In Tolstoy's Words: Stepan "Stiva" Arkadyevitch Oblonsky Stepan Arkadyevitch was not merely liked by all who knew him for his good-humor, his bright disposition, and his unquestionable honesty. In him, in his handsome, radiant figure, his sparkling eyes, black hair and eyebrows, and the white and red of his face, there was something which produced a physical effect of kindliness and good-humor on the people who met him. 'Aha! Stiva! Oblonsky! Here he is!' was almost always said with a smile of delight on meeting him. Anna Karenina, Part I, Chapter 5