The great Russian writer Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov was married three times, and each of his wives played a significant role in his life and creativity. Today we will tell you about his first wife, Tatiana Nikolaevna Lappa, who literally saved his life and thanks to whom we can enjoy his works.

Tatiana Nikolaevna was born into a noble family in Ryazan. Her father was a state councilor and a prominent statesman. She spent her childhood in Saratov and partly in Kyiv with her aunt. In Kyiv, at the age of 15, she met the student Bulgakov, and five years later they got married.

With the onset of World War I, Tatiana went with her doctor husband to a frontline hospital, where she worked as a nurse. After returning to peaceful life, Bulgakov contracted an illness while saving a child and became dependent on morphine. Tatiana supported him, but the addiction worsened the situation and led her to decide on a second abortion, performed by Mikhail himself. This left them without children, but over time the addiction receded.

During the Civil War, Bulgakov fell ill with typhus in Vladikavkaz, where he served in Denikin's army, and could not evacuate. Tatiana saved him again. They lived in poverty, Bulgakov wrote scripts for theaters, and then they moved to Moscow, where their marriage fell apart.

After the divorce, Tatiana worked in various positions, from laborer to doctor and librarian. She married twice and only at the end of her life gave an interview to researchers of Bulgakov's work. She lived for 89 years and died on April 10, 1982, outliving Bulgakov by 42 years and 1 month.