City of Thieves

by

David Benioff

Colonel Grechko Character Analysis

Father to the colonel's daughter. An NKVD officer who Lev understands has been "disappeared" in the past by the same organization he now works for. When Lev and Kolya are brought to him, Grechko takes their ration cards and instructs them to bring him eggs to make a cake for his daughter's wedding before the end of the week. This ridiculous quest imperils Lev and Kolya’s lives in food-starved Leningrad, and even after Lev succeeds in it he discovers that Grechko already had the means of finding eggs, hinting at the corruption inherent in the army that Lev originally hoped to serve in as a hero.

Colonel Grechko Quotes in City of Thieves

The City of Thieves quotes below are all either spoken by Colonel Grechko or refer to Colonel Grechko. 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:
Growing Up Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

She wants a real wedding, a proper wedding. This is good, life must continue, we're fighting barbarians but we must remain human, Russian. So we will have music, dancing... a cake.

Related Characters: Colonel Grechko (speaker), Lev Beniov, Kolya Vlasov, The Colonel's Daughter
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

"Those words you want to say right now? Don't say them." He smiled and cuffed my cheek with something close to real affection. "And that, my friend, is the secret to living a long life."

Related Characters: Colonel Grechko (speaker), Lev Beniov, Kolya Vlasov
Page Number: 254
Explanation and Analysis:
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Colonel Grechko Quotes in City of Thieves

The City of Thieves quotes below are all either spoken by Colonel Grechko or refer to Colonel Grechko. 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:
Growing Up Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

She wants a real wedding, a proper wedding. This is good, life must continue, we're fighting barbarians but we must remain human, Russian. So we will have music, dancing... a cake.

Related Characters: Colonel Grechko (speaker), Lev Beniov, Kolya Vlasov, The Colonel's Daughter
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

"Those words you want to say right now? Don't say them." He smiled and cuffed my cheek with something close to real affection. "And that, my friend, is the secret to living a long life."

Related Characters: Colonel Grechko (speaker), Lev Beniov, Kolya Vlasov
Page Number: 254
Explanation and Analysis: