Nikolai is Margarita’s officious neighbor (where she lives with her husband, not the master). When Natasha becomes a witch by using Azazello’s cream (as Margarita has already done), Nikolai is astonished by her youthful beauty and tries to come on to her, calling her “Venus” despite having a wife already. She mischievously rubs him with the cream, turning him into a hog which she rides instead of a broomstick. At his request, he is turned back into his normal form, but later regrets not trying to stay with Natasha.
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Nikolai Ivanovich Character Timeline in The Master and Margarita
The timeline below shows where the character Nikolai Ivanovich appears in The Master and Margarita. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 20. Azazello’s Cream
Margarita sits in the windowsill, lit by moonlight. She hears her neighbor, Nikolai Ivanovich, park his car and gets out with his briefcase. She shouts at him, calling...
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Chapter 21. Flight
...I won’t go back, not for anything!” Jabbing the hog, Natasha reveals it to be Nikolai Ivanovich, the neighbor. Heading to Margarita’s room to return her falling clothing, Nikolai, amazed at...
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Chapter 22. By Candlelight
...Natasha arrives with “her hog.” Woland agrees to let them stay but insists that the hog—Nikolai Ivanovich—will not be allowed in the ballroom. Woland instructs Margarita not to “become flustered” during...
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Chapter 24. The Extraction of the Master
...remain a witch; Woland grants her requests and she flies out of the window. Then Nikolai Ivanovich appears, returned to human form. Woland dismisses him “with special pleasure,” after Behemoth and...
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With Nikolai gone, Varenukha appears. He requests to no longer be a vampire, which Azazello grants. Woland...
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...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 the master and...
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Chapter 27. The End of Apartment no. 50
Next to be interviewed is Nikolai Ivanovich, who shows the investigators his certificate recognizing his attendance at “Satan’s ball.” He tells...
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