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Illustrated portrait of Andrei Prokofyevich Tyurin

A character in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Andrei Prokofyevich Tyurin

Tyurin is the foreman of squad 104.

The book

Cover of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
One Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichAleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 1962

One prisoner's ordinary day reveals the human reality inside a revolutionary state turned labor camp.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Tyurin is the foreman of squad 104. The son of a peasant labeled a kulak, he was expelled from the army and eventually sent into the camps. His main motivation is protecting his squad’s assignment and work rating, because their food depends on it. He confronts Der, secures a workable site, and keeps the men together. He survives the day and remains the squad’s essential shield within the camp hierarchy.

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