Abstract The article considers Mikhail Bulgakov’s satirical texts in semiotic and axiological linguistic aspects. The prosaic texts of modernist fiction are analyzed as semiotic structural units, which can be interpreted with the help of key anthropomorphic and zoomorphic satirical codes of classic Russian literature. The article analyzes zoomorphic images of a wolf, a snake, a ferret, a bird etc., which are used in the novels of Mikhail Bulgakov to show the transformations of a human nature in the space of the Civil war. Semiotic axiology of these images is considered to be the most relevant instrument of Bulgakov’s satire. The article reveals the interrelation between the anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images of Bulgakov’s satirical texts to represent the semiotic borders between the different levels of social hierarchy of his characters.