Ivan Denisovich Shukhov Prisoner S-854, who is the protagonist and focal point of the novel. He has been sentenced to ten years of hard labor and has spent the past eight years in a number of prison labor camps. Given above is his full name, which consists of his first name (Ivan), his patronymic (Denisovich=son of Denisov), and his last name (Shukhov). His last name is reserved for use by the bureaucracy, and in the novel, only the prison authorities apply it to the main character. Personal acquaintances would use the first name, plus the patronymic (Ivan Denisovich), as the title of the book suggests, and very good friends might use the first name, or a diminutive of it — that is, Ivan or Vanya.
Tyurin The boss of Ivan's "gang," or work brigade. A big, tough man who has already spent nineteen years in prison camps and who knows all the rules and all the ruses. He manages to get the best quotas and work assignments for his men. He began to take an interest in Ivan during their days in the camp at Ust-Izhma. Tyurin is not afraid to stand up to Der, the foreman.
Alyosha the Baptist A mild-mannered prisoner in Ivan's gang who has been sent to the camp for his religious beliefs. He considers his prison term a blessing because it affords him time to pray and to think about his soul. His religiously oriented code of ethics contrasts with Ivan's existential code of behavior.
Captain Buynovsky Prisoner S-311 has been in the camp only three months and still has much to learn if he is to survive. Sentenced to twenty-five years of hard labor for illegal contacts with the enemy, he is, nevertheless, a faithful Communist and naively believes in Soviet law.
Caesar Markovich A rich prisoner and a former film director whose packages provide the work gang with a vital means of bribing themselves into better work assignments. He is an intellectual who feels no common bond between himself and his fellow inmates.
Prisoner Y-81 An anonymous prisoner whom Ivan admires because of his dignified, stoic behavior; he serves as a model for the existential behavioral code which Ivan is trying to live by.
Fetyukov Once a supervisor in an office, he has chosen scrounging (scavenging) as his method for best surviving the work camps. Ivan considers Fetyukov's behavior debasing and counterproductive in the long-term struggle for survival.
Kuzyomin Ivan's first gang boss in 1943. He took it upon himself to teach Ivan the methods necessary to survive his ten-year sentence by formulating his "Law of the jungle."
