# Tiburtsi Drab — Short Fiction character guide

> Tiburtsi Drab in Short Fiction by Vladimir Korolenko.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Drab, Tiburtsi, Meanwhile Tiburtsi

**First appearance:** 0001-short-fiction

## Snapshot

A lynx-eyed gutter orator whose sudden entrance can halt a father's wrath, he moves through the story as both trickster and unlikely savior.

## Who they are

Tiburtsi arrives at the judge's house just as punishment looms, his piercing greenish glance taking in everything before mockery gives way to something sadder. He speaks gently to the judge, produces the confiscated doll, and offers to trade his own confession for the boy's freedom. His authority over the poor and his strange tenderness toward the child make him the moral hinge on which the story's central conflict turns.

## Relationships

### [Valek](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/valek)

_family_

Tiburtsi Drab is the father or guardian of Valek, with a protective paternal bond.

### [Valek](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/valek)

_family_

Tiburtsi Drab is the father or guardian of Valek, with a protective paternal bond.

## In the story

### [In Bad Company](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/in-bad-company)

An older figure associated with the group, possibly a mentor or instigator.

### [II: Queer Characters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ii-queer-characters)

One of the exiles who strides swiftly and resolutely toward the chapel at evening.

### [III: My Father and I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iii-my-father-and-i)

Mentioned as part of the narrator's audience among Tiburtsi's company.

### [V: My Acquaintanceship Is Continued](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/v-my-acquaintanceship-is-continued)

Valek and Marusia's father figure, who 'knows everything' and praises the Judge's integrity.

### [VI: Among the "Grey Stones"](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/vi-among-the-grey-stones)

Mentioned as absent from the crypt; Valek fears his anger if he finds the narrator there.

### [VII: Tiburtsi Appears on the Scene](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/vii-tiburtsi-appears-on-the-scene)

Returns to the crypt, discovers the narrator, and later shares a meal obtained through stealing.

### [VIII: Autumn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/viii-autumn)

Tiburtsi is the leader of the crypt dwellers, who warns the narrator about the danger Yanush poses and explains the judge's duty to the law.

### [IX: The Doll](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ix-the-doll)

The gutter orator who intervenes during the father's interrogation, returns the doll, and explains the situation.

### [X: Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/x-conclusion)

Vanishes completely with Valek; no one knows where they went.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/tiburtsi_drab
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters