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What Is to Be Done? · Character

Aleksandr Matvéitch Kirsánof

A rising professor of medicine who talks science with Lopukhóf, tells Arabian tales to shop girls, and slowly realizes his friendship with Viéra has become something else.

major

Also known as Kirsánof, Aleksandr

First appearance: part ii first love and legal marriage

As a major figure in What Is to Be Done?, Aleksandr Matvéitch Kirsánof is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Participates in the discussion, offering counterpoints to Lopukhóf's views.
In the storyA Vital QuestionOpen this moment free

Kirsánof is the new man in miniature: a doctor who observes rather than cures, respected by students, beloved by hospital servants, and welcomed nightly into the Lopukhófs' home. The passages catch him in the moment he goes silent mid-conversation, then leaves early, and later confronts Lopukhóf with angry eyes and a forbidden subject. His honesty and his discipline collide with a desire he cannot reason away, making him the hinge on which the novel's central triangle turns.

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Character Web

42 connections

A slice of how Aleksandr Matvéitch Kirsánof sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

PTPeter the GreatSESergeNBNastasia Borís…MOMosolofPKPavel Konstant…AMAleksandr Matvéitch …

Relationship types

  • Other

Character groups

  • Central progressive circle
  • Extended minor characters
  • Vera's oppressive family
  • Minor acquaintances

+37 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.

SetupEscalationAftermathClimax
  • Setup
  • Escalation
  • Breaking point
  • Aftermath
  • Closing

This passage marks the dramatic climax because the speaker articulates a decisive psychological reversal: she…

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In the story

Aleksandr Matvéitch Kirsánof appears across 52 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

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See Aleksandr Matvéitch Kirsánof in part ii first love and legal marriage
Who is Aleksandr Matvéitch Kirsánof in What Is to Be Done??