Gleb Vikentyevich Nerzhin
Nerzhin is a mathematician in his early thirties. Theories attribute his character as Solzhenitsyn's fictional representative. He joins Volodin in the rebellion and is exiled from the sharashka despite having recently been offered a more prestigious position as a cryptographer.
Nadya Illinichna Nerzhina
After Nerzhin is arrested, his wife, Nadya, moves to Moscow. She attends school there, but after eight years of anticipating his release she is frustrated. Because she is the wife of a convict her opportunities are highly limited, so she's considering divorcing him.
Lev Grigoryevich Rubin
Rubin is a philologist also in his thirties. His character is based off Solzhenitsyn's frined, Lev Kopelev. He's got a sense of humor, but he's tired of serving corrupt peoples. He is tasked with identifying the man who made a phone call to the U.S. embassy to leak government secrets.
Dmitri Sologdin
Sologdin is a fellow cryptographer who staunchly opposes the communists, not for their political ideals but for their practices. Although a prisoner, he is building a secret cryptography machine in hopes of communicating with the outside world. After he joins Volodin's movement, his secret is found out and Solgodin is forced to build his machine for Russian confiscation.
Innokentii Artemyevich Volodin
Volodin is the one who makes the phone call to the embassy. Overwhelmed by conscience, he feels compelled to share the truth about Russian plans to attack America, despite the obvious consequences. In prison, Volodin despairs, having his worst fears about his country confirmed. The corruption is all too real. Nevertheless Volodin is a man of action and leads his fellow prisoners among the sharashka to stop cooperating with their supervisors.
