Elena Vilkas is Lina and Jonas' mother. She constantly goes out of her way to help everyone else survive. She is forced to teach children even though there is a language disconnect. While in deportation at the Arctic Circle, she becomes sick and gives her rations to her children because soldiers tell her that her husband has died. She freezes to death after sacrificing her rations for others and taking care of her children
Jonas Vilkas is Lina's ten year old brother. His mother pays a pocket watch to save his life. The watch is symbolic because it buys her time to keep him safe. Jonas gets scurvy multiple times due to the lack of nourishment. The first time he is healed with tomatoes from Andruis and the second time is cured by a doctor who finds their camp. Jonas is very innocent and childlike and often has other people take care of him. He is similar to Percival in Lord of the Flies because he clings to small, child like memories and repetitions in order to make him feel safe.
Andruis is a seventeen year old boy that falls in love with Lina. He is very close to his mother and offers his life so she won't have to risk hers. She saves his life when she is forced to sleep with the guards. Andruis often sneaks food and supplies to Jonas and his family in order to keep them and the others around the camp alive since he and his mother are well provided for. Although he stays behind in Altai, he keeps Lina's drawings when she leaves. This is symbolic of keeping her hope alive and spreading it to others. Eventually he marries Lina after they are both freed.
Kretzsky is an NKVD officer with a harsh family past. He has hidden sympathy for Lina and her family and lets her steal wood for their hut. He also offers Elena a ride home after she sneaks to the nearest town. Although he acts rude to Lina, he ended up saving Jonas' life by sending a doctor to the camp. Kretzsky's hidden generosity is similar to how Samneric helped Ralph towards the end of Lord of the Flies by William Golding. They warn Ralph that Roger and his hunters were going to come after him even though they could be beaten for talking to Ralph. Both Kretzsky and Samneric take risks in order to provide information/ supplies because it is the right thing to do.
Janina is a little girl with a dead dolly names Liale. Her mother attempts to strangle her however, Janina manages to survive. Death imagery and objects are often associated with her. She has a dead dolly that she constantly talks to and she finds a dead owl that provides food for her and the others in the camp. Although she falls ill with scurvy she doesn't die which contracts her association with death.
Other characters in the camp include Mrs. Azkyas, Mr. Stalas, and Mrs. Rimas. Mrs. Azkyas is Andruis' mother who is forced to sleep with the guards, but manages to support the others in the camps by stealing luxuries such as vodka from the NKVD. Mr. Stalas is a bitter man that constantly tries to die in order to escape their situation. The first day he jumps off the truck and breaks his leg. His constant pessimism makes him disliked however, sympathy is created for him because the only thing keeping him from actually killing himself is fear. Mrs. Rimas is a kind hearted women who has access to the male world because she receives letter from her husband. She cares for the sick in their hut.