What Is to Be Done? · Character

Rakhmétof

The 'terrible' Rakhmétof, an ascetic who has burned comfort out of himself and now moves through the novel as a quiet, unnerving standard of what a person can become.

supporting

Also known as the terrible Rakhmétof, Mr. Rakhmétof

First appearance: XXIX: An Extraordinary Man

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

Briefly mentioned in the diary as a student who spoke with Lopukhóf during a picnic.

In the storyXIX: Viéra Pavlovna’s Third DreamOpen this moment free

See Rakhmétof in XIX: Viéra Pavlovna’s Third Dream Book page

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Rakhmétof appears at the edges of the Lopukhófs' orderly life, the man whose name Marya Alekséyevna invokes with dread and whose discipline makes ordinary virtue look soft. The passages place him near the rescue of Viéra and in the orbit of the household whose strange, brother-sister marriage the landlady cannot decipher. He matters less as a plot agent than as a measuring rod: when the novel asks what a human being might be, Rakhmétof is the answer it refuses to soften.

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See Rakhmétof in XXIX: An Extraordinary Man

Character Web

26 connections

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

Relationship types

Other

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Extended minor characters
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

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

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

Rakhmétof appears across 9 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

XIX: Viéra Pavlovna’s Third Dream
Briefly mentioned in the diary as a student who spoke with Lopukhóf during a picnic.
XXVI
Appears among the guests invited by Lopukhóf to help Vera through the evening.
XXIX: An Extraordinary Man
Arrives uninvited to offer help, demonstrates extreme asceticism, refuses romantic love, and is revealed as an extraordinary man dedicated to principle.
Rakhmétov's Visit and the Letter
Delivers the letter with theatrical caution, lectures Vera on her faults, and reveals a more human side.
XXXI: A Colloquy with the Sapient Reader, and His Banishment
Revealed not to be a plot device but a character whose personality is illuminated through his conversation with Vera; he is not a gloomy monster but can joke and talk gaily, though rarely.
Part IV: Second Marriage
The extraordinary man who appears to guide and influence the characters' revolutionary ideals.
II
The formidable but kind man who spoke with Vera about Lopukhov and advised her to leave Petersburg.
VII
Mentioned as an 'eagle' who can dedicate himself entirely to common affairs, unlike ordinary people.
Part V: New People, and the Finale
The extraordinary man who represents the highest level of revolutionary dedication and asceticism, serving as a moral exemplar.

Chapter companion notes

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See Rakhmétof in XXIX: An Extraordinary Man

See Rakhmétof in XIX: Viéra Pavlovna’s Third Dream