A copying error by a military scribe turns the Russian words "the lieutenants, however" into what looks like "lieutenant Kizhe". The Tsar reads the error, and wants to meet this (non-existent) lieutenant. The courtiers, eager to avoid the wrath of the temperamental Tsar, create a Kizhe to serve as their royal scapegoat.
Mikhail Yanshin
Tsar Pavel I
Boris Gorin-Goryainov
Count von Pahlen
Nina Shaternikova
Princess Gagarina
Sofiya Magarill
Princess Gagarina's companion
Erast Garin
Adjutant
Mikhail Rostovtsev
Fortress commandant
Leonid Kmit
Scribe
Andrei Kostrichkin
Lieutenant Sinyukhaev
