From Azazel to Azazello

The paper deals with the importance of the Old Testament Slavonic Pseudepigrapha as a source of cultural information that might have influenced contemporary thinking and culture. The evil character analysed in the article can be found in the two Old Testament Slavonic Pseudepigrapha: The Apocalypse of Abraham and 2 Enoch. The character’s name is Azazel, and it is widely known nowadays thanks to its echo in Bulgakov’s novel Master and Margarita, as well as in Akunin’s novel Azazel, which was translated into English under the title The Winter Queen. The paper explains how the character of Azazel is presented in the Old Testament Slavonic Pseudepigrapha, and it highlights the significant transformation of its role from one Old Slavonic text to the other. The paper also discusses the origin of the expression scapegoat in Russian.