Kira Argounova

The eighteen-year-old girl who returns with her family to Petrograd upon what they believe to be the end of the Civil War. It's noted that Kira gets what she wants, though Lydia says she doesn't understand how Kira manages that. When Kira slipped away from church and was returned home hours later by the police, she's never again sent to church. When her nanny buys a book Kira doesn't like, she throws it out the window and her next books are those that Kira will approve.

When her family returns to Petrograd, Kira announces that she plans to attend the Technological Institute to study engineering. Her cousin tells her that she's being selfish by choosing that route because there are other careers better suited to women. Kira doesn't listen and says only that she wants to be an engineer because it's what she wants. She imagines constructing...