# Lieutenant Viätkin — The Duel character guide

> Lieutenant Viätkin in The Duel by Aleksandr Kuprin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Viätkin

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A red-faced, drunken officer who bursts into rooms bearing gifts and demands affection, dragging his reluctant friend Romashov toward the mess and its ruinous pleasures.

## Who they are

Viätkin is the regiment's boisterous good-time officer, forever pressing drinks, kisses, and dubious presents on Romashov, whom he treats as a beloved younger brother. His generosity is genuine but reckless: he wins a revolver off a fellow officer at cards and promptly fires it at a bust of Pushkin in Romashov's quarters, then sweeps him off to a night of drinking. He embodies the camaraderie that both sustains and corrodes Romashov, offering warmth and escape while pulling him deeper into the garrison's self-destructive rhythm.

## Relationships

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

_friendship_

Viätkin is a fellow officer and drinking companion who shares Romashov's disillusionment with army life.

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

_friendship_

Viätkin is a fellow officer and drinking companion who shares Romashov's disillusionment with army life.

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

_friendship_

Viätkin is a fellow officer and drinking companion who shares Romashov's disillusionment with army life.

## In the story

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

Complains about the pointless drill and discusses sabre-cutting with Biek-Agamalov.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/iii)

Referenced as an example of officers training their servants in absurd routines, such as asking about champagne.

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

Gambles and loses, then falls asleep at the table.

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

Advises Romashov to be careful with Sliva; participates in the officers' conversation about old military practices.

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

Approaches Romashov with pity and offers a cigarette, but Romashov refuses.

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

Viätkin engages Romashov in debate about war and duty, dismissing his philosophy, and later drinks with him, expressing contemptuous pity.

### [Chapter XVIII: The Orgies and the Intervention](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xviii)

Viätkin, still intoxicated from the previous night, drags Romashov into the mess's revelry and later takes him to a brothel, offering him a revolver as a keepsake.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xix)

Viätkin conducts the drunken singing, standing on a table and parodying church liturgy. He later sings a plaintive melody that evokes remorse among the officers.

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

Serves as a second for Romashov.

## Links

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