The writer’s uncle Pyotr Bulgakov in Vladivostok, Tokyo, and San-Francisco

Abstract

   The article compares two printed versions of the short story ‘The Power of the Devil’ [‘Vlast lukavogo’], written by the priest P. Bulgakov. The first publication of the story took place in China in 1907; the second edition was given the title ‘Greed’ [‘Zhadnost’] and printed in Europe in 1923. The later edition was thoroughly revised: technical inaccuracies were corrected, several scenes cut short, expressive means added, and more profound conclusions drawn. These changes may indicate that the revision was in part supervised by the priest’s nephew Mikhail Bulgakov, later a renowned writer. Pyotr Bulgakov taught theology at the Oriental Institute in Vladivostok, then the Japanese and Russian languages in Japan, where he served as priest for the Russian embassy; he also studied the influence of Christian philosophy on East and Southeast Asia, published papers on Japanese studies, and produced translations. The article touches on his relationship with M. Bulgakov’s family.