Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev

Young poet known as Homeless, author of anti‑religious poem, debates with Berlioz and the stranger. Appears as a ghost‑like figure on the veranda, brandishing a candle and demanding the capture of the foreign consultant. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in a psychiatric clinic; ages himself 23; denounces Riukhin and seeks the foreign consultant; attempts to call police; sedated and moved to private room 117. Now a university researcher who annually walks to Patriarch’s Ponds on the spring full moon, follows a ritual route, and experiences a recurring dream involving a mysterious figure ‘number 1‑18’ and a woman who kisses his forehead.