How the Steel Was Tempered is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky (1904-1936) during Stalin's era. Pavel Korchagin is the central character.
Pavel Korchagin – The novel's protagonist. He is fighting on the Bolsheviks' side in the Civil War (1918-1921). He is a quintessential positive hero of socialist realism.
Tonia Toumanova – Pavel's teenage love. Tonia and Pavel became good friends after their first encounter, which later develops into an intimate relationship. Though born of a wealthy and influential family, Tonia treated everyone equally unlike her friends, who only interact with other children of well-reputed families. However, this changed as she grew up, as she became more aware of her appearance and social status of others.