Characters and their Objectives/Hidden Motives

Characters: Anatoly Novikov Nina Novikov - Novikov's mother Oleg Novikov - Novikov's father Petr Sokolov - Novikov's "uncle," arrested Soviet dissident Petr's Investigator Soviet Teacher Vladimir Vetrov Svetlana Vetrov Vladik Vetrov Ludmila Ochikina Patrick Ferrant ("Paul") Madeleine Farrent ("Marguerite")? Raymond Nart Xavier Ameil Galina Rogatin Alexei Rogatin Francois Mitterand Ronald Reagan Yuri Krivich Valery Rechensky (former KGB counter intelligence officer and cellmate of Vetrov) Yuri Marchenko (one of two of Vetrov's investigators) Gus Weiss (nickname by NSC, Dr. Strangeweiss, allusion to Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove) - one of Reagan's national security advisors, most respected by Reagan because of his involvement in Farewell for Reagan. ANATOLY NOVIKOV A 17 year old - 21 year old (from beginning to end of the film) intellectual, bookish, stubborn and deeply serious young man. Very gifted in mathematics and engineering, and was interested in those subjects growing up, but is now completely preoccupied with the loss of his dissident uncle, politics, philosophy, and the meaning of it all. Very frustrated with how his teachers treat him as the son of a commoner (not nomenklatura) and his propaganda-laced schooling, and how no one seems to do anything about this sham of a system. Distracted in school and his parents start to notice it. No interest in girls/anything his classmates are interested in, or anything outside of obsessive and growing hatred of communism and the Soviet regime. He lives in Moscow in a moderate (for common Russians in Moscow) apartment with his mother and father. He has his own room, which is not that common, but he was given this because his parents value his studies and want him to go to a good college. They know he is smart and they are very proud of him. His parents are encouraging and want him to have the space and isolation in their busy, packed apartment building to study. Hiding: - Novikov is anti-communist, and Vetrov is not really. Vetrov thinks there should be reforms but that deep down communism is a good ideal. (he's not bookish, he's more like a common Russian in his take). Novikof learns that Vetrov feels this way and his morally conflicted about working with him (and his self-distructive and immoral ways) but resolves to hide this zeal and underlying motivation and work with him for the greater goal. ^ He hides this by letting Vetrov believe (reading between the lines) that his motivation is also revenge for what the Soviet union did to his "uncle" (which is kind of is, so he's not lying, its just much more academic than that, like this happened to my "uncle" and it is unethical and a system should not do that to those fighting for good). He hides the depth of his anti-communism, not the fact of it. He allows Vetrov to believe their motives align emotionally, when Anatoly’s are systemic and ethical. - His parents (nor anyone else) do not know that Uncle Petr snuck him anti-communist books and he has been reading them for a few years. - He loves his mother, but he resents his mother's talking badly about Petr because he believes that deep down she agrees that the Soviet regime is wrong. Objectives: To understand the system that destroyed his uncle—and help bring it down. To live truthfully in a world built on lies, without destroying his parents. To turn knowledge into consequence. Public Self: A quiet, serious, gifted student. Politically compliant on the surface. “Promising” but distracted. Private Self: A moral absolutist. Sees communism not just as flawed, but illegitimate. Already living intellectually outside the Soviet system. Action They Justify: Working with a morally compromised man (Vetrov). Withholding truth from his parents. Allowing others to misinterpret his motives if it serves a greater ethical end. Weakness: moral impatience. He believes if something is wrong, it should already be stopped. Core irony: Anatoly believes he is the most honest person in the film—yet he survives entirely through concealment. NINA NOVIKOV A symbol for most of the Soviet population. Anatoly's mother. Now a frail and anxious housewife. Deeply proud of Anatoly and reminds him to focus on his studies and not think too much about the world around him (alluding to philosophy, religion or politics), just to study his arithmatic and he will be successful. She reminds him that the State is making great strides in technology and engineering (foreshadows). Sees him as the pride and joy of the family. Was completely aloof of Petr Sokolov's dissidence and giving books to Anatoly. Then after Petr was arrested, she was interrogated asking if she knew about his dissident activities and if she knew of any other dissidents. They treated her, a frail woman, carefully. She was terrorified and did not know anything they asked about. The Soviet investigators let her go, but put the fear of God into her. She now is stepping on egg shells and is very afraid of the police. It is clear that she wants nothing to do with anything anti-Soviet to come into her house. She resents Petr for what he did and lets her husband and son know it. Hiding: - Deep down she does believe the Soviet regime is wrong, but is too weak to override her fear. She overcompensates by voicing shame and lunicy on those against it. She personally justifies her behavior by thinking that it is her duty to her family to protect them and prioritizing that over ideology is correct. - Notices her son is distracted. She attributes this to the family friend's arrest and she then reacts to this by saying she resents Petr for his bad behavior. Objectives: Keep her family intact. Avoid attracting attention—at any moral cost. Preserve the illusion of safety. Public Self: Loyal Soviet mother. Grateful for the State’s “progress.” Dismissive of dissidents. Private Self: Nina doesn’t just fear the State—she fears being responsible for her family’s destruction. If I deny the truth loudly enough, maybe it won’t touch us. Knows the system is wrong. Terrified of being responsible for catastrophe. Feels guilt she cannot articulate. Action They Justify: Shaming Petr. Pressuring Anatoly to disengage from truth. Choosing silence over integrity. Tragedy: Nina believes fear is love. OLEG NOVIKOV Anatoly's father. a self made man, a commoner, blue collar. Deeply proud of Anatoly and encourages him in his studies. Sees him as the pride and joy of the family. Wants him to be a more successful, white-collar man. Childhood friend and neighbor in Moscow of Petr