Mikhail Bulgakov started smoking as a student and did not get rid of this habit until the last days of his life. In one of his most famous photographs, taken in 1926, Bulgakov appears in his classic image: parted hair, a bow tie, a handkerchief in his jacket pocket and a cigarette. 1926 was the most successful year for Mikhail Afanasyevich — “The Days of the Turbins” was a success on stage. Bulgakov’s invariable cigarette is mentioned in many memoirs dedicated to him.

The actor of the Moscow Art Theater Yevgeny Kaluzhsky described how Bulgakov would puff on a cigarette and look slyly at those around him,

The playwright Alexey Faiko recalled the signature abrupt gesture Bulgakov used to throw his cigarette away when getting into a cab. Another actor of the Moscow Art Theater Mark Prudkin told how nervous Bulgakov was at the first recitation of his play “The Days of the Turbins” and smoked incessantly, trying to overcome the excitement, despite the excellent performance.

It is a one-of-a-kind artifact — an inscript (handwritten gift inscription) on a pack of cigarettes, not on a book or a photograph.

This cigarette case is from the writer’s last apartment in Nashchokinsky lane. Mikhail Afanasyevich had several cigarette cases, and one of them had to be parted with. Bulgakov’s second wife, Lyubov Yevgenyevna, recalled how the writer took her to Stoleshnikov lane to buy a ferret fur coat, and bought himself a gold cigarette case.