Context adds a lot to understanding this novel. Obviously, he is writing under Communism, and under Communism, organized religion was largely scrutinized (consider Marx's famous statement about religion). In many cases, it was done away with. Bulgakov follows the historical skepticism coming out of Europe at this time, from authors like Nietzsche, Camus and Sartre. This skepticism is more in the language (I think) than the plot. In other words, the difference in spelling of names (transliteration may play a part) speaks to uncertainties about historical verification.
Jessica's
I never thought about this when reading it, but then I'm not so great at interpreting satire.
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