# The House of the Dead — Character guide

> Key figures in The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

- [Alexandr Petrovitch Goryanchikov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/alexandr_petrovitch_goryanchikov.md): Sentenced to years of prison labor, Goryanchikov enters the fortress as an outsider — educated, formerly privileged, and unable to stop studying the men around him. He is drawn especially to the psychology of punishment:
- [Akim Akimitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/akim_akimitch.md): A former soldier who grew up without a home, Akim Akimitch has replaced desire with rule and ritual, saving a new suit for months just to wear it on Christmas Day. He stuffs and roasts the holiday pig with anticipatory r
- [Petrov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/petrov.md): Petrov belongs to the class of men who cling to life ferociously into old age, and his restless energy makes him both companionable and dangerous. He forms intense, shifting attachments — the narrator counts him among hi
- [Isay Fomitch Bumshtein](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/isay_fomitch_bumshtein.md): From his first hour in the prison, Isay Fomitch is doing business — seven kopecks on a pair of tattered trousers, three kopecks monthly interest — while the other convicts roar with laughter around him. He performs his F
- [Aley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/aley.md): Aley arrives in the prison young, kind-hearted, and out of place among hardened criminals, yet he wins the narrator's affection almost immediately. His warmth and moral innocence stand in stark contrast to the brutality 
- [Sushilov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/sushilov.md): A meek convict who serves as a servant to other prisoners.
- [Baklushin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/baklushin.md): Baklushin is the engine of the prison's amateur theater, gossiping about casting, promising a real curtain, and assuring everyone that each actor has been chosen to fit his part. His pranks and stories delight the young 
- [Gazin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/gazin.md): A powerful and feared convict who sells vodka in the prison.
- [Akulka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/akulka.md): A woman whose tragic story is told in the chapter 'Akulka's Husband'.
- [Kulikov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/kulikov.md): A convict and former soldier, a skilled veterinarian.
- [Lutchka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/lutchka.md): A young convict known for his desperate and reckless character.
- [Sirotkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/sirotkin.md): A young and naive convict who becomes a servant to the officers.
- [Bulkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/bulkin.md): A convict who is constantly humiliated by the other prisoners.
- [Luise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/luise.md): A German woman who is the object of Skuratov's affections.
- [Filka Morozov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/filka_morozov.md): A young convict, a former soldier, known for his strength.
- [Orlov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/orlov.md): A notorious convict, a hardened criminal with immense willpower.
- [Mihailov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/mihailov.md): A convict who is a skilled craftsman and a moneylender.
- [Shilkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/shilkin.md): A convict who works as a cook in the prison kitchen.
- [Varlamov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/varlamov.md): A wealthy and influential Old Believer merchant in Siberia.
- [Kultyapka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/kultyapka.md): A convict who is a simpleton and often the butt of jokes.
- [The Lomovs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/the_lomovs.md): Two brothers, convicts who are always together and feared by others.
- [Roman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/roman.md): A convict who is a former soldier and a friend of Petrov.
- [Koller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/koller.md): A convict who is a former officer and a gambler.
- [Kobylin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/kobylin.md): A convict who is a former gentleman and a gambler.
- [Ankudim Trofimitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/ankudim_trofimitch.md): A convict who is a former merchant and a moneylender.
- [Dutov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/dutov.md): A convict who is a former soldier and a drunkard.
- [Luka Kuzmitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/luka_kuzmitch.md): A convict who is a former soldier and a storyteller.
- [Filatka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/filatka.md): A convict who is a former soldier and a drunkard.
- [Sorrel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/sorrel.md): A dog that becomes a pet of the prison.
- [Marya Stepanovna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/marya_stepanovna.md): The wife of the prison major, known for her kindness.
- [Old Man Antonitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/old_man_antonitch.md): An elderly convict who is a former soldier.
- [Trezorka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/trezorka.md): A dog that is a pet of the prison.
- [Neustroev](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters/neustroev.md): A convict who is a former soldier and a drunkard.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_of_the_dead_se/characters