# Admiral Kolchak — Futility character guide

> Admiral Kolchak in Futility by William Gerhardie.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The Admiral, little Kolchak, Kolchak

**First appearance:** 0016-part-ii-the-revolution

## Snapshot

The White admiral whose name drifts through Siberian dispatches, invoked by Allies who cannot decide whether he is a Bolshevik or a savior.

## Who they are

Kolchak hovers over the novel's Siberian chapters as the emblem of a doomed intervention, discussed by Uncle Kostia and the bookkeeper Stanitski while the Allies blunder about firing at villagers they mistake for Bolsheviks. He is impulsive and well-meaning, unfortunate in his generals, and his fate—Omsk fallen, Kolchak shot—punctuates the futility of foreign meddling. Around his name gather the novel's sharpest ironies about politics, uniforms, and the waste of good intentions.

## Relationships

### [Eisenstein](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/eisenstein)

_professional_

Admiral Kolchak and Eisenstein are colleagues in a military or political context, working together on strategic matters.

### [The General](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/the_general)

_professional_

Admiral Kolchak and The General are professional associates, likely cooperating in military command.

### [Nikolai Vasilievich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/nikolai_vasilievich)

_professional_

Admiral Kolchak is a superior officer to Nikolai, maintaining a formal and authoritative relationship.

### [Eisenstein](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/eisenstein)

_professional_

Admiral Kolchak and Eisenstein are colleagues in a military or political context, working together on strategic matters.

### [Nikolai Vasilievich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/nikolai_vasilievich)

_professional_

Admiral Kolchak is a superior officer to Nikolai, maintaining a formal and authoritative relationship.

### [Nikolai Vasilievich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/nikolai_vasilievich)

_professional_

Admiral Kolchak is a superior officer to Nikolai, maintaining a formal and authoritative relationship.

### [The General](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/the_general)

_professional_

Admiral Kolchak and The General are professional associates, likely cooperating in military command.

### [Eisenstein](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/eisenstein)

_professional_

Admiral Kolchak and Eisenstein are colleagues in a military or political context, working together on strategic matters.

### [The General](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/the_general)

_professional_

Admiral Kolchak and The General are professional associates, likely cooperating in military command.

## In the story

### [Part II: The Revolution](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/part-ii-the-revolution)

Admiral Kolchak emerges as a key figure in the anti-Bolshevik forces, leading the intervention in Siberia.

### [Part III: Intervening in Siberia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/part-iii-intervening-in-siberia)

The leader of the White forces in Siberia, whose thé dansant is a notable social event.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/i)

Visits the narrator's bedroom; later appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/iii)

Hosts the thé dansant, expresses disdain for Germans, laughs at Nikolai Vasilievich's joke, and enjoys the Czech concert.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/iv)

Initially refuses but eventually grants passage to Nikolai Vasilievich's family after persistent pleading.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/v)

Supreme Ruler; spends time throwing tobacco tins at pigs; his regime is newly established in Omsk.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/vi)

Needs a dentist and is impressed by Eisenstein's assertiveness; he is gloomy about the White Army's failures and thinks snow is 'idiotic.'

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/xi)

Defends the Allied cause, accuses Jews of being Bolsheviks.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/xii)

Repeats 'We are not to blame' and bids farewell to Nikolai Vasilievich.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as one of the White leaders who tried and failed.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters/admiral_kolchak
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/futility_se/characters