Remember Their Names is a fanfic based on the fandom "Historical Figures", "Historical Events", "Call of Duty: Black Ops. Know ours: the ten main Russians in video games

The Call of Duty series has found millions of fans around the world thanks to its dynamic gameplay and exciting setting. The latter rapidly changed the surroundings, taking players either during the Second World War or into the near future. Viktor Reznov played an important role in Treyarch studio games. Call of Duty: World at War was the first project where he appeared as a character. Next we will tell you more about it.

Early biography

Victor Reznov was born on April 20, 1913 in the city of St. Petersburg. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he joined the ranks of the Red Army, defending the honor of a great power. In one of the game videos, he talks about his father. The latter was a talented musician who earned money performing in Stalingrad (now Volgograd). Unfortunately, after the city was captured by the German occupiers, my father was stabbed to death in his sleep. The songs of the elder Reznov instilled rays of hope in Soviet citizens, and his death was a blow to many. For this reason, Viktor Reznov greatly hated the fascists in the future.

War years

Speaking about Reznov's war years, it is worth mentioning the first part of the series where he appeared - World at War. Actually, in the largest battles this character will accompany the player. The beginning of acquaintance is the mission “Vendetta”, in which Reznov acts as a sniper. Gamers play as Dmitry Petrenko, who becomes one of Victor's best friends. The task takes place on the territory of Stalingrad, where we need to kill General Heinrich Amsel. At the end of the mission, Dmitry shoots a fascist with a sniper rifle, after which he and Reznov hide from the large German army.

In this part (WAW), Reznov appears in a couple more missions, including “The Battle of Berlin.” At the very end, Sergeant Viktor Reznov gives Dmitry the opportunity to hoist the Soviet flag over the Reichstag. Next we will notice him in the next game from Treyarch - Call of Duty: Black Ops. In this part, the player takes on the role of several characters, among which the main one is Viktor, he meets in a prison located in Vorkuta. Reznov himself ended up there after he crossed the path of Dragovich (a Soviet general and also the main antagonist of Black Ops) during the capture of the Nova-6 biological weapon. Viktor Reznov starts an uprising in prison, helping Mason escape. He himself dies, although he appears in our protagonist’s hallucinations. According to the plot of Black Ops, Reznov brainwashes Mason so that he kills Dragovich and his associates - Steiner and Kravchenko. Victor becomes Alex's second self, which is shown very dramatically in the story.

There are several interesting facts about this game character. For the convenience of readers, we highlight them in the following list.

1. In World at War, Reznov's appearance is very similar to Lenin.
2. To create the model in the above-mentioned game, the developers used the model of Imran Zakhaev, one of the antagonists of the first part of Modern Warfare.
3. Viktor Reznov was born on the same day (April 20) as Hitler.
4. Throughout the WAW storyline, the character's thumb is bandaged.
5. Reznov's favorite word in WAW is "revenge". He says it 92 times.
6. Attentive players may notice that during the capture of Berlin, our hero is dressed very hotly and not for the weather - in a warm cape and a fur hat.
7. According to the date of birth provided by the developers, at the time of completing the Vendetta mission, Victor was only 29 years old, although he looks older - 35-40 years. But in the first part of Black Ops he looks somewhat younger, which is quite strange.
8. One of the game's missions, called "Celerium", takes place on Victor's birthday.
9. In the “Kill Confirmation” multiplayer mode, you can see our hero’s first and last name on the tokens.

Victor Reznov is one of the best characters ever created in the Call of Duty series. His biography is well written, and there are no problems with motivation. By the way, he also appeared in the second part of Black Operations, but this was rather an Easter egg for the developers, since the character was supposed to be 113 years old at that time. He looked like a mature 45-year-old man.

Finally

Reznov is a multifaceted personality. He can be a good friend, which we see in the relationship between Victor and Dmitry Petrenko. In addition, he wants to take revenge on Dragovich precisely for the death of his comrade. In the game he is shown as a patriot who loves his homeland. Victor treats the German invaders and Soviet traitors with contempt and, to say the least, with disgust, which is really interesting to watch on the other side of the screen.

Which hero do players remember first when it comes to Call of Duty? That's right - the mustachioed and forever young John Price. But the British captain is far from the only bright character in the popular series. Fans will probably name a dozen more “legendary” names.

Beginning with Call of Duty: World at War the authors involve A-list stars in the development, and also use images of real historical figures in the games. And the authors now take scripts much more seriously. Here it is in the new game, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, we are waiting for a meeting with Kit Harington ( "Game of Thrones"), who for the first time in his career will play a villain who unleashes a war of cosmic proportions.

Read about other notable characters from Call of Duty in our material!

Victor Reznov (Call of Duty: World at War)

One of the first truly interesting heroes was Viktor Reznov, who appeared in Call of Duty: World at War. Last but not least, he was remembered by the players thanks to Gary Oldman ( "Fifth Element","Dracula"), who gave the soldier his voice.

In some ways, Reznov is similar to Price. The Soviet commander also appeared in several games in the series: he defended Stalingrad and took Berlin in World at War, led the uprising in Vorkuta in Black Ops and helped Alex Mason in Black Ops 2(although the last case, apparently, is just Mason’s hallucination).

Reznov is perhaps the most tragic hero of Call of Duty. During the siege of Stalingrad, he lost friends and family, and after World War II he ended up in the Gulag. According to the official version, a Soviet soldier died trying to escape from the camp, but confirmation of this was never found.

Alexey Voronin (Call of Duty)

Although the creators of Call of Duty did not immediately begin to take their characters seriously, we simply could not ignore the very first part of the series. Alexey Voronin is the main character of the Soviet campaign in Call of Duty. It was he who made his way through Stalingrad under gunfire in 1942, and three years later he installed the Victory Banner on the roof of the Reichstag.

Little is known about the hero himself. At the beginning of the war, he was an ordinary Red Army soldier, and reached Berlin as a lieutenant of the 150th Infantry Division of the Red Army. Maybe Alexey Voronin is not the most important character of the original (in the first part we played as two more heroes), but for Russian players he is certainly another reason to play through the same Call of Duty of 2003 again.

John "Soap" McTavish (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare)

John "Soap" McTavish - the central character of the trilogy Modern Warfare. And if in the first game he was a rookie with a “stupid name”, then by Modern Warfare 2 rose to the rank of captain and became Price's closest friend.

Soap participated in all the key events of the trilogy: he prevented the US bombing, eliminated the nationalist Imran Zakhaev, pulled Price out of a guarded prison and tracked down the terrorist Vladimir Makarov, who carried out a massacre at the airport.

At the same time, Soap was seriously injured in every game. In Modern Warfare 2, for example, he had to pull out a rather large knife from his own chest and throw it at the main villain. The third wound that McTavish received in Prague was the last - John did not live to see the hospital.

Simon "Ghost" Riley (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)

Here's another character from Modern Warfare. The taciturn Simon Riley first appeared in the second part of the trilogy and was remembered for the fact that he spent the entire game wearing a mask with an image of a human skull. Ghost helped the main characters during special operations and never came to the fore.

Perhaps Riley would have remained just another extra if not for the very “spectacular” death of the hero. Ghost was shot, and his body was doused with gasoline and burned. And it would be fine if the character died at the hands of the enemy, but he was killed by US Army General Shepard, who turned out to be a traitor.

The developers rightly judged that in Modern Warfare 2 they paid little attention to Ghost, and after the game’s release they released a series of comics Modern Warfare 2: Ghost, dedicated to Riley.

When Shepard killed Ghost, many players were also sad because the scene shown in this screenshot was preceded by a long and very difficult mission. And all for what?

Faithful dog

The idea of ​​a special unit “Ghosts”, which would include the most experienced operatives, had been in the air for a long time and as a result found its embodiment in Call of Duty: Ghosts. The game itself turned out to be an acquired taste, but there was one “hero” that you can’t forget about.

We are talking about a German shepherd nicknamed Riley (in honor of Ghost, of course), which became a symbol of the release. During some tasks, the dog can be given orders. At such moments, Riley turns into a real killing machine: he becomes invulnerable and single-handedly tears apart entire squads of enemies with his teeth. And sometimes you can take control of the dog yourself, sneak through the bushes into the enemy camp and sink your teeth into... the enemy’s carcass.

Even before the release of Call of Duty: Ghosts, studio employees Infinity Ward presented Riley as one of the main features of the game. This approach did not go unnoticed: thanks to the players, the dog quickly became a meme.

Raul Menendez (Call of Duty: Black Ops 2)

The Call of Duty series knows not only brave heroes, but also crazy villains. The latter, without a doubt, includes Raul Menendez, a politician from Nicaragua, revolutionary and founder of the Cordis Die organization, whose goal is to destroy the capitalist superpowers.

Menendez is one of the most colorful characters in Call of Duty. He does not seek to kill as many civilians as possible (such sacrifices, in his opinion, are just costs), but wants to take revenge on those who are responsible for the death of his younger sister.

The appearance of such a character in Call of Duty is not an accident. The script for Black Ops 2 was written by David Goyer ( "Blade","The Dark Knight"), we should thank him for the character of the hero.

Jonathan Irons (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare)

Gary Oldman is not the only actor involved in the creation of Call of Duty. So, in Advanced Warfare The main villain was played by Kevin Spacey ( "LA Confidential","House of cards"). And, I must admit, he played excellently. True, this time the creators did without Goyer’s help, so the story lost its presentation and gained several “unexpected” twists.

This, however, does not make Jonathan Irons himself a less interesting character. He is the head of the private military corporation Atlas, one of the most powerful in the world. At first, Irons even tries to help the main character: he takes him to work after a serious injury, gives him access to the most modern weapons and implants (by this time the series had finally moved to the future).

However, the desire for unlimited power is a trait most often inherent in villains. This is what Irons becomes, but he does not have time to realize his dream of world domination, perishing as the most typical villain.

Salen Kotch (Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare)

But Salen Kotch does not waste his time on such trifles as world domination. His goal is a space war, the capture of the Earth, other planets and the destruction of all dissenters.

The commander of the villainous organization Settlement Defense Front in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is played by Kit Harington ( "Game of Thrones","Silent Hill 2"). Little is known about Admiral Kotch's motives, but judging by the name of the SDF, Salen was not satisfied with Earth's policy regarding the colonies. Because of what “Jon Snow” actually went over to the dark side of the Force and decided to unleash an intergalactic massacre, we will find out on November 4th.

By the way, narrative director Taylor Kurosaki is involved in the development of the new game (in other words, he is responsible for the script), who previously worked at Naughty Dog over the series Uncharted. Given this fact, it's easy to believe that Infinite Warfare's heroes and villains will surprise us... in a good way.

THIS IS INTERESTING: As for famous personalities, in the case of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, the Infinity Ward studio attracted at least two more “stars” to create the game - mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor and a British race car driver. The former will play assistant Kotch, and the latter will play an engineer aboard the space cruiser Retribution, which survived the SDF attack on the United Nations Space Alliance fleet.

* * *

There are many characters in Call of Duty. While developing the series and creating new games, the developers do not forget about their heroes. There are already many famous names - who knows how many there will be in the future.

What other characters would you classify as Call of Duty legends? Write in the comments!

Russians in computer games are always fun and a little embarrassing. A terrible accent, week-long stubble, an ineradicable smell of fumes and a hat with earflaps - all this, of course, is becoming a thing of the past, but the ideas of Western developers about Russia are still archaic.

1. Viktor Reznov (Call of Duty: World at War)
A rare good Russian in games. Defender of Stalingrad, whose image was formed from the personalities of our two most famous heroes in the West - Sergeant Yakov Fedotovich Pavlov and Sergeant Major Vasily Grigorievich Zaitsev. Reznov with a sniper rifle hunts German officers, exposes himself to enemy bullets for the sake of the main character, pulls the player out of the rubble of a burning house and leads the soldiers who have lost their commander.
He is invulnerable, like an epic hero: in one episode he literally does not burn in fire, in another he does not drown in water. Like a guardian angel, three years after the breakup, she meets the player in Berlin and saves his life again. Subsequently, Reznov appears in both parts of Black Ops - either as a prisoner of the Gulag, or as a hallucination - but you may not know about all this, limiting yourself to the heroic image from World at War.

2. Andrew Ryan (BioShock)
When BioShock came out, many observers were extremely happy: finally, serious philosophical ideas from 20th-century literature were heard in games. Indeed, the structure of the underwater city of Rapchur is largely based on the concept of rational individualism by Ayn Rand, proposed in the novel “The Fountainhead” and brought to mind in the epic “Atlas Shrugged”. Ayn Rand was born Alice Rosenbuam, who grew up in the Russian Empire and moved from the USSR to the USA in 1925. Rand was fascinated by the libertarian values ​​of the West and the American entrepreneurial spirit - and at the same time managed to come to hate communism, the establishment of which was associated with the deprivations of her family.
Her alter ego in the game is Andrew Ryan (Andrey Rayanovsky), a genius, playboy, billionaire and philanthropist who founded the underwater city of Rapture for the best representatives of humanity. Rayanovsky, who was born near Minsk, could have guessed that society cannot exist without a producing and serving class. But he didn’t guess - and the elites in his city quickly degenerated, slipped into civil war and lost everything. A typical Russian utopia turned into a dystopia - but for players around the world, BioShock, Andrew Ryan and Ayn Rand are not very associated with Russia: Atlas was written in the USA and became a reference book for many generations of Americans.

3. Gennady Filatov (Rainbow Six)
Russian attack aircraft "Rainbow 6", heir to the glorious military traditions of Pskov. He fought in Afghanistan, served in Alpha on the eve of perestroika and left it after the GKChP putsch, dissatisfied with the political position of his generals. He joined the private security company, and five years later he transferred to the FSB. In the international team "Rainbow 6" he is considered one of the most cold-blooded and balanced fighters. Known for his methodical approach: shooting terrorists is like solving a mathematical problem for him. In the first series of Rainbow Six, operatives still had serious role-playing characteristics. Gennady, according to them, excelled most in teamwork and handling small arms. In the game Tom Clancy’s EndWar, which is completely divorced from reality, Gennady becomes a colonel of the Russian special forces and chops down his American and European colleagues left and right.

