Character guide

Razumov

major

Also known as Mr. Razumov, Kirylo Sidorovitch Razumov, Kirylo Sidorovitch, Kirylo, the sitting Razumov, the true Razumov, the silent Razumov, the attentive Razumov, Meantime Razumov

Razumov is a hardworking, friendless young man who stakes his entire future on academic distinction, knowing that one political suspicion could sink him into the destitute depths of the city. When the fugitive assassin Victor Haldin forces him into confidence, Razumov's fierce instinct for self-preservation begins a slow war with his conscience. His tortured reasoning after that night—by turns panicked, resentful, and coldly calculating—drives the novel's central drama of loyalty and betrayal.

Miss Haldin

major

Also known as Nathalie Haldin, Natalia Haldin, Natalia Victorovna, Natalia, Natalka, Miss Haldin's true and delicate humanity

Nathalie Haldin lives in exile with her ailing mother, waiting for word of the brother she reveres and quietly refusing to be anyone's slavish echo. Her faith that Russians will find a form of freedom superior to party conflict gives her a luminous, unsettling idealism. When she entrusts the narrator with drawing out the withdrawn young man she has thanked for understanding her, her instinct for truth sets the story's Geneva half in motion.

Victor Haldin

supporting

Also known as Haldin, Victor Victorovitch, the unfortunate Haldin, the late Victor Haldin, the heroic Haldin

Victor Haldin is the exceptional soul his sister describes—a young revolutionary who has just struck down a hated minister and now needs one safe night's hiding before escape. His serene, almost religious certainty about his cause stands in stark contrast to the panic he ignites in Razumov, the only person he trusts. Though he vanishes from the action early, his absence shapes every choice the survivors make.

Peter Ivanovitch

supporting

Also known as Ivanovitch, Peter, the great Peter Ivanovitch

Peter Ivanovitch is the great man of the Russian exile colony, a celebrity whose reputation for suffering and eloquence has made him an object of reverence and quiet mockery alike. He surrounds himself with devoted women and theatrical gestures, and his vanity is as large as his legend. When Natalia Haldin comes seeking a certain Razumov's address, his circle becomes the stage on which the émigrés' rivalries and illusions play out.

Councillor Mikulin

supporting

Also known as Mikulin, Councillor of State Mikulin

Mikulin is a government official who understands that a despotism is best served not by whips but by subtle, unhurried conversation. He receives Razumov with disarming mildness, listens more than he speaks, and lets the young man's own terror do the work of confession. His quiet offer of protection in exchange for service is the hinge on which Razumov's fate turns, and his methods embody Conrad's portrait of autocracy as something more insidious than brute force.

Sophia Antonovna

supporting

Also known as Antonovna

Sophia Antonovna is a much-trusted woman revolutionist who slips in and out of Russia on secret errands and reports on Natalia Haldin with warm admiration for her faithful soul and undaunted spirit. Blunt, observant, and free of Peter Ivanovitch's vanity, she treats the cause as work rather than theater. Her sharp eye and willingness to speak plainly make her a quiet but decisive presence in the Geneva circle, and her curiosity about Razumov's journal helps bring the truth to light.

Mrs. Haldin

minor

Also known as Poor Mrs. Haldin, poor Mrs. Haldin

The grieving mother of Victor and Nathalie Haldin, living in Russia.

Ziemianitch

minor

Also known as This Ziemianitch, the Ziemianitch, a certain Ziemianitch, this Ziemianitch, the mystic Ziemianitch

A drunken peasant revolutionary who plays a key role in Haldin's escape plan.

Madame de S

supporting

Also known as Madame de S⸺, Madame de, de S⸺, Eleanor, Eleanor Maximovna, Eleanor—Madame de S⸺

Madame de S⸺ presides over a Geneva drawing room where Russian exiles trade introductions, rumors, and carefully guarded sympathies, and where even a proscribed priest's name can open a door. Around her gathers the tension between respectable émigré comfort and the dangerous pull of the old country: she is useful, connected, and not entirely trusted, dismissed by some as a woman of dubious reputation yet sought out by others for exactly that reach. Her hospitality matters because it is through her circle that the grieving Haldins hope to find the one man who might speak for the dead.

Tekla

minor

Also known as the simple-minded Tekla, Tekla the Samaritan

A devoted and simple-hearted female revolutionary who aids others.

Julius Laspara

minor

Also known as Laspara, little Julius Laspara, Little Laspara, the diminutive Laspara

A small, energetic revolutionary publisher in Geneva.

Prince K

minor

Also known as Prince K⸺, the Prince

A Russian prince and Razumov's patron, who helps him after the assassination.

Kostia

minor

Also known as Madcap Kostia, madcap Kostia, mad Kostia, the anxious Kostia

A wealthy and reckless young man who provides money to revolutionaries.

Nikita

minor

Also known as the revolutionist Nikita, the terrible Nikita, Nikita—nicknamed Necator—he

A brutal revolutionary known as Necator, involved in executions.

General T

minor

Also known as General, General T⸺

A high-ranking Russian military official involved in the investigation.

Yakovlitch

minor

A minor revolutionary figure mentioned in the Geneva circle.

Mordatiev

minor

A Russian police agent who shadows Razumov.

Mr. de P

minor

Also known as de P⸺, scoundrel de P⸺

A French police agent involved in surveillance.

Mrs. Ziegler

minor

A Swiss landlady who rents rooms to revolutionaries.

Father Zosim

minor

A Russian Orthodox priest who appears briefly.

Andrei

minor

A servant in the Haldin household.

Anna

minor

A minor female character, possibly a servant or acquaintance.