Summary

The narrator of “Letter of Apology” is a KGB agent named Mikhail Ivanovich. (The KGB was a secret police force employed by the Soviet Union.) Mikhail appears to be quite dedicated to his work. One day, he is assigned to acquire a signed letter of apology from Konstantyn Illych, a renowned poet. Illych reportedly made a private joke about government officials. Mikhail’s superiors do not tell Mikhail what the joke was. Mikhail accepts the assignment and goes to visit Illych and his wife Milena Markivna. When Mikhail requests Illych to write and sign a letter of apology, Illych declines, and he tells Mikhail to come to Illych’s next poetry reading. At the public reading, Illych recites a quote and asks Mikhail to name the person who wrote it. Mikhail is embarrassed when, after being unable to name...