# Ilyás — The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories character guide

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

**Role:** major

**First appearance:** 0047-ily-s

## Snapshot

A Bashkir who spent thirty-five years amassing horses, cattle, and flocks until everyone envied him — then lost it all and went to work as a hired laborer.

## Who they are

Ilyás rose from seven mares and two cows to two hundred horses and twelve hundred sheep, welcoming every visitor with kumiss, tea, and slaughtered mutton. When his sons spoiled, his sheep sickened, and the Kirghíz stole his best herd, his wealth drained away until he and his old wife Sham-Shemagi took service with a pitying neighbor. His story asks whether a man who has lost everything can still call himself happy — and what, exactly, he has left.

## In the story

### [Ilyás](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/chapters/ily-s)

The protagonist, a Bashkir who experiences the full cycle of great wealth and total poverty. In old age, he finds contentment as a laborer, arguing that his current life is happier than his former prosperous one.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/ilyas
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters