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Intro
The story opens with the relatively young Aksyonov, a well-to-do merchant, living with his family in the town of Vladimir, Russia. Aksyonov is jovial, handsome, and talented at singing, and he owns two shops and a house; however, he has a habit of excessive drinking. As Aksyonov prepares to set off for the summer commercial Fair at Nizhny, his wife urges him to stay home, telling him that she has experienced a bad portent—a nightmare in which his hair turned completely gray. Aksyonov assumes that his wife is worried about his drinking and laughs off her concerns.
Halfway into his journey to Nizhny, Aksyonov meets a merchant friend at an inn for tea. He and his friend both spend the evening at the inn, and in the morning Aksyonov continues on his way. During a break in the journey, as Aksyonov feeds his horse and plays his guitar, a state official suddenly arrives with two soldiers and begins questioning Aksyonov, focusing on the prior evening and on Aksyonov’s interactions with his merchant friend. When a bewildered Aksyonov inquires as to what is going on, the official introduces himself as the district police inspector and informs Aksyonov that his merchant friend was murdered at the inn. The inspector orders a search of Aksyonov’s belongings and discovers a bloodstained knife. A terrified Aksyonov quakes, stammers, and swears desperately that the knife is not his, but the police inspector formally accuses Aksyonov of murdering the merchant and of stealing 20,000 rubles. Aksyonov is physically bound and escorted to jail.
In jail, Aksyonov is visited by his grief-stricken wife, who collapses upon seeing her husband in prison clothes and fetters. Aksyonov’s wife informs him that his last hope of exoneration and release—a petition to the tsar—has been rejected. She reminds Aksyonov that she foresaw his troubles in a nightmare, and to Aksyonov’s horror and astonishment, asks him point-blank whether he actually committed the murder. Aksyonov is devastated by his wife’s suspicion of his guilt. As a soldier separates Aksyonov from his wife and children for the last time, Aksyonov concludes that he can only expect justice and mercy from God—not from anyone on Earth, even family members. This marks a turning point after which Aksyonov begins to pray fervently and turns towards a strictly spiritual life.
After being flogged, Aksyonov is sent to a Siberian labor camp, where he remains for 26 years. In a fulfillment of his wife’s prophecy, his hair turns completely gray and he becomes physically fragile, acquiring a stoop. Aksyonov becomes intensely devout and acquires the prison monikers of “Grandpa” and “Man of God,” reflecting both his piety and his bodily deterioration. He spends his prison earnings on a Saint’s Calendar and spends much of his time in the jail’s chapel, reading the gospels and singing in the choir. Aksyonov never again hears from his wife and children, but he gains the respect of his fellow inmates, who trust him to mediate disputes and file appeals on their behalf to the state authorities.
One day, Aksyonov hears a recently-arrived inmate named Makar Semyonov announce that he comes from Vladimir, Aksyonov’s hometown. Aksyonov asks for word of his family; Makar replies that he has heard of them as well-to-do people whose head of household is incarcerated in Siberia. Makar asks Aksyonov what he was sentenced for; Aksyonov says only that he is paying for his prior sins, but his fellow inmates tell Makar the story of the merchant who was murdered and of how Aksyonov was framed for the killing. Upon hearing this, Makar suddenly seems to recognize Aksyonov, expressing surprise that he and Aksyonov have met again after so many years; Makar’s reaction leads Aksyonov to speculate that Makar might know who truly murdered the merchant at the inn. When Makar responds by claiming that the true culprit has never been caught, Aksyonov begins to suspect that it was in fact Makar who framed him for the murder.
Aksyonov’s suspicion of Makar sends him spiraling into a terrible depression. Aksyonov pictures his long-lost wife and children and reflects upon his false imprisonment, the now-lost light-heartedness of his youth, and the brutality (and injustice) of his punishment. Aksyonov becomes so dejected that he contemplates suicide, a horrific Christian sin, and feels tempted to take his revenge against Makar by attacking him.
One night, Aksyonov comes across Makar digging an escape tunnel under the wall of the prison. When soldiers discover this tunnel the very next day, the governor arrives on the scene and begins questioning the prisoners. When the governor questions Aksyonov, he praises Aksyonov as a spiritual man who always tells the truth. Aksyonov thinks about informing on Makar as revenge for Makar’s setting him up but ultimately concludes that he does not wish to see Makar flogged (the same penalty Aksyonov received), especially if his suspicion of Makar turns out to be misplaced. Aksyonov lies to the Governor, saying that he witnessed nothing and that he does not know who dug the escape tunnel.
The following night, Aksyonov finds Makar sitting at the foot of his bed. Makar, deeply affected by Aksyonov’s decision to protect him, desperately begs Aksyonov for forgiveness and confesses that he is the true murderer of the merchant at the inn. In addition, Makar admits to having framed Aksyonov by placing the bloody knife in his bag. Makar promises Aksyonov that in exchange for forgiveness he will confess his crime to the authorities, presumably leading to Aksyonov’s official exoneration. Aksyonov responds with anger, insisting that even if he were to be released from prison he would still be miserable, as he would have no home or family to return to. However, Makar persists in begging Aksyonov’s pardon; he bursts out sobbing and shares with Aksyonov how shameful he feels knowing that a man for whom he caused such suffering took pity on him and safeguarded him from the authorities. As Makar weeps, Aksyonov begins sobbing as well and assures his fellow prisoner that God will forgive him. With this, Aksyonov affirms his ultimate trust in God to forgive, deliver real justice, and reward genuine devotion with salvation. This is the principal lesson of the story, invoked by the title: God sees the truth, but waits to balance the moral scales in the afterlife.
Aksyonov suddenly feels his heart lighten, and thoughts of his death and of the afterlife replace his painful longing for home and for relief from prison (that is, earthly concerns). Though Aksyonov urged Makar to concentrate on God as the source of forgiveness, Makar nevertheless admits to the state authorities that it was he, and not Aksyonov, who murdered the merchant, and Aksyonov is officially approved for release from prison. By the time permission for Aksyonov’s release reaches Siberia, however, Aksyonov has died, passing into the afterlife, where worldly authority ends and God is the only source of justice.