4. Igor and Ivan Dolvichi (Jagged Alliance)
Ivan Dolvich even looks like Schwarzenegger's character from the movie "Red Heat"
Nobody remembers that in one of the episodes of Jagged Alliance Viktor “Monk” Kolesnikov fought, who loved the saying Blja! and did not like to remember his service in Tschetschenia. But everyone remembers the charismatic fighters of the Dolvichs - Uncle Vanya, based on Schwarzenegger’s character from Red Heat, and nephew Igor, who looks like the stern artist Guskov. About the elder, the caustic scriptwriters of Jagged Alliance report that “the former commander of the Red Army, like his entire country, stopped killing for Lenin and decided to die for Lincoln.” It is also reported that no one in the A.I.M. did not put as many people as our Ivan. And all this for the love of currency. Usually the relationship between a player and a mercenary begins with the offer “Karasho! I will work for you, damned capitalist!”, and end with an obituary: “Don’t even think about deceiving me - I’ll kill you, bitch.”
Igor is a more subtle nature. He suffers greatly because he cannot live up to the valiant warriors of bygone times. The fighter, however, is too strict with himself: in Chechnya he served in intelligence and was a real hero. But after returning from the war, he began to drink and became infected with the fatalism of classical Russian literature. Likes to quote Tolstoy and his uncle.
Outside the Jagged Alliance, the Dolvich family is glorified to the best of his ability by the writer Oleg Divov. In the collection “Harmful Profession,” he fantasizes about what a cover for their mercenary activities might look like - and comes to the conclusion that Igor and Ivan could make an excellent immigrant rock band with hits like Brighton Bitch and Fuck Iraq!

5. Yuri (Command & Conquer)
The hypnotist Yuri from Command & Conquer can long ago be broadcast on Rossiya-2 instead of Dmitry Kiselev: he talks about about the same thing, but much more artistically, more fun and convincingly. And most importantly, all of Yuri’s recordings are already in the game, so you can save a lot on production.
Our hero is similar to Lenin, but his career began under Stalin, for whom Yuri developed mental weapons. The research turned out to be fruitful, but Yuri himself lost his mind: he started a couple of world wars, almost won each of them, but all the time he made mistakes on little things. Then he executes his generals and political allies without bringing the war to an end. Either he will be carried away by recording addresses to the American nation straight from captured Hollywood, more like stand-up comedy than propaganda. Yuri’s Russian roots, by the way, are a big question: he has a Hebrew tattoo on his forehead, and his family allegedly includes bloodsucking Transylvanian Romanians. Well, he is played by the great German Udo Kier.

6. Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid)
A GRU officer (secretly working for the KGB and CIA) with the inconspicuous Russian name Adamska and the nickname Shalashaska, which was given to this master of torture by Afghan militants. According to her mother, Adamska is American, and the girl had a caesarean section right during some battle on the Western Front. He managed to take part in all Russian campaigns of the second half of the 20th century, but in fact he was always an agent of supra-governmental organizations.
In addition, Ocelot invented his own version of Russian roulette, which became famous far beyond the game. It requires three revolvers, only one of which contains a bullet. The revolvers are shuffled, after which the player selects one and shoots six times in a row. The chances of dying in this situation are twice as high, and you can’t calculate how much courage it takes to pull the trigger six times.

7. Alexey Stukov (StarCraft)
After being swept away, Stukov finds himself in a real hell. In space, his body is captured and infected by the zerg. He is resurrected, mutated and captured by the Dominion. There he is cured, but turned into a lab rat for the Mobius Foundation. Research, more like torture, leads to re-infection of Stukov. Having contacted the mutated Sarah Kerrigan, he begins his voyage of revenge - first he cleanses the Mobius Foundation, then, leading the zerg, he goes to war against the Dominion. And at the same time he does not lose his sense of humor. For example, he says that being a mutant is not bad: it’s convenient to scratch your back with tentacles. And he jokes that the “zerg rush” simply must be commanded by the Russian.

8. Zangief (Street Fighter)
Created under the impression of the real master of sports of the USSR in freestyle wrestling, Viktor Zangief, the prefix hero Zangief is a clear example of the confusion that arises due to the fact that for foreigners both Russians and Russians are all the same Russian. Initially, the Ossetian Zangief was supposed to have the name Vodka Gorbalski - and at the same time a sailor's vest and a couple of tattoos. But instead he received a human surname, abundant facial and body hair, and a patriotic biography. He goes into battle shouting “For Mother Russia!! 11!”, during breaks between streetfighter tournaments he dances with comrade Gorbachev, and at the same time selflessly fights corruption in Russia. The GameDaily website called Zangief himself a successful Russian character in the history of video games, and Complex magazine called him the main Russian asshole in the industry.
Zangief himself, a vulnerable nature, was always worried about this and wanted people in the West to love him and not fear him. In the cartoon "Wreck-It Ralph" he even visits an anonymous support group for villains, where he complains about the life of his tin.

9. Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov (Metal Gear Solid 3)
Soviet scientists Alexander Leonidovich Granin and Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov are, perhaps, the most normal characters in the epic game Metal Gear Solid 3. See for yourself: they don’t let lightning fly out of their hands, they were not noticed in sodomy, they are not American spies, after all (although Comrade Sokolov is still -yet he succumbed to the influence of the capitalist hydra, but more on that later). Both simultaneously developed huge combat robots with heartbreaking names - Metal Gear Rex and Shagohod, respectively. The latter project was more attractive to the lightning-bending Colonel Volgin, who led the development, and Sokolov was given the green light, but Granin had to be left with nothing. Ironically, it is Sokolov who is destined to take over the Metal Gear Rex project, which Granin will secretly send to the USA to his friend - Otacon's grandfather from MGS number one. Regarding the personalities of the scientists and, moreover, their motives in the game, nothing is traditionally clear - for example, Granin agrees to help Snake, flattered by his compliment about his shoes.

10. Volgin (Metal Gear Solid 3)
GRU Colonel Volgin is an ideal villain, whose motivation can be described by the following phrase - “I want a lot of money so I never have to work, and I’m also very angry, because I love evil and want to enslave the whole world.”
Despite the clumsy image of a villain who does evil for the sake of evil, Volgin quite seriously wants to seize power in the Soviet Union, overthrowing Khrushchev himself.
However, for ordinary players he appears as a bloody sadist who relishes torture and loves to give electric shocks.
In general, a very common hodgepodge for Western audiences.

That's all I wanted to say. Maybe I forgot someone... Write if you remember.

Hello, dear KaNoBu! Well, so do the readers. Today I want to tell you about the last hero, or rather not the main one. These words remind no one of anything:
Step 1:find the keys
Step 2: Get Out of the Darkness
Step 3:Rain down fire from heaven
Step 4:Free the Horde
Step 5: Pierce the winged creature
Step 6: Get the Iron Fist
Step 7:Open the Gate to Hell
Step 8: Freedom!
Well, how do you like the set? Those who played Call of Duty: Black Ops most likely remember and know whose words these are and what they are for. Well, for those who haven’t played, I can say that this is Reznov’s escape plan from Vorkuta. And that’s exactly what I’ll tell you about today. Meet Viktor Reznov - sergeant, captain, a true patriot who hates the Germans, but is cruelly betrayed by Dragovich, Steiner and Kravchenko.

Thousands of people died before Reznov’s eyes, including his best friend Dmitry Petrenko. Reznov himself was born on April 20, 1913 in St. Petersburg. His father was a musician. Reznov is first encountered in Call of Duty: World at war in the “Vendetta” mission.

There he was in the role of a Russian commander of a Red Army detachment. Call sign: Wolf. In this mission, he appeared as a sniper trying to kill the German General Amsels. The Germans carried out a massacre near the fountain of Stalingrad, shooting all the wounded Soviet soldiers. Reznov and Petrenko miraculously survive, but Victor's arm is damaged and he can no longer be a sniper. Afterwards he vows to avenge all the soldiers.

Finally, they both manage to kill Amsels, albeit with heavy losses (though not the first time). 3 years have passed since the death of the general, and we again see Reznov alive and well, but due to his injury (his hand), he can no longer be a sniper, so he uses the PPSh-41. This time we are storming Berlin. Reznov and Chernov (newcomer) save Petrenko from 3 Germans who grabbed him and were about to deal with him.

Victor constantly tells the soldiers, and especially Chernov, that they need to follow the example of Dmitry, and do not spare the Germans. Afterwards, he orders Chernov to plant a flag to prove his loyalty to his homeland, he runs to plant it, but is stopped by a flamethrower. Reznov will run up to Chernov, take the diary and say: “Someone should read this.” Then he sends another soldier, he is also killed. Then he tells Petrenko to plant the flag, which he does. When Dmitry (Petrenko) was mortally wounded, Reznov takes out a machete and brutally cuts the German. Victor was very angry, but knew that Dmitry would survive. Petrenko plants the USSR flag and Reznov says that they will return home together as heroes. Thus ends Call of Duty: World at War.

Now I would like to talk about Call of Duty: Black Ops. In this game, Reznov appears for the second time in the mission “Vorkuta”. There, our GG (Alex Mason, for those who don’t know) arranges an ostentatious fight in order to take the keys from the security guard.

This is where Reznov’s plan comes into action. Although I will not say what exactly happened there, and I suggest you go through this mission yourself (the mission is really worthwhile). I will only say that Reznov fails to escape with you and he dies (I’m not sure about this). Ask: well, since he died , is that all? NO! Dear readers, that's not all. The developers did not let Reznov die (partially). Thanks to Mason's memories, we learn the story of Reznov.

Namely, how he got to Vorkuta. In these memories we will even be given the opportunity to play as him . Reznov tells us about the mission to capture the biologist Friedrich Steiner. When we get to him, he will tell us that he is in cahoots with Dragovich and Kravchenko. Victor himself will then tell everything to Dmitry, but soon Dragovich will order to take those fighters who know about it. Dmitry and several other fighters die before Reznov’s eyes. From that moment on, Victor decides to take revenge in every way for the death of his best comrade. When escaping, Reznov places a bomb on the ship, and together with Nevsky they leave it right before the explosion (as usual in films). Victor tells Mason that Dragovich, Steiner and Kravchenko must die. Well, now the most interesting part (or as they like to say here, the most delicious thing)  . Due to unsuccessful brainwashing, Mason, already in Vietnam, begins to hallucinate that Victor got out of Vorkuta and joined them. Reznov's personality is embedded in Mason's head.

During the operation to capture Steiner, Hudson and Weaver (Mason's friends) see him kill Steiner, saying that he is Viktor Reznov. Having already killed Dragovich and surfaced from under the water, Alex (Mason) hears Reznov’s voice in his head: “You did it, Mason. We made it!" In reality, Hudson said that Reznov died in 1963 in the Gulag near Vorkuta (it is not known for sure). And now something interesting about these “glitches”. The thing is, when you meet Reznoy for the second time, you can shoot at him, and the bullets will pass through him). Even when you constantly meet with him (except for Vorkuta), all those who go with you will shout at you to hurry up, what’s here there is no one, or: why are you standing still, Mason? And the last thing I noticed was that in the “Revival” mission, when you climb the stairs, Reznov climbs after you, but when you climb to the end, Reznov is already waking you up there to wait

In general, this is all I wanted to tell you about Viktor Reznov, and this is my first post in my life! So I will be ready to listen to all complaints (and possibly praise) Thank you all for your attention!

