# Old Balashkin — The Village character guide

> Old Balashkin in The Village by Ivan Bunin.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Balashkin, Balaskhin

**First appearance:** 0001-the-village

## Who they are

An elderly figure in the village, possibly a relative or neighbor.

## Relationships

### [Kuzma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/kuzma)

_social_

Kuzma and Old Balashkin are acquaintances who interact in the village, with Balashkin serving as a source of local gossip and wisdom.

### [Kuzma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/kuzma)

_social_

Kuzma and Old Balashkin are acquaintances who interact in the village, with Balashkin serving as a source of local gossip and wisdom.

### [Kuzma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/kuzma)

_social_

Kuzma and Old Balashkin are acquaintances who interact in the village, with Balashkin serving as a source of local gossip and wisdom.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-i)

The accordion-player and freethinker who gave Kuzma books.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-ii)

Kuzma's intellectual mentor, a cynical old man who argues passionately about Russian literature and the fate of its writers.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/chapters/part-ii-iii)

On his deathbed, Balashkin urges Kuzma to write about the village and gives him a collection of notes on famine and suffering, but his dying state prevents him from finding the material.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters/old_balashkin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_village_se/characters