After leaving the Moscow Art Theatre in September 1936, Bulgakov worked as a librettist at the Bolshoy Theatre. From 1936 to 1939, he wrote four opera librettos (Minin and Pozharsky, The Black Sea, Peter the Great and Rashel. In Bulgakov’s time, the square was named after Y. Sverdlov.

At the Bolshoy Theatre, Bulgakov was responsible not only for editing others’ librettos, but also had to write his own – one per year. E. Bulgakova recalled, ‘They fell in love with him there, it was very good for him. I loved opera and ballet, he loved music, so it was really very good for him there’. However Bulgakov the librettist did not share this optimism, he was worried about the lack of perspectives in his new position and anticipated its end: ‘I’m writing the librettos for two operas – one is historical, the other is from the civil war. If the opera turns out well, it will be banned quietly, if it turns out bad, it will be banned openly. They tell me about my mistakes but always fail to mention my main one: I should have given up writing back in 1929-1930’.