- "Nikolai cannot die! Hey, that rhymes!"
- ―Nikolai in Kino der Toten
- "We fought for what we wanted, we got more than we deserved. All the chapters in our lives, good and bad. Even if there was no witness, even if no one cared to see, it still happened, somewhere. We've fought the Great War over and over, but victory could never be ours. We were always doomed to fail. Monty told us the truth, our journey is the very reason this madness exists! We are the ones who fractured the universe! This is the truth the Kronorium showed me, the truth Richtofen could no longer face. When we are gone, so too is everything that spewed forth from the Aether; [Element 115, the Apothicons, even Monty himself. All of it will be banished to where it belongs. The Dark Aether."
- ―Nikolai in the Tag der Toten cutscene, explaining what needs to happen.
- "We should not be here. Our time has passed. But for all the pain and torment we have endured together. As we leave this life behind, it is my hope that you know one thing beyond any doubt. (...) You were more than just my allies, my brothers in arms. You were my friends"
- ―Nikolai to Samatha Maxis.
Nikolai Belinski (Russian: Николай Белинский) was a Red Army soldier who fought in World War I and World War II, and is part of the main protagonist team known as the originals. His player indicator color is blue (shared with Robert McNamara and Robert Englund) but is randomized in Moon and all subsequent maps.
Although Nikolai appears in most Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops maps, after moon an alternate version of himself appears in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II zombies map Origins, and reappears again in the Call of Duty: Black Ops III version of Der Riese in The Giant, Der Eisendrache and Zetsubou No Shima.
Biography
"Stalin himself cannot stare Nikolai in the eye, no one can. There, in his eyes, you will see the soul of a man burning with the hatred of all things living. His closet is full of skeletons, many of them with the flesh still attached.
Early in his career, Nikolai had quickly made his way up through the party ranks by killing the next man in line, and by marrying politically. Ultimately, his aspirations all came crashing down after his fifth wife mysteriously died while cleaning his axe with her neck. Little did he know that she had been sleeping with a high ranking party official on the side. This made Nikolai infamous, and his reputation spread quickly through the party. It was not long before Stalin himself had heard about Nikolai. More importantly, he feared Nikolai. As soon as the war started, our hero was dropped on the front lines and forgotten about, where he wallowed in self pity and vodka for several years.
There are many weapons in his arsenal, not least of which is his breath."
— Nikolai's biography added with Map pack 2 in Call of Duty: World at War.
Early Life
- "Father's home time for a beating. "
- ―Nikolai quoting his abuse as a child.
Nikolai Belinski was born some time during the late 1800s to the early 1900s to his abusive father and his mother in the Russian Empire. Among his family household is his sister, who he shares a disdain for and a brother who is homeless and broke. Nothing else is known about his early life yet. Though, based on some of his quotes, Nikolai had a poor livelihood through many years of his life.
Political/Military life
- "I killed a bear once... she was my first wife."
- ―Nikolai Quoting his wife's homicide.
Political Career and Marriages
Some time possibly during his young adult life, he became interested in climbing the political ranks in the Communist party. Nikolai uses murder and political marriage to promote his position in the rankings. It is unknown why he chooses this method, but it may be due to his abusive and poor upbringing that lead him to do so. Whether politically or passionately, Nikolai married his first wife, who he describes as a "bear" (possibly implying she's overweight or her aggressiveness). This wife was later killed by him with a shotgun because of her resemblance to him.
As he ages, his marriage and murdering spree continues throughout his career as he kills his second wife with a PPSh-41 or a PTRS-41 and his third wife with a sickle. Afterwards he met another woman, who became his fourth wife. Nikolai seemed to love her the most out of all his wives and she may be the only wife he loved because he talks about her constantly. Later this love turned to be hatred, when she took his money and ran away, but this was short lived as he hunted her down and beaten her to death. According his quote in moon and his constant mention of her, he may regret killing her by stating he misses her.
Although he covered his wives murders very well, his schemes begin to become his downfall when he married his fifth wife. He successfully kills her with his ax, but he did not conceal this murder very well unfortunately for him. Unbeknownst to Nikolai, she had an affair with a high ranking official. The murders he committed spread through the party and this entitled him to become infamous. Joseph Stalin soon became aware of his schemes and he feared Nikolai would conspire against him. Once the war started, Nikolai was removed by the wishes Stalin to be forgotten about. From this point on, he wallows himself in pity and comforts himself in vodka for several years.