Mason, barely alive, unconscious and completely broken, was thrown into a punishment cell. He couldn't stand on his feet, couldn't even speak. He simply curled up on the cold stone floor and died. He twitched incoherently when the rats bit him on the face and fell into oblivion again. Friedrich Steiner provided him with only one doctor, better known as time. The doctor of time turned out to be clumsy and slow, but he knew his job very well. When the guard opened the cell door for the first time to check whether the prisoner was alive, because the untouched penalty ration of bread raised precisely such doubts, all he saw was a body huddled in the corner. The guard poked the body in the side with a baton and determined by the slight movement that everything was in order. If anything saved Mason then, it was the short Vorkuta summer, thanks to which the punishment cell floor moderated its icy ardor. When the guard looked into the punishment cell for the second time, he saw that the prisoner was now in a sitting position. Near the wall, clasping his knees with his hands, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Mason already reacted to the third approach, shielding himself from the blinding light with his hand. On the fourth, he rose to his feet and met the guard with a wandering gaze and attempts to say something. And then the chief of guard decided that the American had had enough and assigned him to a barracks with political prisoners. It was there that Mason encountered the first frosts, which would certainly have killed him in the punishment cell. Alex didn’t go out for wiring or work, they didn’t even ask him to do this. In the company of other goons, he wandered around the territory, unstuck from one wall, only to lean against another. It was scary to look at him, he was so thin and pathetic. The prisoners did not become attached to him, considering him abnormal. And so it was. Mason, with an absolutely insane look and a blank look, was constantly looking for some corner to hide in. And when he found it, he began to voice the numbers sparkling before his eyes, now in a whisper, now reaching the point of screaming. One night Mason felt especially bad. The numbers seemed to go berserk, tearing his head into pieces. In an attempt to get rid of them, Alex rushed about and screamed, which woke up the floor of the barracks and caused the expected aggression. The prisoners got up from their beds and started making noise. As is usually the case, no one did anything, everyone just expressed their indignation, raised their voices, trying not to sound too loud, so as not to get angry later, if anything happened. - Someone hit him in the head! - Calm down this crazy guy, there are three hours before getting up! - Calm down the psychotic American, otherwise, God knows, he will run into something sharp in the dark. “If he doesn’t turn down his hilo right now...” “Okay, guys,” Viktor Reznov rose from one of the beds. All active voices immediately fell silent. Everyone respected Reznov. They knew about him that he went through the entire war from Stalingrad to Berlin. They knew about him that he was a real hero, and it was for this that he had been serving time in Vorkuta for more than fifteen years. Victor was not a criminal, but enjoyed unquestioned authority. Mainly because he was very strong both spiritually and physically, and also because he was crystal honest and principled, and despite all this, he was still intact. Since the war they called him a wolf. This was his call sign, which he fully justified. Reznov had been in Vorkuta for so long that he knew and could do much more than the security or even the authorities. And this is also why he was respected - for the fact that precisely at such moments when someone must show strength of character, Reznov was not afraid to act as a leader. Reznov caught Mason with a firm hand and forcefully laid him on his bed. It was not difficult to cope with the weakened American. Reznov leaned on him and covered his mouth with his hand. He looked into the frightened eyes, into the dilated pupils, filled to the brim with despair, and after a couple of seconds he slightly loosened his grip, feeling his own callous heart filled with pity. - What are you doing, American? What did they do to you? Don't be afraid... Don't be afraid, no one will touch you... Mason abruptly stopped struggling and looked at the light blue eyes opposite. He stared at them pleadingly, blowing his hot breath all around. Victor swallowed the lump in his throat and felt the rapid beating of someone else’s heart under his elbow. He heard the American mutter something and let him go. Mason immediately approached his face and in a broken whisper began to babble some nonsense in English unfamiliar to Reznov. These were the numbers. Reznov covered Alex's mouth again. - Shut up, American! Stop it now. Mason kicked a little and lost consciousness. And Reznov sat over him for a few more seconds, bitterly realizing that from now on he was bound by obligations. Reznov spat angrily on the floor and returned to his bed. Now his conscience and sense of duty will no longer allow him to abandon the American. Now he no longer has the right, lowering his eyes, to pass by, not paying attention to the suffering of the unfortunate person. Now he is responsible for it. And so began this friendship that saved Mason. Still not fully understanding where he was and having trouble thinking, Alex quickly determined who he could and should hold on to. Mason began to follow Reznov with his tail, needing him like air, like a solid surface under his feet. And Reznov felt more and more sorry for him and became more and more attached to him. Having agreed with his friend, Reznov moved Mason to the bed next to him, so that it would be easier to calm him down at night. When Alex began to choke and become delirious in the middle of his sleep, Reznov hugged him tightly. So tightly that he could neither move nor speak. And in this position, Mason quickly calmed down, buried his nose in Victor’s shoulder and, breathing heavily, spoke nonsense in his tongue. And then he fell asleep, and after that he slept quietly and peacefully all night. Reznov began to feed the American. Using his influence, he could knock out an extra piece of bread or a bowl of thicker gruel for him in the kitchen. Or even a piece of meat or sugar from the security table. Mason attacked any food and swept it away in seconds. And with gratitude he raised an increasingly meaningful glance at Reznov, who with a sad smile patted Mason on the shoulder and pushed some of his bread towards him. Thanks to such care, Mason quickly recovered. Having agreed with whoever was needed, Reznov assigned Alex to his team. They worked in a deep coal mine, the work was hard, but they were given decent food. At first, Mason, who had difficulty holding the tools in his hands, did not succeed, but Reznov helped him here too. Gradually Mason got involved in the work. He had eaten a little and was now standing firmly on his feet and looking straight ahead. He stopped suffering from panic attacks and put on the gloomy and serious look befitting all prisoners. But Mason still couldn’t last an hour without Reznov. Having lost sight of him in formation or separated from him in the cafeteria, Alex immediately began to feel that he was about to lose his temper again. His head was still not working well. He suffered from memory lapses and the inability to perform some basic actions, and as soon as he saw any number on the wall or anywhere else, another seizure immediately began. And all this only strengthened Mason’s dependence on Reznov, to whom he gravitated like the sun for his only salvation. Mason took his place of honor to the right of Reznov and now always walked like that. Sometimes he didn’t even hesitate to grab his comrade’s sleeve when he felt like he was getting high again. Reznov understood everything. And even though he didn’t need it at all, he sacrificed more and more for the sake of the American. Reznov taught him Russian. When they stood in formation or in line, when they went down into the mines. This process proceeded slowly and persistently. One of the first words was "freedom", then "homeland", then "revenge". Mason repeated unfamiliar words with admiration in his eyes, which were filled with new meaning every day. Alex deftly learned to roll cigarettes, but preferred not to do it himself, leaving it to Victor. They always smoked one between them, carefully passing it to each other and exchanging encouraging phrases. Mason really learned to be happy. Little things like a bird on the roof or a fish head in a bowl of soup. Or just days in which nothing bad happened. Meanwhile, winter was coming. It was getting colder, and the sky was dropping lower and lower, colliding with the watchtowers. Vorkuta was shrouded in the polar night. The wild frosts caused glass to crack and light bulbs to explode. Mason could barely stand on his feet. If it weren't for Reznov, he would have died. Alex has already lost count, listing all the cases in which he would have died without a friend. Reznov never left him. He supported him with his shoulder when Alex, staggering, could barely stand on his feet, walking in line with the prisoners. In the mines, Reznov fulfilled double the work quota for the two of them, and in the evenings, when the prisoners had little time left for their own affairs, Victor took Mason by the hand. In order to carefully remove layers of bandages and rags from damaged frostbitten skin