Roman M. Bulgakova, a typical "novel with a key," requires decryption for his adequate reading, i.e. disclosure of character prototypes, descriptions of those real situations and relationships that served as material for the author. This problem was solved by A. Kobrinsky using archival materials, evidence of contemporaries. For the first time, not only the full text of the novel, corrected from the manuscript, is printed, but also "Dynamic Transcription," which allows you to trace in detail Bulgakov's work on the text. The Appendix publishes documents and materials (most of them for the first time) related to Bulgakov's relationship with the Moscow Art Theater, in particular, with the production of Moliere on its stage.