Though he continues to marry, there is no mentioning of him killing his subsequent four wives. Thus, it is possible that his fifth wife murder became a lesson for the soviet, however, he continues to boast about killing his wives.
In the Alternate timeline, its revealed in Gorod Krovi that he lost his wife to an air attack and it has effected Original Nikolai deeply to become an alcoholic. In Revelations, young Nikolai mentions that he should start smiling more to honor his wife.
Military life
It is evident that Nikolai enlisted in the Red Army during World War I, while trying to climb the political rankings. This can be due to his experience in the battlefield and him having strong survival instinct. Not much is known about his early military life. However, by the time of World War II he became a Sergeant of the Russian army. However in the Der Eisendrache trailer, it says Nikolai Belinski, Sergeant. And that was the Primis counterpart.
Other info
Between the wars, Nikolai worked as a carpenter and owned/lived on a pig farm. In addition, Nikolai during one of his marriages, he fathered a daughter.
Original Timeline
Meeting the Three
Sometime in 1945, Nikolai was one of the three POWs during the war used as an experiment by Edward Richtofen with 115 along with the Imperial army captain Takeo Masaki, and an unknown Mexican to procure a serum capable of rendering the human mind responsive to commands from another in a Serbian Group 935 outpost. It was here that Nikolai had his memory erase and his alcoholism began to take effect due to the exposure of 115. From here, he could no longer function without the need of vodka and fades into deterioration of intelligence.
After the capture of "Tank" Dempsey, the war, and Samantha's oath for revenge against anyone invole with 935, the Der Riese facility was overrun by hordes of zombies. Once he and the others were convince by Richtofen to follow his agendas in order for them to end the apocalypse and return home, the four men escape to a facility in a japanese swamp known as, the Rising Sun Facility.
Alliance with the Three
Obtaining Important Elements
As the men arrive at the swamp to obtain one of the landed meteors, Nikolai suddenly begins to show disdain for Takeo, however, Dempsey jab at him and bade him to stop talking and prepare for the upcoming hordes. Nonetheless, he follows Dempsey's order and fight. After obtaining one of the meteors, he and the others return to the Der Riese Facility so Richotfen can hope to locate an MDT prototype and enter the aether into the same fashion as Samantha. Through radios, players can experience recorded experients by Maxis and Richotfen about their projects of the zombies, Richotfen's conspire against Maxis and Samantha, and the three subjects including Nikolai's inability to function in the experiments.
Once the MDT was shot with a Wunderwaffe DG-2 charge, Nikolai and the others travel into an abandon theater in Germany in 1963. After he and the others escape the theater they reached the abandoned Soviet Cosmodrome. Like Kino Der Toten and other previous levels, he reveals more about his personal life and his memory unlike Takeo and Dempsey, he slowly progress, and not realizing Richtofen's true plans. He and his allies must repair a Casimir Mechanism , an easter egg that starts the task to free Gersh. After they free Gersh, they teleport to a Serbian outpost where he and the others are stuck into a closet. While waiting for the celebrities to retrieve Richtofen's request, he and Dempsey share a drink and sing a parody of "Ninety-nine bottles of beer", which Dempsey scold him for messing up countless times.
After his fellow ally retrieve the Vril generator, they teleport to a temple in the Himalayas where they'll find the final requirement to Richtofen's plan: The Focusing Stone. Once the focusing stone is retrieve, the men go to their last stop before they go home. At the American base known as the Area 51/Griffin Station, him and the others go through processes to execute Richtofen's plans all the way up to when they meet Samantha, whom is cryogenically frozen. Once the player (via Richtofen) fuses the rod and the stone together, Richtofen and Samantha switch bodies. From this point further Nikolai loses respect for Richtofen for tricking him and his fellow allies for his own agendas. As Lugvig Maxis message appears, him and the others stop at nothing to make sure Richtofen doesn't go on with his plans, however, things get worse when they accidentally blow up the Earth. Nikolai finds himself in a never ending nightmare and is indirectly unaware of their dangerous situation when he mentions his nineth wife's death during the explosion. Thus, there fates are left completely unknown.
