# Ivan Ivanovitch Petrukhin — Yashka character guide

> Ivan Ivanovitch Petrukhin in Yashka by Maria Bochkareva.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Ivan, Petrukhin

**First appearance:** 0003-i-my-childhood-of-toil

## Snapshot

A loyal soldier who guards Maria's life, rallies fifty men to her defense, and stays at her bedside until she wakes.

## Who they are

Petrukhin remains with Maria after she is nearly lynched, then leaves to join a deputation seeking her transfer to Moscow for trial rather than mob justice. He posts five trusted friends at her compartment and locks the door, promising no harm will come in his absence. His practical courage and matter-of-fact faith—he says he now believes in God after witnessing her rescue—ground the narrative's most desperate hours.

## In the story

### [IX: Eight Hours in German Hands](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/yashka_se/chapters/ix-eight-hours-in-german-hands)

Implied as part of the regiment; Maria is reunited with the Polotsk Regiment and its veterans.

### [XVIII: Caught in a Bolshevik Deathtrap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/yashka_se/chapters/xviii-caught-in-a-bolshevik-deathtrap)

The humane chief of the Bolshevik investigation committee who defends Bochkareva and insists on a proper investigation before any execution.

### [XIX: Saved by a Miracle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/yashka_se/chapters/xix-saved-by-a-miracle)

Leads the investigation committee and obtains a delay order from Sablin to save Maria.

### [XX: I Set Out on a Mission](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/yashka_se/chapters/xx-i-set-out-on-a-mission)

His letter to Maria's mother caused her to mourn Maria as dead for six weeks.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/yashka_se/characters/ivan_petrukhin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/yashka_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/yashka_se/characters