Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin

Shpekin oversees the mail and treats every letter as his personal reading material, a small tyranny he confesses with disarming cheerfulness. He is less malicious than compulsively curious, and his snooping gives him a quiet advantage over colleagues who think their secrets are safe. His habit of opening correspondence makes him a walking threat to the town's already shaky discretion, and the letters he cannot leave sealed will eventually matter enormously.