# Captain Sliva — The Duel character guide

> Captain Sliva in The Duel by Aleksandr Kuprin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Sliva

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A brutal, book-hating company commander who drills his men with savage precision and humiliates late-arriving officers with theatrical, watch-in-hand silence.

## Who they are

Captain Sliva has reduced his life to registers, accounts, and the mechanics of drill, despising books, society, and any sound—even a nightingale—that interrupts his work. He is merciless to his soldiers and to junior officers, especially Romashov, whom he greets with sarcastic inquiries about his sleep before unleashing a torrent of abuse. Yet he is scrupulously honest about his men's food and pay, a contradiction that makes him less a villain than a grim product of the army's dehumanizing discipline.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/i)

Rebuked by Shulgovich for Romashov's conduct; later scolds Romashov bitterly.

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/x)

A harsh, barbaric officer who humiliates Romashov for being late and defends brutal discipline; threatens Romashov for his insubordination.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xiv)

Passes Romashov with contempt and orders him to request a transfer to another company.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xvi)

Sliva oversees the drill with coarse remarks and fault-finding, moving from platoon to platoon.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xvii)

Mentioned as having caught wind of Romashov's changed attitude toward soldiers, making disparaging remarks about 'damned Liberals.'

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters/captain_sliva
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters