Boris Anchoukoff

Boris Anchoukoff is Prince Michael’s trusted servant, defined by an almost unnerving impassivity and an intense loyalty that survives his master’s death. After failing to prevent the prince from leaving his room on the night he was killed, Boris calls himself an unfaithful servant; later, he transfers his service to Anthony Cade. His recognizable appearance and capacity to pass as a servant also enter the investigation’s speculation about who might be concealed among the household.

Identity and Appearance

When questioned after Prince Michael’s murder, Boris is brought in by Tredwell. He is tall and fair, with high cheekbones, very deep-set blue eyes, and a composed expression that nearly matches Superintendent Battle’s. The resemblance is one of bearing rather than identity: his stillness makes him difficult to read, while his abrupt, bestial snarl unsettles George Lomax enough that George prudently retreats toward a window.

Service to Prince Michael

Boris explains that Prince Michael went to bed at half past ten and that he himself slept, as usual, in the anteroom adjoining his master’s room. The prince must have gone downstairs through the other door, which opened onto the corridor; Boris did not hear him leave. He allows that he may have been drugged, but cannot use that possibility to excuse having slept while his master was awake. He describes himself as accursed and as an unfaithful servant, making his failure to guard the prince the central fact of his account.

Loyalty After the Murder

Later, when Anthony Cade demands to know who he is, Boris answers in perfect English that he is Prince Michael’s servant. He confirms that the prince is dead and declares that he now serves Anthony. The change of master is explicit, but the underlying allegiance remains: Boris presents his service not as an employment arrangement but as a bond carried forward after Prince Michael’s death.

Suspicion and Narrative Function

In a discussion of whether the elusive Arsène Lupin could be among the household, M. Lemoine proposes that the supposed criminal might pass perfectly as a servant and suggests Boris as one possible identity. Bill Eversleigh agrees that Boris is odd-looking; Anthony, by contrast, smiles. The exchange makes Boris’s service position and striking appearance available as grounds for suspicion, but does not establish that he is Arsène Lupin. He functions in the mystery as both a loyal retainer marked by guilt and a figure whose guarded manner can briefly sustain uncertainty.