Sokolov. Knew about Petr Sokolov's dissidence, but wanted to keep it from Anatoly and especially ensure that no one suspected the Novikov's of being included in this. Did not know that Sokolov was giving books to Anatoly. When Petr was arrested he was interrogated to asking if she knew about his dissident activities and if she knew of any other dissidents. He held firm and had a good alibi (very careful for what he believed was this inevitable moment from when he learned Petr was a dissident) and was treated decently. He was let go. Hiding: - He knew about Petr's dissidence, but hid it from his family. Never tells them he knew. - Let Oleg recognize Anatol’s danger before Anatol does. He may not know what his son is doing—but he knows what kind of mind he has. That creates dread. - Petr told him at their last meeting that Petr had some doubts on whether sacrificing himself in all this would actually change anything. This plants the seed of doubt toward any dissidence activities in Oleg's head and affects his later dread toward his son. Objectives: Ensure Anatoly survives and advances. Avoid entanglement that cannot be undone. Maintain plausible deniability. Public Self: Apolitical, hardworking Soviet man. Proud father. Loyal citizen. Private Self: Survival comes before righteousness. His concealment is strategic, not cowardly. He understands how the system works better than Nina. His silence is intentional. Understands the State far better than he admits. Knows Petr may be right—but fears he is ineffective. Recognizes danger before it manifests. Action They Justify: Lying through omission. Allowing injustice to pass unchallenged. Preparing quietly instead of resisting openly. Key tension: Oleg’s love is strategic; Anatoly’s is moral. PETR SOKOLOV A "ghost" character. Oleg's childhood friend and neighbor to the Novikovs. Oleg (and then later his wife and son) and Petr have lived in neighboring apartments for their entire lives. Anatoly calls him "Uncle Petr." Petr snuck Anatoly clandestine anti-Soviet books, like Solzenistyn. Petr was part of the Soviet Dissident movement. He demanded that the Kremlin obey its laws, met in gatherings with other dissidents, was arrested, subjected to a bogus trail, and sent to a labor camp. Before he was arrested, he gave Novikof his copy of The Gulag Archipeligo which is shown in the first scene of the film. ^ Because of this Novikov already had a bit of very (which was helpful when working with Vetrov because Vetrov was very unorthodox in his espionage strategy) amateur, untrained espoinage-like training through is "uncle" who was a Soviet dissident. Told Oleg at their last meeting that he had some doubts on whether sacrificing himself in all this would actually change anything. This plants the seed of doubt toward any dissidence activities in Oleg's head and affects his later dread toward his son. Hiding: - That he delivers anti-communist books to others - Hiding that he delivers anti-communist books to Anatoly from his parents. Objectives: Preserve truth, even if it costs him everything. Bear witness. Leave something behind that survives him. Public Self: “Dangerous dissident.” Enemy of the State. Troublemaker. Private Self: Increasing doubt about whether sacrifice works. Still believes silence is worse. Knows Anatoly may carry what he cannot finish. Action They Justify: Endangering others through association. Giving forbidden knowledge to a boy. Accepting destruction as the price of honesty. His doubt is the inheritance Anatoly must resolve. Petr's Investigator: Serious and professional. A drone of the Soviet party and investigations system. (When speaking to the Soviet teacher, he leans into the prejudice she has that Anatoly, being born of a commoner, is no good and bound for disobedience and failure) Soviet Teacher: It is well known that Petr Sokolov was arrested in Moscow. It is also brought to the teacher's understanding by the investigator on Petr's case early in the morning in the classroom before school starts that Anatoly's family was Petr's longtime neighbor. The investigator wants the teacher to have Novikov state allegiance to the Soviet Union (better phrased) at the front of the class and observe his reaction. If he refuses, to immediately report this. (she did this and does not indicate why, but the class notices that this seems over-the-top and an abnormal amount of humiliation). She is not kind to Anatoly when having him come to the front. Hiding: - She knows Anatoly is Petr's neighbor and doesn't suspect him of being a dissident himself (she doesn't think he's smart enough to do that), but this confirms her feelings about children of "commoners" and that they hang around the wrong folk. She thinks he is destined for failure and disobedience. VLADIK VETROV Vetrov's son. Strong in math and engineering. Treated well by the teacher because his father is (publically) a nomenklatura in Soviet Engineering and Technology. Level-headed and earnest. Works hard. Calm and mature. Culturally well-versed. Dresses in designer clothes. Is spoiled and his parents dote on him a lot. Well-liked by the other students, but by no means flounts popularity. Anatoly's classmate, but hadn't talked to Anatoly much before this incident in class. He notices this strange, humilating display at Anatoly's expense and how Anatoly was very obviously conflicted while saying it and was physically pained when saying the words. Tells Anatoly the next day before school that he's sorry he had to go through with that yesterday. (He hides his curiousity at his pushback against the speech he was forced to say, since he doesn't know Anatoly had any connection with Petr, but he brings to the table knowledge of his father's open complaining of the Soviet Union and the KGB, he feels for him) Hiding: - That his father is KBG. (Anatoly does not put two and two together, Vladik being the son of the man he is committing espoinage with, until later) - That he knows all about his father's defecting. - That it pains him deeply that his parents have an estranged marriage and that his father has a mistress. Objectives: Maintain stability in an unstable household. Excel without attracting the wrong kind of attention. Understand what kind of man his father really is. Public Self: Privileged, gifted, composed. Model student. Son of a respected official. Private Self: Knows the system is rotten from the inside. Carries shame he did not earn. Feels complicit by birth. Action They Justify: Remaining silent. Offering private sympathy instead of public defense. Loving his father while knowing what he is.