# The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories — Character guide

> Key figures in The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy.

- [Ivan Ilyitch Golovin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/ivan_ilyitch_golovin.md): A high-court judge whose terminal illness leads him to confront the meaning of his life and death.
- [Eugène Irténev](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/eugene_irtenev.md): A landowner who struggles with his attraction to a peasant woman, leading to moral conflict.
- [Nikíta](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/nikita.md): A peasant servant who accompanies his master on a fateful journey through a blizzard.
- [Father Sergius](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/father_sergius.md): A proud aristocrat turned monk who struggles with spiritual pride and temptation.
- [Mr. Albert](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/albert.md): A gifted but impoverished and alcoholic violinist in Lucerne.
- [Iván Stcherbakóf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/ivan_stcherbakof.md): A simple peasant, considered a fool, whose kindness and simplicity contrast with worldly wisdom.
- [Julius](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/julius.md): A wealthy man who questions his life of luxury after a conversation with a poor carpenter.
- [Zhílin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/zhilin.md): A Russian officer captured by Tartars in the Caucasus who repeatedly attempts to escape.
- [Polikéy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/polikey.md): A disgraced household servant given a chance at redemption with an important errand.
- [Simon Nefyórdof](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/simon_nefyordof.md): A soldier who, after a life of sin, seeks redemption and learns what men live by.
- [Stepan Pelageushkine](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/stepan_pelageushkine.md): A foundling taken in by a childless couple, whose arrival changes their lives.
- [Prince Nekhliudof](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/prince_nekhliudof.md): A nobleman who appears in multiple stories, often as a reflective observer or protagonist.
- [Vasíli Andréevich Brekhunóv](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/vasili_brekhunov.md): A greedy merchant who, with his servant Nikíta, gets lost in a blizzard.
- [Efím Tarásitch Shevélef](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/efim_tarasitch.md): One of two old men who make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he is practical and skeptical.
- [Albína](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/albina.md): A woman involved with Eugène Irténev, central to the moral conflict in 'The Devil'.
- [Simeon Doútlof](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/simeon_doutlof.md): A serf and village elder who struggles to buy his son out of military conscription.
- [Iván Dmítritch Aksyónof](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/ivan_aksyonof.md): A merchant wrongly convicted of murder who spends decades in Siberian prison.
- [Elisha Bódrof](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/elisha_bodrof.md): One of two old men on a pilgrimage; he is charitable and spiritually focused.
- [Delesof](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/delesof.md): A wealthy man who tries to help and reform the alcoholic violinist Albert.
- [Volódya Kozeltsóf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/volodya_kozeltsov.md): A young, enthusiastic officer arriving at besieged Sevastopol.
- [Nikíta Sierpukhovskoï](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/nikita_sierpukhovskoi.md): An old horse who narrates his life story, reflecting on fortune and human nature.
- [Emelyán](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/emelyan.md): A poor drunkard taken in by a kind couple, who tests their patience and charity.
- [Peter Ivánovich](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/peter_ivanovich.md): A colleague and friend of Ivan Ilyitch who attends his funeral.
- [Gerasim](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/gerasim.md): The cheerful, strong peasant servant who attends the dying Ivan Ilyitch.
- [Pahóm](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/pahom.md): A peasant whose greed for land leads him on a fatal bargain with the Bashkirs.
- [Anna Fyódorovna Záytsef](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/anna_fyodorovna.md): A widow who hosts officers, including Count Toúrbin, in 'Two Hussars'.
- [Akoulína](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/akoulina.md): A peasant woman involved in a village quarrel that escalates in 'A Spark Neglected...'.
- [Martin Avdéitch](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/martin_avdeitch.md): A cobbler who finds spiritual purpose through dreams and helping others.
- [Kornéy Vasílyef](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/korney_vasilyef.md): A peasant on trial for murder, whose story reveals deeper social and moral truths.
- [Anatole Svetlogoúb](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/anatole_svetlogoub.md): A character in 'The Forged Coupon', part of the story's chain of consequences.
- [Sergéy Mikháylych](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/sergey_mikhaylych.md): The older love interest and eventual husband of Márya in 'Family Happiness'.
- [The Young Tsar](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_young_tsar.md): A newly crowned tsar who, after a prophetic dream, grapples with the burdens of rule.
- [Alyosha](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/alyosha_the_pot.md): A simple, good-natured servant boy nicknamed 'the Pot'.
- [Michael Ivanovich](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/michael_ivanovich.md): A character appearing in various stories, often as a nobleman or official.
- [Vassily Dmitritch](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/vassily_dmitritch.md): The husband of Márya in 'Family Happiness'.
- [Kostílin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/kostilin.md): A fellow officer captured with Zhílin; he is overweight and pessimistic.
