Vasya Brykin Character Analysis in Doctor Zhivago

Vasya Brykin is a labor conscript on the train to Yuriatin who was betrayed by his uncle and conscripted in his place. Vasya is an object of pity for his fellow travelers, conscripts, and even the guards; Pelageya Tyagunova takes a particular liking to him. Vasya escapes and returns home only for his village to be burnt down during a dispute between the villagers and the Red Army. He later reunites and returns to Moscow with Yuri Zhivago and returns to Moscow with him. He also illustrates Zhivago’s books of poetry, though he and Zhivago eventually part ways as Vasya embraces the new soviet way of life.

Vasya Brykin Character Timeline in Doctor Zhivago

The timeline below shows where the character Vasya Brykin appears in Doctor Zhivago. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Social Differences and Social Change Theme Icon

...Zhivagos’ labor conscript companions include the cashier Pritulyev, the elderly revolutionary Kostoed-Amursky, and the teenage Vasya Brykin. Pritulyev is joined by his two competing mistresses, Pelageya Tyagunova and Ogryzkova, though the... (full context)

After one night of particularly vivid dreams, Yuri wakes up to the news that Pritulyev, Vasya Brykin, Tyagunova, Ogryzkova, and Voroniuk have all escaped together, though the details of their escape... (full context)

...such town, Yuri is surprised to meet Pelageya Tyagunova, who tells him that she and Vasya made it back to his village only for the neighbors to force them out. She... (full context)

...log the trees. In one burnt-down village he meets a young man who recognizes him: Vasya Brykin, the escaped labor conscript. (full context)

Vasya explains to Yuri that shortly after the other villagers chased out Pelageya Tyagunova, a murder... (full context)

Yuri and Vasya follow the spirit of the NEP and set up a small business: Vasya, who enrolls... (full context)