Chapter Titles
Chapter 4 centers on this holiday, for which a pine twig is illuminated by dim lights
What is Christmas?
Gleb kisses this colleague of his, sparking her romantic interest in him
Who is Serafima?
Who is Dante?
Nerzhin specialized in this field, where he was taught equations at Rostov University by his professor Verenyov
What is mathematics?
The KGB security agency referenced often in the novel is the successor to the Cheka, created by this predecessor of Stalin
Who is Vladimir Lenin?
In Chapter 26, Spiridon and Sologdin have a philosophical discussion while cutting this material
What is wood?
Klara takes a liking to this young informant who is sentenced to 25 years in the sharashka
Who is Ruska?
Rubin attempts to convince Nerzhin to read this author of The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls
Who is Ernest Hemingway?
Rubin is an expert in this field, evident through his work on the phonology of Russian speech
What is linguistics?
Innokenty is labeled by his peers as a follower of this Greek philosopher who preached attaining happiness above all else
Who is Epicurus?
Chapter 3 is named Sharashka, referencing this main setting of the novel, in a suburb of Moscow
What is Marfino?
This former girlfriend of Yakonov worries about the destruction of a Moscow church
Who is Agnia?
Nadya's friend Muza often contemplates the works of this Fathers and Sons author
Who is Ivan Turgenev?
Kondrashov-Ivanov primarily performs this job at the behest of camp officials
What is painting?
The chapters devoted to Stalin make clear that he was born in this modern-day country located south of Russia
What is Georgia?
Chapter 70 is titled after this loving wife of Innokenty and sister of Klara
Who is Dotty?
What is a university?
Gleb's book of this Russian author's poetry is confiscated by Shikin
Who is Sergei Yesenin?
Illarion Gerasimovich is an expert in this subfield of physics that studies the behavior of light
What is optics?
Those in the sharashka sometimes read copies of this foremost Soviet newspaper, with a name translating to "truth"
What is Pravda?
Innokenty is compared to this rival of Ivan the Terrible in the title of chapter 86
Who is Prince Kurbsky?
This officer "had been a model family man until the devil tripped him up and shackled him up to his secretary"
Who is Shikin?
Rubin's book collection includes this Czech author's novel War with the Newts. His play R.U.R coined the word "robot"
Who is Karel Capek?
What is theoretical mechanics?
Members of the sharashka roleplay a trial of the Russian hero Igor in Chapter 55, drawing from this composer's opera Prince Igor
Who is Alexander Borodin?