Father of Stefan Alyovich from Folveshch. He's described as a grizzled man of 35, putting him at the age of 21 when Stefan was born. For some reason I always imagined him with his fair share of moles. Don't ask why! Just to avoid any confusion, although in the story Irina says Stefan's papa is clean-shaven, she's referring to after the events on Strangers' Pass. I've always imagined him and Viktor Malenhov sporting a couple of fine beards, though Stefan himself chooses not to.

Papa married a young lady named Mariamna by the time he was 20. She was 18. They'd been sweethearts for a few years prior after Stefan's papa won her over off his romantic rival. A year after they married and built their own small house, they had their first child, Stefan. Several years later, after many failed attempts, they were blessed with the birth of Ruslan (whose name is often shortened to Rusya). Rusya is described as a cheeky, mischief-loving boy who likes to make up rude verses to working-songs while he and Stefan do their bit for the family. He's fairly independent of his parents, even though he's so young, yet he and Stefan share a special kind of brotherhood which sees them relying equally on each other.

Unfortunately, Rusya died aged 8.

Papa dealt with his youngest son's death silently and stoically, while Mariamna sank into the melancholy she "never quite roused from", according to Stefan. After his death Stefan's parents rarely interacted and arguments came about often. Mariamna could not stand by and listen to her husband rattle on about how God had meant for Rusya's time on Earth to be brief, and Papa could not bear his wife's inability to let time heal her.

In work, Stefan tells us his father is a fine builder, working closely with the first and main victim of the story, Viktor Malenhov, who is a carpenter. Their mutual friend is a victim of poliovirus, Iakov. When both of Papa's good friends fall ill in the events of Folveshch, he begins to get frustrated at his god for the first time.

For Stefan as a character, his father is one of the most influential figures in the story. Stefan moulds himself around the man, assessing his decisions based on what his father would do (almost a little obsessively). His father is firm but fair, and thinks of the good of others in his community. For Stefan this doesn't always come naturally, so he puts himself in his father's shoes. Towards the end, however, he begins to lose sight of where to draw the line between him and his father.

Stefan's father as a character plays more of a role after the events on Strangers' Pass than he does before it. Depending on how well you've read Folveshch (it's definitely more apparent in the newer version not yet available on Wattpad) you may have noticed the parallels between Stefan and his father begin to converge, and the two characters blur. What were once Papa's opinions, expressions and solutions eventually become Stefan's, even though we know they are not part of who Stefan is. It's who be believes he is or was, since he is the one in control of how he tells events.

Anyway, I drew this with my usual weapons of choice: paper (good place to start), a Zig Graphics brush pen, Faber-Castell pitt pen in fine black, and Letraset ProMarker in warm grey. Actually I just kinda winged the whole thing. :D