and replace them with others. Mason fidgeted and hissed through his teeth in pain, and Reznov started another story about military exploits. Reznov took care of Alex when he was sick. And Mason was sick all winter long with rare breaks. He suffered from fever and a bursting cough, collapsed and if not for Reznov, would have died. Again. If not for Reznov, Mason would not have survived the winter. But the American's first Russian winter ended after a series of equally dark and quickly running days. Spring began to blow from the south, and buds quickly swelled on the exhausted camp trees. Mason could only be amazed at how unexpectedly quickly the eternal winter flew by. Along with warmth came kindness. The convoy stopped being violent and a particularly complacent chief of guard allowed the prisoners, at the moment when the sun was at its zenith, to sit on stacks of boards in the yard. It was on such a day that Mason sat, turning his face to the sun, and smoked with Reznov. Alex lazily listened to the conversations that had become clear. He caught the hostile glances of other prisoners, but did not attach any importance to them. After all, he was under the protection of the best man in the world, who, Alex knew, would never leave him. And will always be with him. Mason respected and loved him so much that he just wanted to disappear into him. Alex inhaled the warmer air and felt how the unpleasant remnants of cough, illness and phlegm in his chest dissolved along with the fresh wind. It was incomparable. When, together with the sun's rays, the happiness due to blood right touches your closed eyes. And rare white clouds quickly rush across the deep and bright sky that does not belong to anyone. When the indestructible snow melts, and a ringing stream flows through the alleys of snowdrifts, smelling like a mountain river. And I want to dip my fingers into this water, diluted by fuel oil, but amazingly free and young. For the first time in the last hundred days, I want to take off my dirty gloves and free my hands from the covering of heavy fabric stained with old blood and sweat wiped from my forehead, which has become a second, raw and flaking skin. Unstoppable and huge swarms of insects rise from the swamps, but they will not reach the coal mines soon, and even if they do, then so be it. After all, they want to live too, and Mason doesn’t mind letting them bite him a couple of times. And in the evening of the same day, Alex fell asleep comfortably, resting his head on Reznov’s shoulder, while he again talked about the war. Then Victor said the name Dragovich for the first time. Alex started up, but still couldn’t remember where he’d heard that name. But since then I began to listen to Reznov’s stories much more carefully. Mason had previously diligently passed stories about the war through himself and remembered everything to the last word, but now he began to catch them on the fly, not taking his eyes off Reznov and reliving them with him. -...My father was a musician in Stalingrad. During the period of the German occupation, his violin delighted hundreds of people's hearts with the music of Korsakov, Stasov and our other great composers. The Nazis cut his throat in his sleep... Collaboration with the Nazis is meanness, a betrayal of the Motherland, but Dragovich and Kravchenko did not care. They just needed to achieve their goal... Alex looked enchanted into Victor’s eyes and felt like a child. And I felt like a lot of other things. And I wanted to ask Reznov a lot of things, but I didn’t dare. I asked only once where Victor lost the index finger of his right hand. And he received the laconic “at war” in response. In the barracks in the evenings there was no other entertainment except watching the thieves play cards. Victor usually sat on his bed and talked with one of his friends, going over his military exploits. Mason, enjoying the sounds of his voice and the calmness, sat down on the floor at his feet, leaning his back on them. There was something so intimate and close in this position that Alex felt a pleasant, hot heaviness spreading in his chest. This was something that had never happened before. Absolute unity with another person, on whom you depend infinitely and whom you love to the point of some kind of confusion in your head. Alex appreciated this and almost purred like a cat. Especially when Reznov took off his gloves, imperceptibly lowered his hand and climbed with calloused fingers into the collar of Alex’s jacket. Mason could barely restrain himself from throwing his head back and moaning with pleasure. Reznov’s rough and cool fingers passed over the delicate skin. Delicate because it is always covered with several layers of warmth and fabric. Victor walked along the protruding seventh vertebra and went down a little lower. And Mason hastily held his breath, realizing that he had never had such amazing intimacy with anyone. Victor ran his fingers through Mason's short hair and slightly pulled his head back towards his knees. And then he pushed away, tilting Mason’s head forward. And Alex smiled happily and ran his fist over the corners of his eyes, because for some reason tears were appearing there. At the end of the summer they came for Mason. Several guards took him straight from his shift in the mine, sending the indignant Reznov to hell. Mason himself didn’t know why, but he was terribly scared. In the camp environment, he had heard that such things begin with a denunciation and end, at best, in a punishment cell, at worst, with execution. But nothing of the sort happened. Alex was taken to one of the administrative buildings, where a paramedic gave him an injection, after which Mason passed out. What happened next was the stuff of forgotten nightmares. Again numbers, again flashing before my eyes, electric shocks again and again, constant burning pain and a woman's voice in my ears. This time it was even worse. Alex screamed, but no one seemed to hear him. I tried to break free, but the belts held me tightly. Mason had enough for several days, although he had no idea about the passage of time. Alex held on as best he could, but physically felt that the supports and load-bearing walls inside were breaking. His consciousness, with increasingly cruel confidence, convinced him that all life in the camp, which now seemed like a lost paradise, was just a dream. A little respite between flashes of numbers. Alex thought about Reznov. He called him, his voice breaking, still believing that he was always there. Will always save him... But no one came. Reznov forgot himself with lightning speed. Numbers replaced him, pushed him out of memory and took his place. And Mason tried his best to get him back. Don't forget his voice and the color of his eyes... But in the end, Alex realized that the sooner he stopped fighting, the sooner his suffering would end. No, they won’t end, but at least they won’t become so wounding to the heart and taking away what is most precious. The most precious... But this was not at all a reason for Mason to stop resisting. He would not have stopped fighting to the end if it had been his will. But the electric current still turned out to be stronger. Alex stopped understanding what was happening and got lost in the vaguely familiar black and red maze of numbers. And when, suddenly stumbling upon something incomprehensible, I abruptly came to my senses, I saw Reznov above me. He stood next to him and looked down on him. He spoke, and his voice merged with the creaking of the iron chain hanging over the table. - The pain is hard to bear, isn't it? I know this too well. We're brothers, Mason. We are the same. Dragovich. Kravchenko. Steiner. Must die. When, after this hallucination, Mason again realized that a dazzling white light was looming before his eyes, he again completely did not remember who he was and where he was. A powerful deja vu confused him. The cold walls of the punishment cell, the guard who occasionally opens the door. All this already happened somewhere... A few days later, Mason, again exhausted, confused and exhausted to the last limit, returned to the vaguely familiar barracks. Staggering, he entered the creaking doors and saw blurry people, whom, as it seemed to him, he had already seen many years ago through a layer of muddy water. Alex was almost knocked down by Reznov. Mason immediately recognized him and could barely restrain himself from bursting into tears. Victor kept asking what they did to him, but Alex couldn’t explain to him. He shook his head incoherently and wanted to say something, but only numerical sequences came out. Reznov hugged him tightly and asked him to come to his senses. Alex shuddered weakly and could not stop silently sobbing. - Mason, tell me something... You recognize me, tell me... At some point, Alex managed to focus his gaze on Reznov’s light eyes. Vague chains of associations crawled one after another in my head. Gathering his strength, Alex said with only his lips: - Dragovich... Kravchenko... Sht... - Steiner, Mason. “That’s right,” Reznov desperately tried to smile, but he didn’t do it very well. - Dragovich, Kravchenko, Steiner must die. You remember this, friend. - I remember... Reznov... - Mason responded weakly. Everything started from the beginning. Now Reznov took care of Mason with even greater zeal. Now he himself would not let him go. I got food for him, did work for him, stood in his place in knee-deep water at the face, carried him almost in my arms when Alex fell off his feet. And he tried to constantly occupy his mind with either conversation or history, did not allow him to look at the numbers, and greeted each approaching convoy with a hidden wolf growl. It had an effect. Mason is on the mend again. Just before going to bed, he always looked into his friend’s eyes for a long time. And sometimes he admitted that he dreams about numbers. Reznov said with confidence that there was nothing to be afraid of, that he would always be there. And Mason tried with all his might to believe it. And in the end, he succeeded again. - Mason, my friend, tell me: what can you believe in when you are betrayed by your own people? When all of you and everything you've done is buried under a layer of lies and corruption? I will die in this damned place. The only thing that keeps me from letting go is the thirst for revenge. Dragovich, Steiner, Kravchenko - these people must die... Mason looked at Reznov and guessed that he had already heard all this somewhere. That all this has already happened. Such a nasty and heavy feeling, as if he were a stranger in his body, rolled over Alex. Another wave of numbers was approaching the shore. At such moments, the only salvation for Mason was to hang on Reznov’s neck. Hug him tightly and say his name. And understand that Reznov is part of Alex Mason. A rather large and significant part that will always be with him, and only it will help him resist and save him from the nightmare in his own head. No matter how Reznov tried to protect and protect his capitalist, he was still taken away again. A couple of months later, as soon as Mason got back on his feet and got stronger, they came for him again. And again they threw him back a few weeks later, torn and broken, unable to understand or remember anything, terribly emaciated and barely alive. What angered Reznov most was the unknown. It was impossible for Mason to get an answer to the question of what they were doing with him. As soon as he tried to remember, he immediately began to rave about numbers and behave inappropriately. It was also impossible to find out from the security - no one knew anything. Complete secrecy. When Mason was taken away for the third time, Reznov came to the only possible way out. We need to run. But running sneakily and quietly, under the cover of darkness, was not for him. He decided to stage a mass escape, with an uprising and a lot of shooting. There was already a riot in Vorkuta in '53. Reznov took part in it and survived it, replacing his eighteen-year sentence with a life sentence. Victor thought for a long time about what was wrong with the previous riot. And I decided that there was no clear plan. Namely, a plan is what is needed. Reznov took up its development. He knew all the factory's nooks and crannies better than many guards. And he was not afraid of anything, except, perhaps, that Mason would be tortured to death. Victor immediately decided that he was running not for himself, but for Mason. Not for the sake of one’s own freedom, but for freedom in principle. For the sake of fairness. Victor himself had long ago come to terms with the fact that he would die here in Vorkuta. He could not imagine his life outside the camp. But Mason... Mason had to be pulled out of this den. I wanted to save him at all costs. If not for Mason, Reznov would not have escaped. Yes, he was full of a thirst for revenge, but he did not need its implementation. The thirst for revenge and righteous anger gave Victor the strength to survive in the camp and become who he was. He knew that he would die sooner or later. And the thought that his death would free Mason seemed wonderful to him. The highest goal. It's like being in a war. To die so that someone else can live. This is a feat. Amazing. So it is here. Reznov decided not to tell Mason anything until the last moment, since he did not know what was being done to him. The most obvious guess was that Alex was being tortured to find out American secrets. But what was inexplicable was why this was done with long intervals. Wasting no time, Reznov widely launched his subversive activities. First, he skillfully spread the rumor about the escape among the miners. There were almost no rats in the mines. However, Victor was not afraid that the well-known truth that someone was planning to escape would reach the guards. Everyone wants to escape one way or another. The main thing is not to find out who exactly. From the mines, the rumor slowly but surely spread throughout the camp. The plan had eight steps with abstract names, and without knowing their decoding, it was problematic to guess their exact purpose. The main thing was to generate the idea itself in the minds of the prisoners. Simple and obvious, but at the same time beautiful. Reznov coped with this brilliantly and began to work out the steps of the plan. Precise organization was what he considered the key to success. It was, of course, pleasant to think that Dragovich, Kravchenko, Steiner had to die, but it was too late. And where are they, these three? Victor didn't know. Maybe in the name of justice they have been rotting in the ground for a long time. Reznov waited for Mason to return, again tormented and intimidated as before. Calming Alex and taking care of him again, Reznov took time, allowing him to eat, recover and come to his senses. And Victor had no doubt that he would do it. The amazing willpower and superhuman endurance of the American surprised us once again. The day before the escape, hiding in the far corner of the dining room surrounded by loyal people, Reznov told Mason everything. Victor had no doubt about his approval and consent. Step one. Find the keys. Reznov sent one of the prisoners to call the guard, and he himself staged a show fight with Mason. "You're a weakling, American!" - Victor shouted an obvious lie and, taking care not to break anything, hit Alex in the face. Mason didn’t need to persuade himself, but still his hand trembled and went tangent when he hit back. "You hit like a woman!" - Let's work! Or do you only understand through force, dogs? - a guard appeared from the shadow of the mine, confidently swinging his arms, and stepped towards Mason. - Hey, bastard! - Reznov shouted at his back. He knew this guard well and therefore could not resist making a slightly apologetic gesture with his hands. Step two. Come out of the darkness. Holding a rusty blade in his bandaged palm and wrapped in dirty rags, Mason ran after Reznov, cutting off the guards he encountered along the way. Alex was once again surprised and admired by how Reznov navigated the dim mines, dusted with toxic fog and coal dust. In these dungeons, Mason always felt defenseless and lost. But following Reznov, the mines became wider and the darkness receded. Victor encouraged and directed the fleeing crowd of prisoners, and Alex thought that, probably, Reznov rushed into battle in the same way in the war, with fiery speeches and without fear or hesitation, raising his platoon to certain death. Mason, of course, trusted Reznov one hundred percent, but did not believe in the successful outcome of the rebellion. But still, something lofty and beautiful, so similar to hope, stirred in his heart as they emerged from the darkness. When we were riding in a huge elevator. From the depths of the mine to freedom. Mason was silent and did not take his eyes off Reznov. And Reznov was truly happy for the first time in many years, feeling as if he was taking Berlin again. Step three. Rain down fire from heaven. Slipping on the icy rails and spitting from coal soot, Mason hid behind the carriage and fired back at the guards. I realized with satisfaction that I had not forgotten how to shoot. The experience hasn't gone away. Several bullets slid very close, ripping open the sleeve of his jacket. Alex ran his hand over the wound and looked at his fingers. There was no blood. The fingers are still the same, beaten and with dark blue dirt embedded around the nails and in the scars of old scratches. Dirty, but intact. Almost free. Mason understood what “fire from heaven” meant. Reznov shouted something about medications and ingenuity, but Alex did not hear over the roar and wail of the sirens. But I saw it. How three prisoners, having quickly built something like a hand catapult under the cover of a trolley, threw a package sparkling with fire directly into the window, from which they were showered with gunfire. There was a terrible explosion, and the shots stopped for a while. Step four. Free the horde. Mason felt that even his American heart was responding to Reznov’s words with all the heat and determination. Words bursting out like flames from every loudspeaker in the camp. Victor was saying something about hypocritical leaders, forgotten heroes and righteous revenge. Alex listened with half an ear, knowing that all these words were not for him. Even without them, he is with Reznov completely and completely. And while the horde rises and frees itself, while it storms security towers and checkpoints, Alex must help it. Mason cautiously picks up the flaming but not burning projectile. He takes aim at one of the roofs, from which the guards are covering the courtyards with a machine gun. And slightly not believing that the parcel will arrive, he lets go. The bomb actually falls in the wrong place. Mason curses in Russian and takes another. And again he listens to his native voice pouring from the cool autumn sky. Autumn this year turned out to be warm. It’s already October, but there haven’t been any real frosts. Probably, this fact also forces the horde to free itself. Crowds