Acronym, in Russian, of "mass literature": a name the novel invents for an association of Moscow writers, under the tutelage of the Soviet state. It was modeled on real organizations of the time, which regulated what writers published and, therefore, how they lived. It handed out membership cards, creative licenses, country houses, a restaurant, and stays at resorts such as Yalta.
Where It Appears
- Part One, Chapter 1: Never talk to strangers
- Part One, Chapter 4: The chase
- Part One, Chapter 5: It happened at Griboyedov
- Part Two, Chapter 28: The last adventures of Korovyov and Behemoth
Quotes
He would soon understand how good was the life of the fortunate members of Massolit, and soon he would begin to gnaw at himself with envy, tormented. And soon he would hurl bitter complaints at the heavens for not having blessed him, at birth, with literary talent, without which, naturally, he could not even dream of owning a Massolit membership card, the color of coffee, which smells of expensive leather and has a broad gold border
Part One, Chapter 5: It happened at Griboyedov, The narrator