The plaque is on the façade of the nineteenth-century house where this famous native of the Ukrainian capital grew up, which became a museum in the early 1990s. The problem for some: Bulgakov was born in Kiev into a Russian family.

The director of the museum, Lyudmyla Goubianouri, has no intention of cleaning the red paint that covers the commemorative plaque.

"The fact that they threw paint on it is also a sign that we, as a museum, have not done enough work," she told AFP.

She drew a sign that will be hung under the degraded plaque, reading: "History must be studied, not rejected."

Museum director Lyudmyla Guyanuri shows the commemorative plaque of Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov sprayed with red paint, May 31, 2023 in Kiev, Ukraine © Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP

"All this is of course related to the war with Russia. The reason why this happened is absolutely obvious and clear," she said.

According to the director, the suffering caused by the Russian invasion in February 2022 has radicalized Ukrainians, who now see only in "black or white".

"This is a very difficult time for the country," she said.

The museum had recently modified the inscription on the plaque in honor of Mikhail Bulgakov. Originally, it was written in the Russian language and referred to him as a "Russian and Soviet writer".

The new inscription last month simply described him as "a prominent Kiev-in-lawn, doctor and writer."

The commemorative plaque of Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov sprayed with red paint, May 31, 2023 in Kiev, Ukraine © Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP

Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) wrote his novels, plays and newspaper articles in Russian and spent the last two decades of his life in Moscow, during Soviet times.

Fascinated by Kiev, the writer was contemptuous of Ukrainian nationalism, Ukrainian culture and language.

"Hate" of Ukraine

However, it is not the only target of the policy of "de-russification" carried out by the Ukrainian authorities, who have dismantled many monuments and renamed streets, memorials and inscriptions.

A 16-year-old boy, Mykhailo Soboliev, told AFP he was the one who sprayed Mikhail Bulgakov's plaque with paint, which he said was an "act of public protest" aimed at "de-russifying and decolonizing Kiev".

Teenager Mykhailo Soboliev, who told AFP he was the one who sprayed Mikhail Bulgakov's plaque with paint, on May 31, 2023 in Kiev, Ukraine © Genya SAVILOV / AFP

Both Mykhailo and his parents agreed to his name being published by AFP.

The teenager has participated in several protests against Soviet-era monuments in the Ukrainian capital, including the statue of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, which was covered with graffiti calling for its demolition.

Mykhailo Soboliev accuses the Bulgakov Museum of having carried out a kind of "manipulation" to circumvent the rules of "de-russification" by removing from the plate the inscription that indicated that the writer was Russian.

"Bulgakov was opposed to the creation of a Ukrainian state. He was against the Ukrainian language. He ridiculed people who changed their surnames in the Ukrainian way," he said.

Teenager Mykhailo Soboliev, who told AFP he was the one who sprayed Mikhail Bulgakov's plaque with paint, on May 31, 2023 in Kiev, Ukraine © Genya SAVILOV / AFP

"I don't understand why the Bulgakov Museum is in Kiev," the teenager said.

The National Union of Writers of Ukraine also called for the closure of the museum, calling the famous writer a person who "hated sovereign Ukraine."

© 2023 AFP