Vassily Stepanovich Lastochkin

Vassily Stepanovich Lastochkin, the bookkeeper of the Variety Theatre, is a modest, quiet, and conscientious man who, in the chaotic aftermath of Woland's black magic seance, finds himself thrust into the role of the theatre's senior representative. His attempts to fulfill his routine duties—reporting the scandal and depositing the day's receipts—lead him through a series of increasingly surreal and bureaucratic disasters, exposing the systemic corruption and supernatural chaos that have infected Moscow's institutions. His journey culminates in his own arrest when the theatre's cash inexplicably transforms into foreign currency, making him a victim of the very forces he sought to report.

Role and Immediate Crisis

On Friday morning, the day after the accursed seance, Lastochkin is the only senior member of the Variety team available, as the director Stepan Likhodeev, the financial director Grigory Danilovich Rimsky, and the administrator Ivan Savelyevich Varenukha have all vanished without a trace. The theatre is in chaos: the telephones ring incessantly, the cleaning woman reports Rimsky's office found with the door open, lights on, a broken window, and an overturned armchair, and an agitated Madame Rimsky bursts in sobbing and wringing her hands. Lastochkin, pale and agitated, is brought forward by the team to confess to the police that the entire administration has disappeared, the master of ceremonies Georges Bengalsky has been taken to a psychiatric hospital, and the seance was frankly scandalous. The investigation, accompanied by the famous dog Ace of Diamonds, finds no trace of the contract with the magician, whose name no one can reliably recall—some say Woland, others Faland.

The Journey to the Commission

Lastochkin has two urgent tasks: to report to the Commission on Spectacles and Entertainment of the Lighter Type and to turn over the previous day's receipts of 21,711 roubles at the financial sector. Wrapping the money in newspaper and criss-crossing it with string, he sets out for a cab stand, but the drivers all leave empty under his nose, looking back at him angrily. When one finally stops, the driver is furious, explaining that he has been given counterfeit ten-rouble bills that turned into seltzer-bottle labels, and he curses the conjurer at the Variety. Lastochkin goes numb, shrank into himself, and pretends it is the first time he has heard the word.

The Suit and the Singing Affiliate

At the Commission, Lastochkin finds a state of utter pandemonium. The chairman's personal secretary, Anna Richardovna, sobbing and with mascara streaming down her face, drags him into the office, where he sees an empty suit sitting at the desk, writing with a dry pen and speaking in the voice of Prokhor Petrovich. The suit is immersed in work, completely ignoring the turmoil. Anna Richardovna shrieks that the devil has taken him, and Lastochkin, feeling superfluous, runs out. He then walks to the affiliate in Vagankovsky Lane, where he finds the staff uncontrollably singing 'Glorious Sea, Sacred Baikal' in a mass hypnosis, having been tricked into a choral-singing club by a checkered specialist with a cracked pince-nez—Koroviev. Three trucks arrive to take the entire staff to Professor Stravinsky's clinic.

Arrest at the Financial Sector

Finally reaching the financial sector, Lastochkin cautiously peeks in and finds it quiet. He asks for a deposit slip, but the clerk closes the grille, and when it reopens, the clerk asks ironically how much he has. When Lastochkin unpacks his load, everything swims before his eyes: the bundles contain Canadian dollars, British pounds, Dutch guldens, Latvian lats, and Estonian kroons. A menacing voice declares him one of the tricksters from the Variety, and Vassily Stepanovich is immediately arrested.