Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov

The novel’s protagonist, guardian of Sofia, grandson of Grand Duke Demidov and Countess, and brother of Helena. The Count is an aristocrat sentenced to a lifetime confinement in the Metropol Hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal, spared only because the poem Where Is It Now? is attributed to him. He uses the gentlemanly ways of his former life to adapt and survive in the rapidly changing times. 

Nina Kulikova

Friend of the Count and mother of Sofia. Nina boldly approaches the Count for the first time as a little girl to inquire about his shorn mustache. They become friends thereafter, embarking on adventures through the hidden places in the hotel, and Nina gifts the Count the hotel master key. When Nina is an adult, she defects from the Bolsheviks and is sent away to Siberia, but not without first entrusting Sofia to the Count’s care.

Sofia

Daughter of Nina and ward of the Count. Sofia comes to the Count as a five-year-old, turns his world upside down, and allows him to find his greater purpose. It is her talent that opens the door for both of them to escape.

Anna Urbanova

Girlfriend of the Count. Anna, described often as the “willowy woman,” is a successful actress with connections in high places. The Count and Anna become lovers and Anna plays a motherly role to Sofia. 

Mikhail Fyodorovich Mindich (Mishka)

Friend of the Count. Mishka is the true author of Where Is It Now? but could not publish the poem under his name for fear of execution. He is the only person left who knows the Count from before his time at the Metropol. His ideals are in line with the Bolsheviks at the start, but when they begin to censor art, he rebels.

The Bishop

The antagonist of the story. The Bishop starts out as a waiter, but with powerful friends in the Party, works his way up to manager of the Metropol. He makes it his focus to challenge and destroy the traditions of the aristocracy and the Count.

Andrey Duras

A friend of the Count. Andrey is the maître d’ of the Metropol’s fine dining restaurant dubbed the Boyarsky.

Emile Zhukovsky

A friend of the Count. Emile is the head chef of the Boyarsky.

Marina

A friend of the Count. Marina is the seamstress of the Metropol.

Osip Ivanovich Glebnikov

A friend of the Count. Glebnikov is a former Colonel of the Red Army and current officer of the secret police. He tasks the Count with teaching him the ways of gentlemen in order to improve diplomacy with the West.

Richard Vanderwhile

A friend of the Count. Richard meets the Count at the Metropol when he is there as an American aide-de-camp to a general. Richard later enlists the Count’s help with procuring intel about the Russian regime. 

Abram

A friend of the Count. Abram is the roofer of the Metropol who shares the honey from his beehive on the roof.

Helena

The sister of the Count.

The Grand Duke Demidov

The grandfather of the Count.

The Countess

The grandmother of the Count.

The Hussar Officer

The adversary of the Count. It is his death that sends the Count to Paris.

Viktor Stepanovich Skadovsky 

The piano teacher of Sofia and the conductor at the Piazza.

Katerina

The wife of Mishka.

Joseph Stalin a.k.a. Soso

The Soviet leader from 1922 to 1952.

Nikita Khrushchev 

The successor to Stalin as the Soviet premier.