Grigoriy Robakidzewww.instagram.comOnce, while walking down a small street in the center of Tbilisi, I was suddenly grabbed by an elderly lady and whisked away into an inconspicuous little basement. Tucked inside was a collection of miniature figurines by the Georgian artist Grigory Robakidze. The lady, who turned out to be the museum's caretaker (and incidentally, the artist's mother), proudly showed off an unimaginable array of his works—dedicated to historical figures as well as pop culture icons, from The Three Musketeers to Game of Thrones (with a transit stop at Pirates of the Caribbean and much, much more).
Taking pride of place in the gallery were figurines depicting characters from The Master and Margarita. The artist was clearly inspired by Vladimir Bortko's 2005 TV series when creating them, and it is astonishing how he managed to capture the features of the actors in such miniature works. Indeed, the level of detail in Grigory Robakidze's figurines is mind-boggling: on these 40-millimeter little figures, you can make out not only their fingernails, but even the crow's feet in the corners of their eyes.
All in all, if you ever find yourself in Tbilisi, be sure to stop by 7 Shalva Dadiani Street—this undeservedly obscure miniature gallery is well worth adding to your list of must-visit Georgian attractions.
And now, at long last, let’s get to the real reason we’re all here and take a closer look at Bulgakov's characters:
Dressed in a tailcoat, Koroviev-Fagott (played by actor Aleksandr Abdulov) holding a lantern, getting ready to greet Margarita at the foot of the stairs before the ball
Woland (played by actor Oleg Basilashvili) holding the skull chalice at the Spring Ball of the Full Moon
Azazello (played by actor Aleksandr Filippenko) about to shoot Baron Meigel (and in Azazello's breast pocket, just as it should be, is a chicken bone—just marvel at the detail on a four-centimeter figure!)
Behemoth the Cat with his primus stove, bow tie, opera glasses (with which, as we recall, he adorned himself before the ball), and a shot of vodka (or rather, excuse me, pure alcohol)
Hella (played by actress Tanya Yu, though you can't see her face in the photo) flustering the Variety Theater's bartender with her appearance as she invites Baron Meigel to the ball. A beret with a rooster feather rests on the chest
Let's transport ourselves to Yershalaim. Here is Pontius Pilate (played by actor Kirill Lavrov) reading the file on the rebel Yeshua Ha-Notsri (or perhaps the parchment of Matthew Levi). His faithful dog lies at his feet
And here is Yeshua himself (played here, supposedly, by actor Sergei Bezrukov, though I'm not so sure about the resemblance) riding into Yershalaim on a donkey—which, as far as I remember, he never actually had
And this is Matthew Levi (played by actor Semyon Strugachyov) cursing God on Bald Mountain. Lying nearby are that very parchment and the stolen bread knife
Back to Moscow. Here is the poet Ivan Homeless (played by actor Vladislav Galkin) wrecking the Griboyedov restaurant in search of the consultant
...which lands him straight in a psychiatric clinic. Here is Professor Stravinsky (played by actor Vasily Livanov)
And here are the title characters themselves, leaving the engulfed-in-flames house in Arbat Lane on their magical horses
