# Colonel Rafalski — The Duel character guide

> Colonel Rafalski in The Duel by Aleksandr Kuprin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Rafalski, Lieutenant-Colonel Rafalski

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

Nicknamed 'Colonel Brehm,' this eccentric recluse neglects his duties and his uniform to lavish all his tenderness on a private menagerie of beasts and birds.

## Who they are

Colonel Rafalski has withdrawn from regimental society into a world of animals, spending every spare rouble on his menagerie and wearing uniforms that date from another era. The officers' wives mock his dirt and his smell, but younger men like Romashov find in him a strange, gentle refuge—and occasionally a source of loans. His tender devotion to creatures stands in stark contrast to the casual brutality of the regiment, quietly suggesting that kindness in this world must hide in eccentricity.

## Relationships

### [Sublieutenant Romashov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters/sublieutenant_romashov)

_social_

Rafalski is an eccentric, older colonel who engages Romashov in eccentric conversations about military history.

### [Sublieutenant Romashov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters/sublieutenant_romashov)

_social_

Rafalski is an eccentric, older colonel who engages Romashov in eccentric conversations about military history.

### [Sublieutenant Romashov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters/sublieutenant_romashov)

_social_

Rafalski is an eccentric, older colonel who engages Romashov in eccentric conversations about military history.

## In the story

### [Chapter XI: The Name-Day Invitation and the Visit to Colonel Brehm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xi)

Eccentric commander of the 4th Battalion, known as 'Colonel Brehm,' keeps a menagerie; Romashov visits him to borrow money.

## Links

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