of prisoners are tearing down fences and doors. They fall in stacks under bullets, but they are taken in numbers. Mason, blowing up one of his targets, grins contentedly. Step five. Pierce the winged creature. The winged creature circled over the roof and did not allow him to approach the line beyond which the battle would begin on enemy territory. The winged creature creaked and screamed terribly. Mason was not afraid. Jumped onto the roof when time slowed down. Time, but not bullets. One of these little bitches crashed into the thigh, the other into the shoulder. But Alex is no stranger to this. Feeling like a knight slaying a dragon, Mason pierced the side of the helicopter with a whaling harpoon, and it, kicking desperately, crashed into the wall of a nearby building. Step six. Get an iron fist. It was time to remember Operation Forty. Only for Mason it was comparable to what was happening in the corridors of the administrative building of Vorkutlag. The security kept arriving, and then the military arrived. This means that the enemies still managed to call for reinforcements and very quickly, despite the fact that Reznov cut off the communication channels. But it’s impossible to take everything into account. Alex did not understand at all the meaning of the sixth step and why Reznov was bothering with welding at the iron door. There was no time to find out. Mason just stood there, covering Reznov with his back. Without any cover, he fired in all directions blocked by smoke and barely had time to reload, catching more and more wounds. Meanwhile, the special forces went on the offensive. It was impossible to cope with them, and Mason, soberly assessing the situation, understood this. Alex shot one of them at the last moment, when he was already one step away. The cartridges were running out. Riot was choking and suffocating. The prisoners had nothing to oppose the equipped military. Mason was about to invite Victor to retreat and hide, but he joyfully announced that the iron fist had been taken. Ducking under the bullets, Reznov handed Mason a heavy combat machine gun and led him behind him. Alex chuckled quietly and fired rain breaking through brick walls at the commandos. At that moment, Mason thought that he and Reznov would make a great team if they served in the same unit. Or fight in the same war. And it really seemed like the truth. Step seven. Open the gates to hell. The gates to hell were open and stood wide open. There was a deadly, inglorious battle on the outskirts of the camp. Mason fired in all directions, burning his hands with the red-hot machine gun. Somewhere behind, Reznov was shouting something all the time, and Alex felt free. Right now. On the field of an unequal battle, ready to die at any second, having already caught a dozen bullets, but still pushing towards his goal. Step eight loomed very close, waiting outside the doors of the nearest hangar. “It would be stupid to fall now,” Mason thought, frowning from another tangential wound. Alex tried to drive away unnecessary thoughts. And then a tear gas grenade fell in front of them. Everything happened too quickly. Mason dropped the machine gun and fell to the frozen ground, choking with a cough. He was deafened by the explosion, his eyes itched and stopped seeing. Alex vaguely felt that strong arms were lifting him and dragging him somewhere... It was dark all around. And light broke through the darkness. With a dull look, Mason searched for his hand on the floor, more like an animal’s paw, which had dug kilometers of holes. And this paw lay in a patch of sunlight on the wooden floor. “What a warm autumn it is today... Where has it been seen that the sun was shining over Vorkuta in October...” - Door. It won’t last long... Where the portraits of the hypocritical leaders of Vorkuta hang, lies the path to step eight! Mason perked up and looked around. Reznov saved him again, right? Well, of course. Enemies are breaking into the iron door. There are frequent shots behind the walls. So, he and Reznov are the only ones who have gone this far towards freedom? Yes. The rest, the entire horde, remained on the other side of the gate to hell. Forever. These shots... They are being executed now. Them, soldiers of abandoned armies, betrayed, forgotten, abandoned... And only Reznov is here. “He was always with me...” Frowning sternly, he rips the cover off the army motorcycle and sits on it. He turns his face slightly towards Mason, letting him know that he is waiting only for him. “Freedom,” Mason obediently voices the learned plan. Alex gets up from the floor and spits from the taste of tear gas still gritting his teeth. There is another motorcycle nearby. And in front there is a flooring made of boards leading up. Leads to a bright rectangular window, filled to the brim with unearthly sunlight. As if in a cozy chicken coop, piebald specks of dust are swirling in the opening. Alex wants to break into a run on the way to freedom. The motorcycle starts from the first half pull. Step eight. Freedom. It means rushing along a frozen road, so it takes your breath away. The wind hits your face, the sun's rays push you into your back. Mason remembers riding a motorcycle once upon a time, a crazy long time ago. Too long ago. Alex takes off on steep climbs, cuts through swamps of icy water in puddles, shoots back at his pursuers on the move, so deftly reloading his shotgun, turning it in his hand. Mason didn’t even know that he was capable of such a trick. It's amazing. And nothing compares to this. Every pebble that flew out from under the wheels. A locomotive whistle in the distance. The broken voice of Reznov, who shouts to Mason what to do. Not even in the frosty air, but in the head itself. Mason catches the wind with his teeth. In a dashing and Russian manner, he sends numbers to such and such a mother. He cheerfully watches Reznov overtake him. And for the first time he realizes that all this time he was breathing poisoned air. There, in Vorkutlag, ash was constantly swirling everywhere. Stone dust. Soot. Pain. Hopelessness. There could not have been and there was nothing there... And now there is open tundra all around. Freedom. It's really her. Wind. North. Reznov... All these words are so similar. - Machine gun, Mason! Alex immediately understands what is required of him. Not believing the success of such an operation, but after breathing in the free air, he moves from a motorcycle to a truck. Reznov does the same with even greater dexterity and climbs into the cabin. Mason, trying to stay on top of the bumpy car, presses his hands against the glass, through which he can see the back of Reznov, who is behind the wheel. Alex turns around and starts firing his machine gun at the pursuing pursuers. Everything moves so fast, changes so quickly. It shines so dazzlingly and smells like early October... Mason is so carried away that only a new scream brings him back to reality. - Jump! Jump, Mason! Alex turns around in confusion and sees a train rushing nearby. Before him there is not only a few meters of free fall, but also something like a small dry stream. But Mason doesn’t think for a second. The windy freedom in his head readily rushes to carry out any order, and Alex rushes forward. So desperate and so hopeless. Starts jumping too early, slips slightly on the edge, falls. And common sense screams from afar that this is terrible stupidity. It's impossible to fly here. Fall onto the rails and rubble, straight under the wheels of a pair of carriages. But Mason is bent with some kind of unreal feline vitality. The spine is stretched, and an unknown force pulls forward and upward. Wings grew behind his back, like an acrobat's. In just a few moments of the craziest and fatal flight, Mason’s whole life flashed before his eyes. It went by so fast that he didn't even notice. I didn’t notice how I closed my fingers on a thin iron pipe. Linger on it. Lingering in this world. Mason had never felt so Russian as at that moment when he was shaken by a powerful wheel drive, tearing his severed fingers from their joints. So hysterical. The locomotive whistle whistled. So poignant. Sad. So in Russian. Alex could have sworn that it was only for a couple of seconds, but the music touched his ears. The tinkling motif of a folk song, which is the embodiment of the mysterious Russian soul and something else that will always remain unknown to Mason. The mysterious Russian soul that was left behind. She raised me above death and let me live a little longer. Across the Cossack steppes and taiga. Haystacks, frozen lingonberries. Fog over the river. Stalingrad... - Your turn! Let's! Eighth step, Reznov! Freedom! In the frozen evening and frozen sunset, the call of the cuckoo is repeated for many kilometers. The sedge near the ditch becomes heavy with dew and burns your bare feet with cold. And the war, while not yet visible, is already underway, but Reznov does not yet know about it. The war will take everything. It will take away youth and the phalanx of the index finger of the right hand... War or just homeland. Or the transience of life. The meaningless Russian life, which is so beautiful... - For you, Mason, not for me... The banks of the stream near the road treacherously become higher. The riverbed is expanding at incredible speed. .. The truck wobbles to the left, another car overtakes it. Ice dust is knocked out from under the wheels. Shooting. Sun. Wind. North. The train beats just like the driven American heart. Not believing my eyes. Dying because this happens. - Reznoooov!