# Col. Boris Karkof — Topsy-Turvy character guide

> Col. Boris Karkof in Topsy-Turvy by Jules Verne.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Boris Karkof, Col. Karkof, the diplomat Karkof

**First appearance:** 0001-in-which-the-delegates-from-england-holland-sweden-denmark-and-russia-are-presented-to-the-reader

## Snapshot

Russian diplomat and delegate whose hot temper leads him to a duel with the Inquiry Committee's secretary over the stalled polar affair.

## Who they are

Karkof represents Russia among the European delegates who grow increasingly despondent as months pass without word from Barbicane and his associates. Unlike the phlegmatic Jansen or the posturing Englishmen, Karkof's frustration boils over into a duel in which he only slightly wounds his adversary. His readiness to settle diplomatic deadlock with pistols embodies the mounting international hysteria that threatens to make the United States itself pay for one reckless American's actions.

## In the story

### [In Which the Delegates from England, Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia Are Presented to the Reader](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/chapters/in-which-the-delegates-from-england-holland-sweden-denmark-and-russia-are-presented-to-the-reader)

Russian delegate, semi-military and semi-diplomat; stiff mustache, uncomfortable in civilian clothes, puzzled about the Association's hidden motives.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/boris_karkof
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters