# Nikolay Yermolaitch — Short Fiction character guide

> Nikolay Yermolaitch in Short Fiction by Anton Chekhov.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Nikolay Yermolaitch Tchubikov, Tchubikov, the gallant Tchubikov, Dear Nikolay Yermolaitch, Nikolay, dear Nikolay Yermolaitch

**First appearance:** 0000-a-living-chattel

## Snapshot

A gallant, mustachioed detective who strides into country crimes with theatrical confidence and a fondness for dramatic pronouncements.

## Who they are

Nikolay Yermolaitch Tchubikov is the investigating magistrate summoned when a body turns up on a country estate, and he relishes the role. He questions servants with a flourish, trades barbs with his dour assistant Dyukovsky, and treats each clue as a personal challenge. His self-regard and genuine cleverness make him both comic and compelling as the mystery unfolds.

## In the story

### [The Swedish Match](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/the-swedish-match)

The detective leading the investigation into the murder.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/i)

The examining magistrate leading the murder investigation; he is methodical and dismissive of Dyukovsky's theories.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/ii)

The examining magistrate, also referred to as Tchubikov, who is leading the Klyauzov case and is skeptical of the evidence against Marya Ivanovna.

### [In the Court](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/in-the-court)

The prisoner accused of murdering his wife; initially nervous, he becomes reassured by the court's indifference.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/iv)

A visitor who comes on holidays, often drunk, and shows ecstatic reverence to the narrator.

### [The Helpmate](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/the-helpmate)

The doctor, husband of Olga Dmitrievna, who discovers her infidelity and reflects on his ruined life.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/i)

Nina Fyodorovna's husband, a landowner; visits briefly after supper.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/iv)

Not present in this chapter.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/i)

Returns to his childhood village Zhukovo after falling ill and losing his job as a waiter in Moscow; finds the family home shockingly poor and crowded.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/iii)

Returned to his home village with his family; speaks gratefully of his benefactor Ivan Makaritch and is seen as unlikely to succeed.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/iv)

The sick, bedridden son who defends the children against his mother's abuse, longs to return to Moscow, and is secretly wished dead by the adults.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/vi)

Nikolay cannot sleep, takes out his dress-coat and smiles at it, then puts it away.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/vii)

Silent and guilty as Granny blames him for the family's troubles and the loss of the samovar.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/viii)

Nikolay is ill and undergoes cupping treatment arranged by Granny; he dies towards morning after the procedure.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/ix)

Nikolay is remembered as having been carried out and given a requiem; his death is a source of ongoing grief for Olga.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/nikolay_yermolaitch
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters