The address of Yakov Shapiro

6 Chistiy Lane
Subway station «Kropotkinskaya»
The former block of flats of A. von Meck was built in 1913 by the architect A.N. Zeligson. Yakov Shapiro lived here – a famous dentist, who treated I. Babel, M. Gorky, I. Stalin and others. Mikhail Bulgakov also had his teeth treated by Shapiro in this house.
A letter written by the writer’s widow, Elena Sergeevna, on 18th November 1955, sheds some light on Bulgakov’s relationship with Shapiro: ‘Dear my greatly esteemed Yakov Efimovich! If Mikhail Afanasevich were alive, he would, of course, have inscribed this book for you, since he felt a deep respect towards you as a person and as a master of your profession – he very much respected you!’ Some experts on Bulgakov believe that the interior of house 6 could be considered one of the models for Kalabukhov’s house in the short novel, Heart of a Dog. Yakov Efimovich Shapiro served as inspiration for the namesake dentist in Anatoly Rybakov’s novel, Children of the Arbat.