The address of Nikolay Angarskiy

53 Plyushchikha Street
In October 1923, Bulgakov met Nikolay Angarsky (actual surname – Klestov), the chief editor of the digest Nedra. Angarsky, thinking highly of Bulgakov’s prose, became the writer’s main publisher in the 1920s. Bulgakov’s first serial book Diaboliad (1925) was published in Nedra, as was The Fatal Eggs (1925). Angarksy tried to publish Heart of a Dog too, but it was forbidden by the censors. Bulgakov frequently visited Angarksy’s home. For example, he invited Bulgakov to a literary gathering on 15th February 1925 and asked him to bring and read out the manuscript of Heart of a Dog.
Angarsky remembered how he met Bulgakov after a reading of Diaboliad: ‘I immediately recognised the writer’s great talent. I invited Bulgakov over. Mikhail Afanasevich was a distinct personality. He had light hair combed to a side parting, with an oval, masculine, strong-willed face and cool blue eyes. Handsome, always emphatically elegant, polite, always addressing others respectfully, he loved to charm the ladies and kiss their hands. He had refined tastes, which permeated everything: his behaviour, his lifestyle, his clothes and, of course, his works, which were written in Bulgakov’s special language. Without a shadow of a doubt, he made a major contribution to Russian literature. A deep mutual understanding and respect was immediately apparent between us… When a rare bit of free time emerged, I tried to go out to the countryside with Bulgakov and my family to breathe the fresh air, escape from our burdens in entertaining, interesting conversations. Mikhail Afanasevich really counted on my opinion and I was one of the first to read his works’.