General Velementov

Velementov is Peter's court general, a wheezing, one-eyed drunk who commands Russia's army with the seriousness of a man commanding a picnic. He drinks constantly, defers to Peter's whims without question, and treats military catastrophe as background noise. Loyalty and vodka seem to be his only real qualifications for the job.

Douglas Hodge plays him with a marvelous, boozy dignity, never winking at the joke even as the show hangs him out as living proof of Peter's court's incompetence. He's funniest precisely because he never seems to notice how funny he is, and there's real pathos flickering underneath the buffoonery.