Legacy
- Because of him and his fellow allies actions, Richtofen wants to erase what their original timeline selves did with the help of Young Nikolai and the others to put down their future selves.
- Nikolai was mentioned in TranZit by Richtofen, Who claims that he miss him and his drunken demeanor.
- He was mentioned by Albert "The Weasel" Arlington while using the Ray Gun and repeating "Nikolai" and saying that it was stuck on him.
- Nikolai's portrait appears in Kino der Toten.
Personality and Characteristics
Due to the exposure of 115, he shows severe signs of alcoholism and lacks intelligence. However, he seems to possess good judgment because of his good survival instincts. He also has poor hygiene and doesn't seem to care. One might describe Nikolai as a womanizer because of the numerous women he date(ed/s) and married, and he often quotes sexual and martial innuendos of them. Nikolai also possess lothario and abusive behavior towards them that he literally doesn't mind boasting of their deaths and the criticism he recieves upon doing so. He also doesn't seem to care about too much of his own relatives either. For instance, he hates his sister and his brother-and-law, but it's unknown whether he treats his daughter and his brother well.
Despite the darkside of his personality, Nikolai is comedic of the group. Cracking jokes intentionally and unintentionally, he displays more humorous quotes out of all characters, but with Richtofen having the most. He shows keen to survive and has great battlefield experience. He has tastes for weapons sometimes least preferable by some players (the Olympia being an example). He doesn't like monkeys, including the monkey bomb and often insults Takeo via comparing him to a monkey. He also holds grudges against teddy bears everytime when one appears in the mystery box.
Although, he doesn't carel too much for his team, he doesn't mind helping them out and doesn't care if anyone including Takeo helps him out of a dangerous situation.
Relationships Towards his Allies
Takeo Masaki
- "I hate you, Takeo!"
- ―Nikolai yelling at Takeo's portrait.
Nikolai has no respect for Takeo, who also shares the same feeling. There's theories why the two have no respect for each other just like Richtofen and Dempsey, but one might suggest the effects of element 115 causing their infamous hatred. Nikolai often quotes his disgust of the Japanese captain at every matter's worth mentioning him and often insults his appearance by comparing him to the monkey bomb and monkeys themselves. He even made jokes about him and the monkeys having a romance and went as far to suggest that the monkey bomb is Takeo's and the monkeys' offspring. He even gets happy when he's sworm by zombies and cheers.
Despite this, he looks out for him because of their need for survival. He doesn't mind helping him when he's down and doesn't mind returning the favor, however, they will still insult one another after they revive each other.
In the Alternate Timeline, the relationship between Takeo and Nikolai has changed drastically.
Edward Richtofen
- "Richtofen... I don't know why he likes me so much. He probably wants a free drink... I don't give free drinks."
- ―Nikolai about Richtofen
Richtofen and Nikolai have a neutral, but stable relationship. Richtofen often favors Nikolai more than anyone else in the group, but Nikolai will sometimes feel differently. For example, he questions why Richtofen likes him and when he plays around with him, Nikolai would express somewhat discomfort. Despite this, Nikolai displays much respect for Richtofen and compliments him whenever he does when he fights good. However, once Richtofen reveals his true motives, Nikolai's perception of him changes to hatred.
In the Alternate Timeline, the relationship between Richtofen and Nikolai has changed drastically.
Alternate Timeline
Alternate Timeline
In 1918, Nikolai reappears again except he appears to be the younger version of himself.
Quotes
Appearances
- Nacht der Untoten (Black Ops only)
- Verrückt (Black Ops only)
- Shi No Numa
- Der Riese
- Kino der Toten
- Ascension
- Call of the Dead (Voice only)
- Shangri-La
- Moon
- Origins
- The Giant
- Der Eisendrache
- Zetsubou No Shima
- Gorod Krovi
Trivia
- Nikolai has no respect for Takeo Masaki.
- His alcoholisim may not be his fault, because according to a quote from Richtofen it goes along the line of regretting having Group 935 put Nikolai on Vodka, meaning that they were having trouble with him causing outbursts or he was just refusing to be part of the experiments. This quote is said when Pack-A-Punching a weapon as Richtofen.
- His WWII character model is the exact same as Chernov's.
- At one point, Nikolai had syphilis.
- It is revealed in Classified that the "Mystery Man" portrait in Kino der Toten is actually the Primis version of Nikolai.