Irina

Irina is a cockatoo kept by the Vanko family. She is a white bird with a pale crest, and she lives in a cramped apartment in Moscow, perched in her cage among the clutter of the rooms the family shares.

Irina is used to company and noise. Ivan Vanko keeps her near him in the workroom where he builds, letting her out to sit on a table or a shoulder while he works through the night, talking to her and sharing what he is drinking. The bird is one of the few things in the apartment that Vanko handles with any care at all.