- [Dina](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/dina.md): A young Tartar girl who secretly helps Zhílin during his captivity.
- [Ilyás](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/ilyas.md): A once-wealthy man who finds greater happiness after losing his fortune.
- [Pamphilius](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/pamphilius.md): A Christian in the early Church, central to the parable 'Walk in the Light While There is Light'.
- [Count Fyódor Toúrbin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/count_tourbin.md): A dashing, reckless hussar officer in 'Two Hussars'.
- [Márya](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/marya.md): The young heroine who narrates her courtship and marriage in 'Family Happiness'.
- [Fedia](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/fedya.md): A character in 'The Forged Coupon' whose actions initiate the story's chain of events.
- [Styópa](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/stiopa.md): A character in 'The Forged Coupon', involved in the story's criminal plot.
- [Mitia Smokovnikov](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/mitya_smokovnikov.md): A central character in 'The Forged Coupon', a schoolboy who forges a banknote.
- [Iván Petróvich Apýkhtin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/ivan_petrovich_apykhtin.md): A character in 'The Forged Coupon', a landowner affected by the forged note.
- [Fedor Kusmich](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/fedor_kusmich.md): A mysterious hermit rumored to be the Tsar Alexander I in disguise.
- [King Esarhaddon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/esarhaddon.md): An Assyrian king who learns empathy through a mystical experience.
- [Joseph Migoúrski](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/migourski.md): A Polish noble and political prisoner in Siberia in 'The Forged Coupon'.
- [Páshenka](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/pashenka.md): A former acquaintance of Father Sergius, representing humble, ordinary life.
- [Mary Pávlovna](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/marya_pavlovna.md): A devout woman in 'Walk in the Light While There is Light'.
- [Kátya](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/katiusha.md): The daughter of Anna Fyódorovna in 'Two Hussars'.
- [Sónya](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/sonya.md): A character in 'Family Happiness', the younger sister of the narrator Márya.
- [Churis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/churis.md): A peasant from Nekhliudof's estate in 'A Russian Proprietor'.
- [Ilyushka](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/ilyushka.md): A peasant character in 'Two Old Men' and other village stories.
- [Matryóna](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/matryona.md): The wife of the cobbler Martin Avdéitch.
- [Búlka](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/boulka.md): The author's dog, featured in several short animal stories.
- [Milton](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/milton.md): The author's pointer dog, featured in animal stories alongside Búlka.
- [Ermák Timoféich](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/ermak.md): A legendary Cossack ataman who conquered Siberia for Russia.
- [King Croesus](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/croesus.md): The wealthy king of Lydia who learns a lesson from Solon about happiness.
- [Solon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/solon.md): The Athenian lawmaker who teaches King Croesus about true happiness.
- [The Old Devil](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_old_devil.md): A personification of evil who tempts characters in parables like 'The Imp and the Crust'.
- [Pózdnyshev](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/posdnishev.md): The narrator of 'The Kreutzer Sonata', who confesses to murdering his wife.
- [Father Vasily](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/father_vasily.md): A village priest who appears in the story named for him.
- [Yukhvanka](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/yukhvanka.md): A peasant from Nekhliudof's estate in 'A Russian Proprietor'.
- [Adjutant Kaloúgin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/kalugin.md): A staff officer in the Sevastopol sketches, concerned with appearance and advancement.
- [Lieutenant-Captain Miháylof](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/mikhailov.md): A modest, brave officer in the Sevastopol sketches.
- [Captain Praskoúhin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/praskouhin.md): An officer killed during the bombardment in the Sevastopol sketches.
- [Velenchuk](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/velenchuk.md): A soldier in 'The Wood-Felling' who is killed in action.
- [Captain Trosenko](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/trosenko.md): A brave, seasoned old captain in the Caucasian stories.
- [The Stranger](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_stranger.md): A mysterious figure who appears in parables, often representing Christ or a moral teacher.
- [The Captain](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_captain.md): A generic officer figure appearing in several military sketches.
- [The Doctor](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_doctor.md): A medical professional attending to characters like Ivan Ilyitch.
- [The Master](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_master.md): A generic landowner or authority figure in peasant stories.
- [The Priest](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_priest.md): A village priest appearing in various stories and parables.
- [The General](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_general.md): A high-ranking officer in the military sketches.
- [The Tartars](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_tartars.md): The Caucasian tribesmen who capture Zhílin and Kostílin.
- [The Bashkirs](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_bashkirs.md): The nomadic people who make a land deal with Pahóm.
- [The Cossacks](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/the_cossacks.md): Frontier warriors appearing in Caucasian stories like 'The Cossacks' (not in this collection) and 'A Prisoner in the Caucasus'.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters