# Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin — The Inspector General character guide

> Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin in The Inspector General by Nikolai Gogol.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Postmaster, Ivan Kuzmich, Shpekin, Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin

**First appearance:** 0004-scene-i

## Snapshot

The postmaster who cannot resist steaming open other people's letters, a habit that makes him both the town's best-informed gossip and its eventual undoing.

## Who they are

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.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inspector_general_se/characters/postmaster
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inspector_general_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inspector_general_se/characters