Ivan Braginsky

Russia
Nickname(s)	Ivan Braginsky (Human name)
Appears in	Call of Duty: Underground
Rank	Country
Affiliations	Russian Government, Russian Federation Armed Forces
Status	Active duty/POW (player determined)
Birth	December 30, Unknown year, likely 1000+ years old
Height	6'0" (183cm)
Build	Bulky and muscular
Hair	Blonde
Eyes	Violet
Race	White east Slav
Death	Immortal unless the Russian government totally collapses, or his people get wiped out
Weapon	Lead pipe, AK-74M
Voice Actor	Japanese Yasuhiro Takato English Jerry Jewell

Russia (Mostly called Ivan Braginsky in-game) is the personification of Russia, and is one of the main antagonists in Call of Duty: Underground.

Appearance

He is the tallest country In the world. WWII Russia wears a long, heavy tan coat, green pants, brown or black gloves, and a long tan or pink scarf. When not wearing his scarf, he is shown to wear bandages around his neck. He is very pale, and has a round, childish face with a prominent and distinctive nose. His hair is slightly wavy and a pale ashen blond, and his eyes are violet, though they were initially colored blue in early color artwork. Compared to the first drawings Russia's bangs fall to the left as Himaruya found that they looked better that way from the front. His expression is a calm and gentle smile almost all the time. Behind his constant smile, it's said no one knows what he's thinking. In response to a fan question asking if Russia was fat, Russia claimed to be big boned and was also drawn with a shirt saying such. Himaruya confirmed this in a later blog post addressing some of the nation's body types. He also said that Russia was drawn with a sturdy and robust frame due to the cold weather in Russia, however he commented that weather changes there resulted in very hot summers and that "maybe this Russia will melt (haha)." In Hetalia: Axis Powers W Academy Story: Advancing Very Little! W Academy Newspaper Club, Russia is described as bulky and muscular.

Personality and Interests

A large yet childlike young man. At the first impression, he seems simplistic and pure in heart. But in reality, he holds a cruelty, in the same manner as a small child. Many of his things are big, like him. Quick to forgive and always looking for friends, he's shy and unsociable around people he doesn't consider friends. However he considers everyone his friend, and thus this side to him is rarely seen (He does, however, seem to have his doubts at times, such as when he sent a letter to France's radio show asking how to get people to love him back.). He comes off as intimidating without saying a word, his gentle smile and disposition only intensifying the aura of dread which seems to constantly hang over him. However, according to Lithuania, he has his calm moments at the strangest of times. Russia was also described as gentle and naive, and not malicious, just extremely scary. He finds amusement in tormenting others or watching arguments, to see the reactions. According to Lithuania, he loves people who cry and laugh easily. Russia says he likes listening to people argue because of the long, silent and eerie winters in his home, which make him feel lonely. Hearing arguing voices reminds him everybody is alive and he's not alone. But too much can get on his nerves.

He is often pushy and manipulative to get his way. He claims there is "no such service" as compromise in Russia, but he has also said that each one of his bosses have encouraged him to use force to make friends. Though he is capable of being incredibly cruel-minded, Russia himself is unaware of this. Whenever he thinks of how his sisters have become strange, he becomes very depressed, such depression being seen as an "absolutely awful omen" by England.

He has been tormented since his childhood, having seen many tragedies and wars, which have cracked his mentality. His childhood was tough, troubled, and full of forced servitude, bullying, and constant pursuing by other countries. General Winter haunts and attacks him every year, which has caused him to hate the snow and long for the warm Southern sea. However, in the face of war, General Winter is his best ally.

When Russia greets people, he does so with a kiss on the lips. When Germany denied him the greeting, and pushed his hand on his face to ensure he didn't kiss him, Russia immediately became very sad and pouted, beginning to walk away, before Germany insisted that he greet him any way but with a kiss to the mouth. Russia then said he would blow him a kiss, instead. Russia will move in very close when he talks, which can be intense in many ways.

He ends many of his sentences with 'da', an informal form of 'desu' used to confirm the topic of the sentence, the ubiquitous form of 'to be,' as well as the Russian word for 'yes'.

During the Soviet period, when Russia was upset, he would begin to chant "KolKolKol" to threaten and frighten others into submission. However, there has been speculation that there are other possible meanings for 'kol' than those involving kolkhoz:

• Tzar Ivan The Terrible's favorite way to deal with disobedience was impaling. 'To impale', pronounced in Russian as сажать на кол (sazhat' na kol), or just на кол 'na kol' is easily understood. So, Russia is possibly trying to intimidate people by the threat of impalement, although he is saying the noun 'kol' (which means 'stake', in this context being thrust towards a person).
• There is also the possibility that Russia could be issuing a warning to others. 'Kolokol' means 'bell' in Russian, and 'kol' is often used as an onomatopoeia in Russian for the tolling of a bell
• Another interpretation offered by the Japanese fandom is that "kolkolkol" is "korukorukoru", which sounds similar to "korosu", the Japanese word referring to killing.

However, in the Comic Birz serialization featuring Russia, instead of the usual kolkolkol, the normal sound effect for an intimidating aura was used, and Russia stayed silent, making it possible that this was retconned.

He's an early riser, but "only God knows what he's doing at any given time", and has little patience for lateness. He is said to be superstitious and believes in many legends and traditions, such as knocking on wood.

Russia mentions that he has been "tweaking" technology as a hobby. He was able to interfere with Finland's cell phone and audio devices, causing them to ring constantly, and said this was easy for him. He did this in order to force Finland to spend the day with him. However, this was stopped by Estonia, who Russia referred to as his rival tweaker. He has also been shown to enjoy knitting and cooking.

He loves vodka. Vodka is his fuel. Whenever he does anything, vodka is somehow involved. What Russia also loves are sunflowers. He loves sunflowers so much, he dreams of one day living in a warm place surrounded by them.

Russia wielding his lead pipe.

He is fascinated by the common water faucet, a reference to water pipes being a favorite war trophy of Russian soldiers. He is often seen carrying one around. It's said that he'll pull the pipe out and put things that don't belong in it, such as food, only to pull them out and eat them later. He has also been shown using a pipe to "settle" conflicts (that is, using it for violence), while calling it a "magical stick."

His heart seems to sometimes fall out of his chest. However, he simply blushes and acknowledges it as something that "just pops out of me, sometimes."

Call of Duty: Underground

In Call of Duty: Underground, he is first seen at the end of the level guerrilla warfare. The player confronts him after turning a corner, and seeing standing in front of the exit. The player tries to kill him by shooting him with a Desert Eagle, but the shot fails to kill him. He responds by hitting the player with his "magical stick" which puts them in a comatose. When the player wakes up they find themselves in an interrogation room with Russian soldiers in a prison.