# Taras Bulba — Short Fiction character guide > Taras Bulba in Short Fiction by Nikolai Gogol. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Taras, old Bulba, Bulba, Old Taras **First appearance:** 0012-taras-bulba ## Snapshot A fierce old Cossack colonel who rides into Poland with fire in his eye, burning towns and churches to avenge a son. ## Who they are Taras Bulba is a Zaporozhian colonel of the old stamp, restless in peacetime and hungry for war, who pulls his cap over his brows and leads a hundred wagons out of the Setch against the Catholics. His wrath is total and his tenderness buried; he measures fatherhood in battles and honor, and he will not let insult or grief go unavenged. His raids and his terrible masses for the dead set the story's middle arc ablaze and make him both its engine and its conscience. ## Relationships ### [Jew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/jew) _rivalry_ The Jew is often a figure of conflict and contempt for Taras Bulba, representing an adversarial ethnic and religious tension. ### [Andrii](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/andrii) _family_ Andrii is the younger son of Taras Bulba, who betrays his father and his people for love of a Polish woman. ### [Ostap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/ostap) _family_ Ostap is the elder son of Taras Bulba, a loyal Cossack who dies a heroic death, deeply mourned by his father. ### [Yankel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/yankel) _friendship_ Taras Bulba trusts Yankel as a reliable ally and often relies on his help during military campaigns. ### [Father Kondrat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/father_kondrat) _friendship_ Father Kondrat is a priest and close companion of Taras Bulba, sharing in the Cossack brotherhood. ### [Jew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/jew) _rivalry_ The Jew is often a figure of conflict and contempt for Taras Bulba, representing an adversarial ethnic and religious tension. ### [Andrii](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/andrii) _family_ Andrii is the younger son of Taras Bulba, who betrays his father and his people for love of a Polish woman. ### [Father Kondrat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/father_kondrat) _friendship_ Father Kondrat is a priest and close companion of Taras Bulba, sharing in the Cossack brotherhood. ### [Ostap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/ostap) _family_ Ostap is the elder son of Taras Bulba, a loyal Cossack who dies a heroic death, deeply mourned by his father. ### [Yankel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/yankel) _friendship_ Taras Bulba trusts Yankel as a reliable ally and often relies on his help during military campaigns. ### [Jew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/jew) _rivalry_ The Jew is often a figure of conflict and contempt for Taras Bulba, representing an adversarial ethnic and religious tension. ### [Ostap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/ostap) _family_ Ostap is the elder son of Taras Bulba, a loyal Cossack who dies a heroic death, deeply mourned by his father. ## In the story ### [Taras Bulba](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/taras-bulba) The fierce Cossack colonel who drives the plot, from deciding his sons' fate to leading the campaign against the Poles. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/i) Headstrong Cossack who decides to take his sons to war, dismissing domestic life. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/ii) Rides in silence, reflecting on his youth and fallen comrades; he counsels his sons and leads the journey toward the Setch. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/iii) Plots to stir up the Setch for war and orchestrates the removal of the Koschevoi. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/iv) Conspires with the Koschevoi to incite the Cossacks, spares the Jew Yankel, and supports the decision to march on Poland. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/v) Observes Andrii's secret departure and warns him against women, then feigns sleep. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/vi) Mentioned indirectly as the father who will curse the day his son was born to dishonor him. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/vii) Enraged by the news of Andrii's betrayal; leads his men in battle and later broods over his son's treachery. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/viii) Argues passionately for staying to rescue Cossack prisoners from the Poles, invoking comradeship and Cossack honor. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/ix) Delivers a passionate speech about brotherhood, leads the battle, and kills his son Andrii for treason. ### [Taras's Grief and the Journey to Warsaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/x) Grieving for Ostap, seeks Yankel's help to go to Warsaw, later wounded and delirious, nursed by Tovkatch. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/xi) Disguised in a brick cart, Taras negotiates with Jews for Ostap's escape, then witnesses Ostap's execution, responding to his son's final cry before disappearing. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/xii) Leads a massive Cossack army, refuses peace, conducts brutal revenge raids, and is captured and burned alive. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/taras_bulba - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters