Ivan Vasilyich Pochatkin

A senior clerk at the Laptev warehouse, originally from Kashira, given to obscure, self-importantly bookish turns of phrase ("Except!") that the other clerks nonetheless treat as perfectly clear; trusted completely with the till and with the old man's commercial secrets, he keeps Laptev in the dark about the firm's real finances and is nicknamed Malyuta Skuratov by the boys and junior clerks for his cruelty toward them.