 Master and Margarita (1994) is based on the eponymous book by Mikhail A. Bulgakov. The film is set in the 1930s Moscow under Stalin and in Jerusalem under Pilate, and has several story-lines that are intertwined. Master (Rakov) is a talented writer in Moscow working on a manuscript about the biblical Jesus (Burlyayev) and Pontius Pilate (Ulyanov). Authorities in Moscow are harassing Master by surveillance and intimidation. Victimized by their harassment, Master throws his manuscript into the fire, before he is locked up in a mental clinic. His assistant and Muse Margarita (Vertinskaya) uses the supernatural powers of Woland (Gaft), trying to help Master. The character of Master is thought to be autobiographical, burning of his manuscript alludes to what Bulgakov himself did under threats from Soviet authorities.