A founding member of the Party and former powerful political leader who now finds himself imprisoned by the very regime he helped create. He is deeply intellectual and committed to the cold logic of the Party, yet he increasingly suffers from a guilty conscience over the individuals he has sacrificed for the cause. This internal conflict often manifests physically as a severe toothache that flares up when he remembers his past.

Rubashov's old college friend, former battalion commander, and first examiner in the prison. He shares Rubashov's intellectual background, moral standards, and history with the Revolution. He relies on psychological tactics and philosophical debate to persuade his prisoners, representing the older generation of revolutionary thinkers who prefer discourse over direct physical pressure.

A younger, rigid prison examiner who represents the new generation of the Party machinery. Lacking the personal history and theoretical hesitations of the older founders, he relies on strict rules, sleep deprivation, blinding lights, and absolute adherence to state logic to handle his prisoners. He views the older revolutionaries as cynical and considers himself a true believer in the Revolution's harsh necessities.

The elderly porter in Rubashov's apartment building and a veteran of the civil war. He secretly harbors respect for the old guard, keeping a photograph of Rubashov on his bedroom wall, but lives in deep fear of the current political climate. He finds quiet solace in his hidden Bible and frequently murmurs scripture to himself.

Rubashov's former secretary at the Trade Delegation. She is described as having a sluggish, calm physical presence and was devoted to Rubashov, ultimately becoming caught up in the political danger surrounding his career choices. Her unquestioning loyalty leaves a lasting mark on Rubashov's conscience.

The prisoner occupying the cell directly next to Rubashov's. He is an old-guard conformist who remains loyal to the nation's deposed ruler, making him an ideological enemy of the Party. Despite their political differences, the isolation of prison pushes him and Rubashov into a fragile, tapped-out dialogue, sharing information and trading insults.

A young, desperate nineteen-year-old Party member in Germany whose pregnant wife has been arrested for subversive activities. His meeting with Rubashov and the consequences of his failure to distribute approved materials become a central source of Rubashov's enduring guilt regarding his service to the Party.

A popular, slightly hunchbacked leader of the dock-workers' section of the Party in Belgium. He survives a difficult exile by catching feral cats to sell their pelts, only to find himself entangled in a morally compromising Party directive delivered by Rubashov, leading to his eventual denouncement.

Rubashov's former roommate in exile and a staunch advocate for large submarines, a position that puts him at odds with the Party. His status as a political prisoner who is paraded through the cell blocks forces Rubashov to directly confront the physical reality of the state's punitive measures.

An emaciated political prisoner in cell 400 with yellow skin and a distinctive hare-lip. He is the son of Kieffer, an old Party founder. His presence in the prison complex serves as another haunting reminder to Rubashov of the human cost of his political actions and the generational shifts in power.

A prisoner referred to as "Rip Van Winkle" by No. 402 because he spent twenty years in solitary confinement in a southeastern country before arriving in the Fatherland of the Revolution. He is deeply disoriented and retains an idealized, outdated view of the country that has now imprisoned him.

Vassilij's daughter. Unlike her father, she is fully integrated into the new regime's mindset, participating in the mass condemnation of the accused and demonstrating how the younger generation has discarded the old ideals. She throws away her father's Bible and old photographs to maintain Party compliance.

An old Party founder and former associate of Rubashov. He is part of the original revolutionary guard who fell out of favor with the current regime, heavily influencing his son's political trajectory and tragic fate.

The absolute leader of the Party and the state. He never appears directly in the story but dictates the brutal, logical atmosphere of the nation, constantly casting a shadow over the lives of all the characters. His image has replaced the older photographs of the original revolutionary founders.