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:
).
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:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
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:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire City of Thieves LitChart as a printable PDF.
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:
).
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:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
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:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
