Ultranationalists (Original)

"It's the Ultranationalists. They're killing the villagers."

The Ultranationalists are a revolutionary political party and armed organization in Russia who wish to return the country back to what it once was during the days of the U.S.S.R. They believe that the Russian Federation does not have the best interests of the Russian people at heart, siding with Western interests both philosophically and economically, which they perceive to be destroying or weakening Russia. The Ultranationalists idealize the old Soviet state out of a sense of wounded national pride, though their actual commitment to Communist political and economic ideals are left rather vague. In this mad crusade for what they consider to be national restoration, the Ultranationalists consider the powers of the Western world, specifically the United States of America and the United Kingdom, to be major obstacles in their path, as well as any Russians who do not support their aims. Their funds come from several criminal activities such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, hijackings and kidnappings. They are also supplied in weapons by several arms dealer around the world, such as Alejandro Rojas or Imran Zakhaev himself, who was an arms dealer before becoming the organization leader. It seems that, in 2016, Ultranationalist's have seized the government of Russia, and have markedly increased their power and military strength.

The Ultranationalists used to be based in the southern edge of Russia, close to central Asia and the border to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Their influence extends far beyond Russia's borders, with an airfield hidden in Kazakhstan, several contacts in the Middle East, and one known contact in Brazil.

In Call of Duty 4 the Ultranationalist appeared as guerrilla style terrorist wearing a make shift assortment of gas masks, camo jackets and other gear. In Modern Warefare 2 the Ultranationalist come in three variety's, Snow gear, Full Military gear, and Guerrilla gear.

Leadership
The original political head of the Russian Ultranationalist party was Imran Zakhaev, a former arms dealer who operated out of Ukraine, selling spent uranium rods from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor (whether this was to provide funds for his party, simply to enrich himself or for some other purpose is never made clear). He was reported killed after losing his arm to a .50 BMG round fired by a British sniper team, but resurfaced to head the Ultranationalist party during the Russian Civil War. His son, Victor Zakhaev, was commander of the Ultranationalist military forces on the ground and took orders directly from Imran. After the deaths of both Victor and Imran, the Ultranationalists were left leaderless. It is suggested that Vladimir Makarov took control of the party, although the events and statements concerning him in Modern Warfare 2 suggest he is unaffiliated with the Ultranationalists politically though it seems he has taken control of the military force and extending some of the Party's influence into terrorism. He has some influence in the government, as shown by clippings found in his safehouse, he directed blame of the now hailed Zakhaev on Bravo Six, including the incarcerated John Price. Also, it is shown that the leader of the Party (unnamed at this time) is indeed the President of Russia.

Named personnel

 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
 * Imran Zakhaev - Leader of the Ultranationalist Party, killed in Game Over
 * Khaled Al-Asad - Middle Eastern Commander of the OpFor, killed in Safehouse
 * The First Horseman - Associate of Al-Asad, assumed to be killed in Shock and Awe.
 * Victor Zakhaev - Commander of the Armed Forces, killed in Sins of the Father
 * Sasha - POW guard, killed in Blackout
 * Viktor - POW guard, killed in Blackout


 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
 * Vladimir Makarov - "The Shadow of Zakhaev", later discharged from the party
 * Rojas - Latin American arms dealer, apprehended by Task Force 141
 * Faust - Associate of Rojas, shot in the leg by Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson
 * Alexei Borodin - Member of a terrorist squad that fought under Makarov, killed in No Russian when discovered to be a CIA agent.
 * Viktor - Member of Makarov's squad in the terrorist assault on the airport. He survives.
 * Lev - Member of Makarov's squad in the terrorist assault on the airport. Is killed.
 * Kiril - Member of Makarov's squad in the terrorist assault on the airport. Is killed.
 * Anatoly - Member of Makarov's squad in the terrorist assault on the airport. Is the getaway driver.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare conflict
The Ultranationalists have been engaged in open warfare with forces loyal to the Russian Federation for some time prior to the start of Call of Duty 4. While their greatest influence appears to be in the former Soviet states in the Causcaus Mountains and Central Asia, they present a clear threat to the Russian state and have designs on taking over the rest of the former Soviet Union. Aside from fighting in Russia, the Ultranationalists have a presence in Al-Asad's unnamed Middle-Eastern nation, providing them with arms and equipment including at least one nuclear warhead (and the attempted delivery of a second warhead, as shown in Crew Expendable). They also have a presence in Azerbaijan. They are the ones behind Al-Asad's rise to power, and later become the primary antagonists during the last two acts of the game.

