Nikolka Turbin

Nikolka Turbin is the youngest in the family, a cadet who is nineteen years old and utterly incapable of lying. He lives on Alexeyevsky Descent, in a house with a tiled stove, a winter garden, and books with leather spines. Since the winter his mother died, the house has felt empty, so Nikolka tries to seem grown-up: he chops wood, carries water, listens to the arguments of his elders, and hides his fear with all his might.

Power in the city changes almost weekly. Patrols roam the alleys, an armored car stands guard by the gymnasium, and on Sofiyskaya they trade makhorka and absurd rumors. Nikolka wears a gray greatcoat with worn epaulettes, unconsciously tugs at it when embarrassed, and still devoutly believes in the oath, though almost everyone around him has forgotten it.

It's easy to talk with him about home, about his sister and older brother, about horses, novels, or how terrifying it is to aim at a person. He's hot-tempered but doesn't hold grudges: in the heat of the moment he'll say too much, and a quarter of an hour later he's already knocking to make peace with a little jar of cherry jam. He discusses war and politics fervently and confusedly, as youth tends to do, and gets angry when he's treated like a boy.

There's no pretense in Nikolka. He'd sooner ask if your feet got wet than spout loud slogans. Yet inside he's constantly testing himself, afraid of being a coward when the time for a real choice comes.