Shilovsky (grandson of Elena Bulgakova, the writer's wife, the legitimate heir of Mikhail Afanasyevich. Eksmo has been working for a long time, so there are no problems and difficulties," said Natalia Zavyalova, editor—in-chief of Eksmo. — No one has an exclusive, Bulgakov's works are published by many publishing houses. The heirs were not directly involved in the creative part of the illustrator competition. But they are, of course, aware of the project. They will receive original copies of the art edition.

Izvestia asked Eksmo to analyze the sales of the novel "The Heart of a Dog" and found out that the sale of the book is not characterized by spontaneous demand. Readers' interest in her is very stable. As specified in Eksmo, this trend is observed in all publishing houses. Half of all sales of the "Dog's Heart" account for the federal network "Chitai-gorod" (online and offline) and another 20% each for marketplaces — WB and OZON. The month of maximum demand in 2023 and 2024 is March. In 2025, February is still in the lead. But July is not over yet.