Vasily is a provincial innkeeper and second-guild merchant in 1870s Russia who also serves as a church elder. He is intensely focused on property ownership and expanding his wealth through calculated business deals, often evaluating his surroundings solely in terms of profit and loss. Convinced of his own independence and cleverness, he operates under the assumption that he acts as a benefactor to his poorly paid workers.

Nikita is an impoverished laborer who works for Brekhunov, earning half of what his labor is actually worth. Having lost his warm clothes during a past bout of drinking, he is accustomed to physical hardship and relies on an intimate, respectful connection to the natural world. He views his difficult life with a clear-eyed resignation, submitting to his circumstances with gentle endurance.

Mukhorty is Brekhunov’s favorite domesticated horse, tasked with pulling the sledge through the harsh winter weather. While Brekhunov views him merely as an asset, the horse shares a cooperative and responsive bond with Nikita. The animal possesses an intuitive sense of direction that proves superior to human choices when the snow obscures the road.

She is the wife of the provincial merchant, highly aware of the severe winter weather setting in. Recognizing the danger of the storm, she insists that her husband not travel alone, showing a practical concern that contrasts sharply with his self-reliant confidence.

He is the young child of the merchant. Brekhunov views the boy primarily as an heir and a vessel for the continuation of his acquired wealth rather than an individual.

Petrushka is the young son of a wealthy peasant family experiencing changes in traditional village life. He enjoys reciting lines from a book of fables, using these literary quotes to ease household tension and comment on the wailing winter storm.

He is the master-elder of a prosperous, undivided peasant homestead in Grishkino. He faces the impending breakup of his traditional family as younger generations leave for wage labor, prompting him to seek advice from the visiting merchant.

She is the estranged spouse of the laborer. Their relationship is strained by Nikita's past bouts of drunkenness and his constant transience as a wage worker, leaving him reluctant to make demands of her.

He is the son of the impoverished laborer. He represents Nikita's primary concern regarding the distribution of the wages Brekhunov still owes for the year's work.