Gennady Kalinovsky himself (1929-2006) considered the illustrations for "The Master and Margarita" to be his best project. Their fate in many ways resembles the fate of Bulgakov's manuscripts: they were published only 15 years after the date of creation, in 2001, and in 2002 the artist received the Grand Prix of the Book of the Year competition for them. Gennady Kalinovsky managed to crack the "visual and ideological code" of Bulgakov's great novel in an unimaginable way, as if directly penetrating the author's creation - his unique watercolors have such a strong effect on the viewer to this day.