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A category of судьбa is one of the most important in Russian culture. It has evolved over centuries, especially in the twentieth century, when the paradigm of Russian culture was superseded by Soviet one, with its special vision of the world, man and fate. Although a category of fate is closely conected with the Orthodox Church, the experience of totalitarianism caused that several attitudes like passivity, inertia in relation to the reality or humbleness do not have to be perceived by a modern-day Russian as religious or experienced as a Christian ideal. In Ulitskaya's novel we can observe the narrator's and protagonists' train of thought and experience of судьбa. The writer proves that in Paul Kukotsky's and his relatives and friends' consciousness fate is perceived as an aggressive force with its own rules which brings mainly tragic and difficult experience. When an individual perceives fate as God's will, or accepts an active attitude toward one's life he or she finds the meaning of human life (человек — кузнец своего счастья). However, Ulitskaya's protagonist is completely dependent on fate.