Ivan Francevič Brilling

The head of the Third Department (secret police) Brilling arrives from Moscow to Petrograd to investigate the murders connected with "Azazel". He is young, smart and sensible, asks everyone to call him "simply chief", including Fandorin, whom he immediately takes under his wing. Brilling's main distinguishing feature is that he sees through people and is able to use deduction to find out details of their biography, strengths and weaknesses of character. He also strives to use innovative methods in his work - for example, he brings to Moscow a sophisticated crime prevention system "Mobius". He is very talented, has a rare gift of thinking and predicting events. In fact, he is "Mobius", only in human form." Brilling has a very specific speech: "He can speak for a very long time and a lot, and at the same time quickly. He has a phenomenal speed of thought formation.