Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy Character Analysis in The Master and Margarita

Nikanor is the chairman of the tenants’ association asked with overseeing apartment no. 50, Berlioz’s property that is taken over by Woland and his entourage. Nikanor tries to behave in an officious manner and be an upstanding citizen but is quickly tempted by the promise of free tickets to the Variety and a bribe. Unfortunately for him, shortly after accepting the bribe, which turns out to be illegal foreign currency, Nikanor is reported to the authorities (by Koroviev) and swiftly arrested.

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy Quotes in The Master and Margarita

The The Master and Margarita quotes below are all either spoken by Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy or refer to Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

At the deceased’s desk sat an unknown, skinny, long citizen in a little checkered jacket, a jockey’s cap, and a pince-nez... well, in short, that same one.

‘And who might you be, citizen?’ Nikanor Ivanovich asked fearfully.

‘Hah! Nikanor Ivanovich!’ the unexpected citizen yelled in a rattling tenor and, jumping up, greeted the chairman with a forced and sudden handshake. This greeting by no means gladdened Nikanor Ivanovich.

‘Excuse me,’ he said suspiciously, ‘but who might you be? Are you an official person?’

‘Eh, Nikanor Ivanovich!’ the unknown man exclaimed soulfully. ‘What are official and unofficial persons? It all depends on your point of view on the subject. It’s all fluctuating and relative, Nikanor Ivanovich. Today I’m an unofficial person, and tomorrow, lo and behold, I’m an official one! And it also happens the other way round – oh, how it does!’

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 96

Explanation and Analysis:

Nikanor is the chairman of the tenants’ association that looks after Berlioz and Styopa’s apartment block. He is thus in a position of considerable power, being able to decide who will live in Berlioz’s vacant rooms (a power granted to him by the state in support of the ban on private ownership of property). Nikanor shows a slavish loyalty to duty and officialdom, asking Koroviev to prove his identity by proving his officiality. Koroviev’s flippant dismissal of Nikanor’s concerns both paints the whole question of being an “official” person as absurd and highlights the fragility of “official” status in a society where people can be “disappeared” for saying the wrong thing.

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy Character Timeline in The Master and Margarita

The timeline below shows where the character Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy appears in The Master and Margarita. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The Danger and Absurdity of Soviet Society Theme Icon

Shortly after news of Berlioz’s death gets around, Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, the chairman of the tenant’s association for the Sadovaya Street apartment complex, finds... (full context)

The Ambiguity of Good and Evil Theme Icon

Nikanor heads up to Berlioz and Styopa’s apartment, which is no. 50 and on the fifth... (full context)

Nikanor, perplexed, asks the man if he has an “official person.” He replies elusively: “What are... (full context)

Nikanor protests that Koroviev should not be sitting in a deceased man’s study and, furthermore, that... (full context)

Nikanor demands to see the foreigner, but Koroviev objects that he is currently training the cat;... (full context)

...association will be handsomely rewarded for letting Woland stay. Tempted by the promise of money, Nikanor calls the “foreign tourist bureau,” who readily inform him that they have no objections to... (full context)

Koroviev calls out to Woland to agree the rental price and tells Nikanor to ask for a vastly inflated sum. Nikanor then grinningly signs a contract for a... (full context)

Nikanor heads back to his apartment, briefly considering how it was that Koroviev gained access to... (full context)

Sitting down to a hearty meal, Nikanor’s peace is interrupted by the arrival of two men who accuse him of harboring foreign... (full context)

Around the same time as Nikanor’s arrest, Rimsky, the financial director of the Variety Theatre and, Varenukha, its administrator, are sitting... (full context)

...in, the master tells Ivan of a new arrival at the clinic: a fat man (Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy) who keeps talking about “currency in the ventilation.” He then asks Ivan to... (full context)

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, the chair of the Sadovaya street tenants’ association who was earlier arrested for... (full context)

Upon arrival at the clinic, the agitated Nikanor was injected with a sedative. He then calmed down and, falling asleep, dreamed a convoluted... (full context)

Nikanor’s distress at his dream woke Ivan up. The doctor came by to calm Ivan, and... (full context)

...amazement as a series of distressed individuals fled apartment no. 50 through a broken window: Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, Nikolai Ivanovich, and Varenukha. She then witnessed Woland leave with his entourage, alongside... (full context)

Investigators then head to Professor Stravinsky’s clinic, figuring out that Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy, George Bengalsky, and Ivan Nokolaevich Homeless have all been victims of Woland’s gang.... (full context)

...in the lanes of the Arbat. Here he observes an elderly man with piggish features— Nikolai Ivanovich Bosoy —who stares at the moon longingly, regretting his decision not to fly off with Natasha... (full context)

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy Character Analysis

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy Quotes in The Master and Margarita

Chapter 9 Quotes

Nikanor Ivanovich Bosoy Character Timeline in The Master and Margarita