Bortko's The Master and Margarita : Adaptation in the Service of Vladimir Putin.

As the most widely available medium in post-Soviet Russia, television has become central to both Russian collective memory and the formation of its national identity. This article examines Vladimir Bortko's 2005 television adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita. Particular attention is given to the series's treatment of political and economic critiques of the Soviet system in order to understand how these subjects are marshaled to downplay the political repression and economic centralization in Russia following the rise to power of Vladimir Putin. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]