Nina's father, Zacharias, was a kind man. He was a hard worker and extremely conservative. He accepted life as it was handed to him; he did not seek to change things.
"...
Zacharias was short and compact, with large square hands and
a similarly shaped head. His brown hair, already turning grey,
was nearly always hidden beneath a black bowler hat – the bowler,
along with white starched collars, appearing several years
ago when he was made foreman. His promotion had been the
pinnacle; now he was on the plateau. Eventually, he would reach
the edge, and finally he hoped to meet his God. He had always
been a religious man. Life for him was about fearing his God,
respecting the German baron and loving Tsar Nicholas II. He
could not understand those who wanted a free, autonomous Latvia,
and he did not understand what difference the word free would
make to anyone. He had only ever known the German estate:
the fields, the workshops, the sawmill, the dairy and the big
house. He had begun life on an estate in Estonia before eventually
moving to the estate where he now worked. He had no complaints. His
wife ran the household, and the baron and the Tsar ran the country."