# Kuzma — The Village character guide > Kuzma in The Village by Ivan Bunin. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Kuzma Ilitch, Kuzma Krasoff, Krasoff **First appearance:** 0001-the-village ## Snapshot Tikhon's penniless brother, a self-styled anarchist who reads Kostomaroff in lodging-houses and dreams of orchards while hunger hollows him out. ## Who they are Kuzma Krasoff, grey-haired from hunger and austere thinking, drifts through bazaars and eating-houses hunting for any clerkship that will buy him bread, his entire estate a chest and a ponderous umbrella. He calls himself an anarchist without being able to explain what one is, and his brother Tikhon — rich and childless — would not spare a copper to bury him. His return to Durnovka, and his wary reckoning with Tikhon's world, gives the novel its searching, self-questioning conscience. ## Relationships ### [Tikhon Ilitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/tikhon_ilitch) _professional_ Kuzma is Tikhon's hired hand and constant companion, bound by duty and economic dependence. ### [The Bride](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/the_bride) _romantic_ Kuzma is deeply infatuated with the Bride, but his feelings are unrequited and tinged with longing and frustration. ### [Akim](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/akim) _family_ Akim is Kuzma's father, and their relationship is strained by poverty, resentment, and differing worldviews. ### [Syery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/syery) _friendship_ Kuzma and Syery share a bond of camaraderie and mutual support, often drinking and commiserating together. ### [Ivanushka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/ivanushka) _family_ Ivanushka is Kuzma's brother, and their relationship is distant and strained by family conflicts. ### [Deniska](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/deniska) _friendship_ Deniska and Kuzma are close friends and co-workers, sharing a rough but loyal bond. ### [Old Balashkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/old_balashkin) _social_ Kuzma and Old Balashkin are acquaintances who interact in the village, with Balashkin serving as a source of local gossip and wisdom. ### [Tikhon Ilitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/tikhon_ilitch) _professional_ Kuzma is Tikhon's hired hand and constant companion, bound by duty and economic dependence. ### [The Bride](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/the_bride) _romantic_ Kuzma is deeply infatuated with the Bride, but his feelings are unrequited and tinged with longing and frustration. ### [Akim](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/akim) _family_ Akim is Kuzma's father, and their relationship is strained by poverty, resentment, and differing worldviews. ### [Tikhon Ilitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/tikhon_ilitch) _professional_ Kuzma is Tikhon's hired hand and constant companion, bound by duty and economic dependence. ### [The Bride](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/the_bride) _romantic_ Kuzma is deeply infatuated with the Bride, but his feelings are unrequited and tinged with longing and frustration. ## In the story ### [Autobiographical Note](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/autobiographical-note) Mentioned as a character in 'The Village,' which Bunin describes as the first of his works depicting the Russian character without adornment. ### [The Village](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/the-village) Tikhon's younger brother, a wandering intellectual and would-be writer, who is brought to Durnovka by Tikhon. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-i-i) Brother of Tikhon, hired himself to a drover after the brothers' quarrel over profits. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-i-ii) Mentioned as Tikhon's brother, a rascal and toper, whom Tikhon claims he would help if asked but refuses to coddle. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-i-v) Mentioned in Tikhon's recollections of his youth. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-i-xi) Reveals his self-image as an 'anarchist' and critic of Russian character; shares his poems with Tikhon. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-i-xii) Listens to Tikhon's confession and delivers a bitter critique of Russian cruelty. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-i-xiii) Delivers a passionate critique of Russian cruelty and poverty, and urges Tikhon to provide aid. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-i-xvii) Mentioned as having joked that Tikhon's biography should be written. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-i-xix) Recalled in Tikhon's memory as his brother, unrecognized at their recent meeting. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-i-xxii) Mentioned as the brother Tikhon cannot visit; Tikhon imagines Kuzma lecturing him. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-i) Protagonist reflecting on his life, dreams, and failures. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-ii) Engages in intellectual debates with Balashkin, reads avidly, and reflects on his years of peddling and desire for education. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-iii) Now nearly thirty, grey-haired, and disillusioned, Kuzma has abandoned his literary dreams and feels he has wasted his life. He reflects on his past and struggles with the desire to write about the Russian people. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-iv) Reflects on his past twelve years, his Tolstoyan phase, his drunken episode in Kiev, and his subsequent decline and resolution to live simply. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-v) Travels to Kazakoff to lease a garden, observes the town's unrest, and reflects on the misery of the Russian people. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-vi) Travels by train, engages with a pilgrim, and reflects on the Russian people and politics. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-vii) Travels to Kazakovo, observing the poverty and misery of the peasants. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-viii) Travels to Kazakovo in a storm, seeking work; he is weary and disheartened by the bleakness of the estate and the cold reception. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-ix) Spends the night in the garden bathhouse, observes the watchmen, and reflects on his own grim future. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-x) Travels through the countryside, observes Akim and the peasants with a mixture of disgust and reflection, and engages in a conversation about the Duma and poverty. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-xi) Desperate and lonely, Kuzma searches for work, contemplates suicide, and is saved by a note from Tikhon. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-i) Arrives at Durnovka, feeling joyful and hopeful, reflecting on his past and the farm's history. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-ii) Kuzma is the central figure in this chapter, observing and interacting with the villagers and the estate's daily life. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-iii) Spends his days reading newspapers and writing down his observations about village life, particularly focusing on Syery. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-v) Kuzma listens to Syery's stories and feels growing melancholy and disgust with Durnovka life. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-vi) Feels melancholy and isolated, reflects on his life and the poverty around him, writes petitions for peasants. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-vii) Wakes with shame and disgust over village gossip about the Bride. He is angered by Tikhon's insinuations and feels paternal tenderness toward her. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-viii) Endures the harsh winter at Durnovka, feeling isolated and declining physically and morally, yet finds a strange comfort in the life. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-ix) Observes Ivanushka with amazement and timid curiosity, engaging him in conversation. ### [Kuzma's Illness and Ivanushka's Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-x) Falls gravely ill after Ivanushka's funeral, experiences delirium and profound loneliness, and is indifferent to news of Nastasya Petrovna's death and the sale of Durnovka. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-xi) Recovering from illness, he feels trapped in Durnovka and longs to leave. He reads newspapers and becomes numb to the violence. He initially opposes the Bride's marriage to Deniska but later accepts it. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-xii) Visits Tikhon, argues about faith and the people, feels hopeless and confused by his brother's erratic behavior. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-xiii) Expresses disapproval and concern about the marriage, feeling it is a shameful and foolish affair. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-xiv) Acts as the blessing figure at the wedding, deeply moved by the ceremony and the Bride's sorrow. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-iii-xv) Observes the wedding procession from the porch, barely making out the figures in the blizzard. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/kuzma - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters