Disappearing Earth

Alyona is Marina’s 11-year-old daughter, who is kidnapped in the book’s opening chapter. Mature beyond her years, Alyona takes care of her younger sister, Sophia, while their mother works. She has a mischievous streak, which is apparent when she tells a story she knows will frighten Sophia. Alyona worries about appearances. She is embarrassed that passersby might witness Sophia’s awkward ballet maneuvers while the two are playing by the water. She is also ashamed to be seen with her sister and Yegor, “a weak stranger” (11) when they encounter an older boy on a skateboard. Alyona shows great fortitude, putting on a brave face for her sister’s benefit at the moment they are kidnapped. She is extremely protective of Sophia both before and during their time in captivity.

Sophia is Marina’s eight-year-old daughter, who goes missing alongside her older sister, Alyona. She is a feisty child who tests her sister’s boundaries. When Alyona tells her not to go too far into the water, for instance, Sophia tries to wade further anyway. Sophia is an innocent and carefree child not yet concerned about how others view her. She looks up to her sister and relies on her for guidance, emotional support, and protection.

Alla is an Even woman and head of a cultural center in Esso. She is the mother of Lilia, the 18-year-old girl who went missing roughly three years before the kidnapping of the Golosovskaya girls. Alla is critical of how her eldest daughter, Natasha, raises her children. Unlike Natasha, who holds that Lilia ran away, Alla thinks her daughter was abducted. Three years have passed since the disappearance, but Alla has not given up on finding her Lilia. To this end, she approaches Marina to ask how she kept the police on task in the search for Alyona and Sophia. Alla seems not to grasp the racist undercurrents underlying the quick dismissal of her daughter’s disappearance. Alla seems to be a pessimist, as she assumes her daughter is dead.

Natalia, called Natasha, is Alla’s oldest daughter. She is a 31-year-old doctoral candidate at the oceanographic institute and lives in an apartment in Petropavlovsk with her two children, Lev and Yulia (nicknamed Yulka). Natasha lacks authority in her household, as evidenced by her mother reprimanding her in the presence of her children and her children’s constant bickering. She has not taught her children the Even language, indicating a disconnect from her culture.

Natalia has blinders when it comes to her family. For example, she refuses to acknowledge that her brother has severe psychiatric problems, characterizing him as “on the more idiosyncratic end of normal” (131). Similarly, she insists that her sister Lilia ran away from home, despite all evidence to the contrary. Consequently, she has spent the last three years looking for Lilia wherever she goes.

Lilia is Alla’s youngest daughter, who went missing at the age of 18. Her sister, Natasha, describes her as kind and clever, but she has a reputation for being a bad student, promiscuous, and a prostitute. Lilia is a fighter. In the final chapter, she bangs on the walls and shouts to capture the attention of the police.

Revmira is a member of the Even tribe and Alla’s second cousin. She works as a nurse in Petropavlovsk. Revmira is drifting away from her native culture, no longer visiting her village because “there was nothing for her there” (135). She has been married to Artyom for 26 years and is grief-stricken to learn of his death.

Ksenia, known as Ksyusha, is a reindeer herder’s daughter from Esso and a fourth-year accounting student at Petropavlovsk University. Her father and grandfather live in the tundra with their animals year-round, while she, her brother Chegga, and her mother stay in Esso. Ksyusha lives with her cousin, Alisa, in a one-bedroom apartment. Unlike her cousin, she is a neat freak and an introvert. She is torn between Ruslan, her controlling white boyfriend, and a Koryak man named Chander, her partner in a folkdance troupe at university. Ksyusha firmly believes Lilia ran away. She buys into the rumors about Lilia’s promiscuity, saying that the missing girl “was sweet, but […] slept with everyone” (163). She functions as the voice of the majority in the novel.

Sergei, called Chegga, is Ksyusha’s brother and Nadia’s boyfriend. He works as a photographer in Esso. He is a dreamer who loves the idea of having a family, but he is unable to provide for Nadia and her daughter in a satisfactory manner. He is cheap, stubborn, and eager to insert himself in others’ lives. Chegga likes the drama surrounding Lilia’s disappearance and enjoys making up stories about what happened to her. His attentiveness enables him to make the connection between Yegor and Marina’s description of the kidnapper.

Ruslan is Ksyusha’s Russian boyfriend from Esso. He is extremely controlling. He keeps close tabs on Ksyusha, insisting they speak twice a day, incessantly sending her text messages, and driving down to the capital to see her at the end of each month. Ruslan ridicules native culture by mocking traditional dancing and pretending to sing in the Even language. He is quick to anger and petulant when he does not get his way. He comes to represent racist views in the novel.

Nadezhda, called Nadia, is originally from Palana but now works at Sberbank in Esso. She is Chegga’s girlfriend and the mother of five-year-old Mila. She dreams of a better life and of moving far away from Kamchatka. Nadia is underhanded and difficult to satisfy. When the radiator in her rental house starts leaking, for example, she approaches Chegga’s mother for help without telling Chegga. Further, when Chegga takes her and Mila to a public pool over the holidays, she suggests going to a cleaner, private pool instead. She is overwhelmed by her responsibilities at work and at home. Moreover, she feels let down by Chegga, who fails to provide for them in the manner she expects. Despite life’s hardships, Nadia finds hope in her child and imagines a brighter future.

Nikolai, known as Koyla, is a detective with the Kamchatsky police. He is married to Zoya, with whom he shares an infant daughter. He is kind and supportive on the surface, but short-tempered when Zoya questions his response to a recent vandalism case. Koyla believes the Golosovskaya sisters were abducted and taken off the peninsula. After the disappearance, he aggressively questioned Oksana, the only witness to the crime, and became cruel when she failed to provide a detailed description of the kidnapper.

Zoya is Nikolai’s wife and a new mother. She is on maternity leave from her job in ecological education at a national park. Zoya is restless after months at home with her infant daughter. She chain-smokes on her balcony and watches migrant workers to pass the time. She is struggling with the loss of her old self, and with her new reality as a mother.

Oksana is a researcher at the volcanological institute. She is married to Anton, but the two have marital problems. Oksana is unusually attached to her dog, Malysh, who runs away after a friend leaves her apartment open. Oksana’s feelings for her dog stem from her loneliness as an only child, her lack of children, and her fraught relationship with her husband. Malysh’s disappearance reminds Oksana of the disappearance of the Golosovskaya girls, which she witnessed. She harbors guilt at not having stopped the abduction, and she blames herself for not being able to provide a better description of the kidnapper.

Maxim, or Max for short, is a researcher at the volcanological institute. He is attractive but forgetful, clumsy, and careless. In addition, he has an overinflated view of his career prospects, mistakenly believing he is months away from a big promotion. Max was among the first to volunteer to look for the Golosovskaya sisters, but he abandoned the search after the first month. He is an endearing person with great enthusiasm, but he is not good at following through.

Ekaterina, nicknamed Katya, is a customs officer at the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky maritime container port. She is a daring woman who sneaks off to have sex with Max shortly after meeting him at a retreat. At work, she is capable, maintains standards, meets commitments, and produces results. The disappearance of the Golosovskaya girls has put her on edge. Although she does not love Max, she happily finds distraction in his arms.

Anfisa is an administrative assistant for the Kamchatsky police. She has a son who is in the same class as Natasha’s son, Lev. Anfisa believes the rumors about Lilia and draws a sharp distinction between her case and the missing Golosovskaya sisters.

Valentina is an office administrator for an elementary school who lives in Gorizont, the same well-kept neighborhood as the Golosovskaya family. She disapproves of her daughter’s friendship with Olya, who she considers undisciplined. Valentina idealizes Soviet times, in particular, the period’s order and safety. She is a xenophobe, as evidenced by her characterization of tourists, migrants, and natives as criminals. Valentina is judgmental. She blames the disappearance of the Golosovskaya sisters on the lack of parental supervision. Moreover, she disapproves of Olya’s family structure because Olya’s mother has to travel for work. In Chapter 4, she learns that the blister on her chest is actually a serious condition that requires immediate surgery. She is so committed to maintaining her perfect image that she declines to inform her family of the procedure.

Diana is Valentina’s daughter. She is bright but weak willed, ending her five-year friendship with Olya to placate her mother. Diana has a mean streak, telling Olya her voice induces headaches. She is smug when she corrects Olya’s math homework. Diana is unpredictable and distant one moment, and overeager the next.

Lada is a receptionist at Avacha Hotel in Petropavlovsk. At university, she had an intimate (though not necessarily physical) relationship with Masha, a glamourous woman who moved to St. Petersburg, where she now lives openly as a lesbian. Lada is more fearful than Masha and thus urges her friend not to flaunt her sexual orientation. She has a close encounter with Yegor at a New Year’s party. Although she is not attracted to him, she almost has sex with him simply because others expect it.

Olga, nicknamed Olya, is a 13-year-old schoolgirl who struggles against the constraints placed upon children by fearful adults in the wake of the disappearance of the Golosovskaya sisters. Olya is loyal to her best friend, Diana. She sees herself as a good person, in contrast to the girls at school who don’t wear underwear and smoke cigarettes. Olya exercises remarkable self-control for a teenager, holding her tongue when Valentina calls her undisciplined. She has an independent streak, which her single mother fosters.