The Ultranationalists appear to have complete disdain for the Geneva Conventions or any of the rules of war, using very brutal methods to achieve their military and political goals. These include the massacre of entire villages, making no distinction between civilian and military targets, the use of infantry and rocket attacks to deliberately kill civilians, torture and a variety of other acts classified as war crimes. This is done to spread fear among the Russian population and force them to submit to the Ultranationalists. With the death of Imran Zakhaev, news stations had reported that a leadership struggle had taken place, suggesting the party was close to collapse prior to Modern Warfare 2.

Al-Asad was executed in Azerbaijan by Captain Price after detonating the nuclear bomb in The Middle East, killing much of the coalition forces. After the execution, the Ultranationalists attempted to retake Al-Asad's body, and Bravo Six escaped from the village. The SAS/Marine task force planned to lure Imran Zakhaev out of hiding by capturing his son, Viktor Zakhaev. Once he was cornered, Viktor commited suicide and Zakhaev retaliated by taking control of an ICBM launch facility in the Altay Mountains and launched the warheads to impact on the US East Coast. The effect would kill nearly 41,000,000 civilians. The joint force of SAS/Marines assaulted the launch facility and stopped the countdown. As the task force attempted to flee, the Ultranationalists cut off their exit on a bridge, and the ensuing battle led to the death of Zakhaev at the hands of Soap MacTavish. It was soon rumored that the Ultranationalist Party had apparently collapsed after the death of Zakhaev, with the News media citing a "leadership struggle".

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 conflict
Five years after the loss of Imran Zakhaev, a former associate of his named Vladimir Makarov assumes control of underground Ultranationalist forces. Makarov has been described as a violent, almost psychotic person with his own ambitions. Zakhaev had held Makarov in check while alive, but with him gone, Makarov was left free to control portions of the Party. Makarov portrayed Zakhaev as a martyr to gain support for his organization among the Russian populace, and has rebuilt the Ultranationalist Party with the help of contacts in Rio de Janiero, Russia and Afghanistan. Despite their military defeat, the Ultranationalists soon won in the political arena and in the field of public opinion, subverting the state they had once tried to conquer openly. Ultranationalist ideology has become increasingly popular amongst ordinary Russians, to the extent that the elder Zakhaev has been declared the "Hero of the New Russia" by popular acclaim, and much of the Russian state now supports their aims, even if they are not officially members of the group. The military strength of the group has waned considerably since Zakhaev's defeat, and the Ultranationalists no longer deploy armies in the field as during the Russian Civil War, shifting their tactical focus over to guerrilla raids and terror attacks over direct combat. Prior to Modern Warfare 2, the CIA has been keeping an eye on Makarov, as he's committed numerous terrorist incidents in Europe and has worldwide media attention. Amongst the actions of the Ultranationalists under Makarov is a bloodbath at a Russian airport, in which hundreds of civilians are gunned down by an armed squad led by Makarov himself. What at first appears to be a rash of terrorist incidents propels into a horrific war culminating in an attack on US soil, with Washington D.C. burning and the White House under siege. They seem to have connections with the OpForr in Afghanistan. It is unknown what happens to the Ultranationalist Party after the climax of the game, but assuming things are still progressing the same way the Ultranationlists are still in conflict with the United States military as no obvious conclusion is given from the game.

