Ivan Shmelev’s novella “Citizen Ukleikin” (1908) develops anew the motif of the “little man,” familiar from Russian literature, against the backdrop of the historical shifts of the early 20th century. At the center of the plot is a nearly penniless shoemaker who tries to escape reality in drunkenness, numbing his longing and the feeling of hopelessness. But social changes gradually awaken in him a sense of self-respect, which makes the hero see his fate—and the world around him—differently.