Membership cards were important documents for the elite. Membership in the Communist Party or in official organizations like the Writers' Union had to be produced to gain access to the elite institutions: special restaurants, special stores. Until the last days of the Soviet Union access was denied many buildings (special guards were on duty at the doors) unless one could produce some kind of document to impress the gatekeeper.
Because documents were so important, losing one's passport was tantamount to committing suicide. The saying "Bez bumazhki my kakashki!" [Without a paper we are doo-doo!] expresses the same idea as Bulgakov's formulation, which has today become an aphorism in Russia: "Raz net dokumenta, netu i cheloveka!" [No document, no person either!]
Perhaps this logical inversion can be illustrated with a curious example from the late 20th century. In order to have a sex-change operation in Russia even today, one must first go to the passport office to change one's official sex. Only after this can the operation take place to bring one's body into line with one's legal sex.
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