Modest Alexeich

Anya's husband, a stout, pompous, fifty-two-year-old civil servant, 'a man of principle' who lectures constantly on duty and thrift while giving his wife's family no money, inventories her jewelry, and polices her manners in society. His ambition for advancement and decorations drives the marriage and, once Anya's beauty wins her the favor of his superior, is rewarded with the promotion and the Order of St. Anna he covets throughout the story.