The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov

by

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Nikolai “Kolya” Ivanov Krasotkin Character Analysis

The thirteen-year-old son of Anna Fyodorovna Krasotkin and the provincial secretary Krasotkin, who died "almost fourteen years before"—that is, before Kolya was born. Kolya is a prankster who enjoys causing trouble everywhere he goes. He becomes notorious for lying down under the rails while a train rides over him. When he meets Alexei Fyodorovich, he is two weeks away from his fourteenth birthday. He is a school boy who declares himself a socialist and who probably gets some of his political ideas from Rakitin, whom he talks to often. He is rude, arrogant, and inclined to view others as less intelligent than he. He enjoys humiliating other people and drawing attention to himself. The only person whose opinion he respects is Alexei Fyodorovich, who treats Kolya like the mature equal the boy wants to believe he is. Kolya is short and regards his face as “disgusting,” though the narrator explains that he is actually quite handsome with fair, freckled skin and “small but lively gray eyes.” His cheekbones are broad, and his lips are small and very red. His nose, too, is small and upturned. He is friends with Smurov, though Kolya is two years ahead of him. He also befriended Ilyusha Snegiryov, who later turns on Kolya and stabs him in the leg with a penknife. Ilyusha and Kolya reunite when the former contracts tuberculosis and Kolya visits him at his bedside. He brings Zhuchka, Ilyusha’s former dog. Ilyusha’s death, as well as Alexei’s encouragement of kindness, softens Kolya’s attitude by the end of the novel.

Nikolai “Kolya” Ivanov Krasotkin Quotes in The Brothers Karamazov

The The Brothers Karamazov quotes below are all either spoken by Nikolai “Kolya” Ivanov Krasotkin or refer to Nikolai “Kolya” Ivanov Krasotkin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Faith vs. Reason Theme Icon
).
Epilogue, Chapter 3 Quotes

“He was a nice boy, a kind and brave boy, he felt honor and his father’s bitter offense made him rise up. And so, first of all, let us remember him, gentlemen, all our lives. And even though we may be involved with the most important affairs, achieve distinction or fall into some great misfortune—all the same, let us never forget how good we once felt here, all together, united by such good and kind feelings […] You must know that there is nothing higher, or stronger, or sounder, or more useful afterwards in life, than some good memory, especially a memory from childhood, from the parental home [….] If a man stores up many such memories to take into life, then he is saved for his whole life.”

Related Characters: Alexei “Alyosha” Fyodorovich Karamazov (speaker), Lieutenant Dmitri “Mitya” Fyodorovich Karamazov, Ilyusha, Nikolai “Kolya” Ivanov Krasotkin, Captain Nikolai Ilyich Snegiryov
Page Number: 774
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Brothers Karamazov LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Brothers Karamazov PDF

Nikolai “Kolya” Ivanov Krasotkin Quotes in The Brothers Karamazov

The The Brothers Karamazov quotes below are all either spoken by Nikolai “Kolya” Ivanov Krasotkin or refer to Nikolai “Kolya” Ivanov Krasotkin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Faith vs. Reason Theme Icon
).
Epilogue, Chapter 3 Quotes

“He was a nice boy, a kind and brave boy, he felt honor and his father’s bitter offense made him rise up. And so, first of all, let us remember him, gentlemen, all our lives. And even though we may be involved with the most important affairs, achieve distinction or fall into some great misfortune—all the same, let us never forget how good we once felt here, all together, united by such good and kind feelings […] You must know that there is nothing higher, or stronger, or sounder, or more useful afterwards in life, than some good memory, especially a memory from childhood, from the parental home [….] If a man stores up many such memories to take into life, then he is saved for his whole life.”

Related Characters: Alexei “Alyosha” Fyodorovich Karamazov (speaker), Lieutenant Dmitri “Mitya” Fyodorovich Karamazov, Ilyusha, Nikolai “Kolya” Ivanov Krasotkin, Captain Nikolai Ilyich Snegiryov
Page Number: 774
Explanation and Analysis: