Doctor Zhivago

Yuri arrives in Moscow “emaciated and wild” (348). He passes through Veretenniki, a village that has been destroyed in the war. He meets the “barefoot, ragged, and disheveled” Vasya Brykin, one of the conscripted laborers with whom he shared a train carriage many years before (351). During the Red Army's attack on Veretenniki, Vasya explains, he hid inside a cave. His mother killed herself because she believed that her son was dead, while his sisters were sent away with the other orphans. Vasya is now all alone. He travels to Moscow with Yuri, and the two men share an apartment in the city. Vasya dedicates his time to studying bookmaking and printing, while Yuri writes “little books” about philosophy and other topics (355). Vasya then prints these works for his school. The books are well-received, but as Vasya learns more about Yuri, he becomes distrustful of his new friend. Vasya sees Yuri's worldview as outdated and confused, especially compared to the communist ideology of the Bolsheviks. He is unimpressed with Yuri's “lukewarm and limp” (356) efforts to see his family again. This split becomes irreconcilable, and the two men go their separate ways.

Yuri feels depressed. He moves into the house where the Sventitsky family once lived, which has been taken over by the government. The building is now run by the former porter, Markel. During his time in the building, Yuri is regularly teased by Markel for his many failures. He mocks Yuri for having to do his own laundry, something which would never have happened to an upper-middle-class person before the revolution. Markel reveals that his daughter pities Yuri and offers her services. Markel's daughter, Marina, helps Yuri with many of his household chores. Eventually, she moves into his home and becomes his “third, not officially registered, wife” (358). She is able to tolerate Yuri's irritable, grumbling demeanor. Yuri spends six years like this, and he and Marina have two daughters together, naming them Klavdia and Kapitolina. Yuri has found his old friends, Nika and Misha, and they talk together in Gordon's home. Yuri is disillusioned with the “hopelessly ordinary” tastes of his old friends (360). He knows that he cannot reveal to them that they are boring him, so he remains silent. He tells them that they are lucky that they know him. When they press Yuri to “clarify [his] relations” (361) with Tonya and Marina, Yuri dismisses their concerns, complaining of physical pain. He believes that “everything will be set right” (362). Tonya has begun writing to him again after five years of silence. He suspects that he will see her soon. Leaving Gordon's apartment, Yuri chances upon Evgraf. He has not seen his half-brother for nearly three years. Yuri confesses to Evgraf that he feels the need “to be left alone for a time” to focus on his affairs, allowing him to leave his past behind (363). Evgraf comes up with a way to help Yuri, giving him money and finding him an apartment and even a job. Evgraf gives money to Marina to take care of the children and offers to help Tonya and the children in Paris.

By the middle of 1929, Yuri is relatively happy. He has spent months writing. His work focuses on urban life. He hopes to reunite with Marina and his daughters soon. Travelling to his job at the hospital, he feels an “unprecedented, irreparable pain” in his chest (366). He dies in the middle of the street right next to a tram. Yuri is 39 at the time of his death. Evgraf arranges his funeral, inviting Marina, Misha, and Nika. Lara also attends, and she is the most visibly distressed. By chance, she happened to be spending a few days in Moscow to find a place for her daughter to live while attending school. She had not planned to see Yuri until she visited the place where Pasha once lived. The funeral is being held in these same rooms and, unexpectedly, she discovered Yuri's body in the casket. Yuri never knew that he was living in the apartment that he had first seen many years before. Lara spends several days in Moscow to help Evgraf sort through Yuri's manuscripts. Evgraf corrects her mistaken belief that Pasha was shot; Lara accepts her husband's suicide. She asks for Evgraf's advice on how to locate a child up for adoption and he agrees to help. A few days later, Lara vanishes. She may have been “arrested on the street” and then lost in one of the numerous concentration camps (374).

In 1943, Nika and Misha are part of the Russian Army fighting in World War II. Nika is a major and Misha is a second lieutenant. After separate ventures, they reconvene in a town and find “an undamaged hayloft” (375). Misha complains that he cannot sleep, so they go to the river, where Misha can wash his clothes. They talk about many things, including Nika's deceased fiancée, killed by the Germans for partisan activity. Evgraf, now a Major General, is visiting the town and gathering information about her life. They discuss their views on whether “collectivization was a failure” (377). Several weeks later, the two men wait for a supply truck in Karachevo. Their small group includes a laundrywoman named Tanya. She is very friendly and talks openly about her discussion with Major General Evgraf Zhivago the previous day. He asked her many questions, including many about herself, and promised to return to continue their conversation. She remembers a joke he told about becoming a “general's niece” (380). Misha quizzes Tanya about the Major General. She explains how she shared her violent backstory, in which she was given up for adoption by her stepfather, who was serving as a minister of justice in Russia's far east. Her mother's name was Raissa Komarova, she explains, and had probably hoped that the arrangement was only short-lived. Raissa's husband likely tricked Raissa, Tanya believes. Misha and Nika are certain that Tanya is the missing child of Yuri and Lara. They know that Evgraf will “look after her” (384).

In the future, Nika and Misha visit Moscow. They examine Yuri's writing. Yuri's book of poetry can be seen through a window. They feel at peace with the world.

An additional chapter presents Yuri's collection of poems, as collated and edited by Lara and Evgraf.