Equipment
They utilize many weapons of a conventional armed force, including air and armor assets. Quite similar to the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, the Ultranationalist militants are fairly well organized and equipped for an unofficial military entity. Primarily, the Ultranationalists use Soviet-era weaponry (at least in Call of Duty 4) such as the AK-47, RPD, Mi-24 and T-72. They also have access to nuclear weaponry and late in the game take over an ICBM Launch Facility in the Altay Mountains. Under Makarov, the Ultranationalist arsenal is extremely diverse, as several NATO weapons (and others) are given out to soldiers, such as the FAMAS, UMP .45, and M240. As Makarov has more international contacts, he can gather resources from across the world. The main Russian Army, however, has a peculiarly non-Russian arsenal. In place of more modern Russian arms such as the AK-74M or Saiga-12, they use mostly European arms.

The full list of Ultranationalist arms and vehicles in the single player campaign is as follows:

Small Arms

 * AK-47
 * AKS-74U
 * G3
 * G36C
 * SVD
 * Mini Uzi
 * MP5
 * RPD
 * M60
 * Winchester Model 1200
 * M1014
 * RPG-7
 * Beretta M9
 * M72 L.A.W (Not used, but can be seen on character models)
 * Desert Eagle (Used only by Imran Zakhaev and 1-3 enemies in Crew Expendable)
 * USP .45
 * Skorpion
 * P90
 * FAMAS
 * SPAS 12
 * UMP .45
 * Vector
 * Striker
 * M240
 * FAL
 * WA2000
 * F2000
 * TAR-21
 * PP-2000
 * MG4
 * L86 LSW
 * L86 LSW

Vehicles

 * Mi-8
 * Mi-24
 * Mi-28
 * UAZ-469
 * BMP-2
 * T-72
 * BM-21
 * Ural-4320
 * Snowmobile
 * BTR-80
 * MiG-29

Multiplayer
In the multiplayer mode of Call of Duty 4, the Ultranationalist faction is represented by the Russian Spetsnaz. This is because according to the game's story, several Russian military divisions sided with Imran Zakhaev's organization, while the rest of the Russian military opposed him and remained loyal to the true government. The troops that joined the Ultranationalists likely included several members of the Spetsnaz, while the opposing soldiers became the Russian Loyalists. In the multiplayer mode, the Ultranationalists deploy small squads of Spetsnaz, their best forces.

Trivia

 * The Ultranationalist soldiers in GP-5 gas masks still have the plug in the filter, which would not allow them to breathe.
 * In Call of Duty 4, the Ultranationalists have a few fairly new German weapons, which is unusual being that they are still in use by the Bundeswehr, such as the MP5, G36C, and G3, although the G3 is an exception as its a surplus weapon.
 * The Ultranationalists seem to use more than one camouflage pattern at a time, such as combining woodland and arctic camouflages.
 * Some of the Ultranationalists troops in "Loose Ends" wear turquoise berets of Russian Airborne forces.
 * The Ultranationalists are similar to that of the real Russian party known as the "National Bolshevik Party" which practice a form of Pan-Russian nationalism, while emphasizing the teachings of Marxist-Leninist ideologies.
 * In multiplayer,Kamarov is the announcer which would not be true because he is a loyalist. It could be that he is the Spetsnaz GRU unit.
 * Most of The Ultranationalist soldiers in the general armed forces wear red camo, helmets, gas masks, ski masks, night vission goggles and balaclavas, which makes them look like modern day soviet army troops.
 * In the film "Air Force One", Starring Harrison Ford and Glenn Close, the presidential plane, Air Force One, is hijacked by Russian Ultranationalist terrorists who bitterly despise the US and the Russian Federation, which they call the president "the dog of America". Similar to the Ultranationalist terrorists from Modern Warfare, the terrorists from the film also wants the return of the Soviet Union.
 * Similarly, the first game in the series Ghost Recon dealt with Ultranationalists seizing power and provoking American action.