Nikolai (Modern Warfare)

"Da - I know a place."

- Nikolai responding to Price at the end of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

"Nikolai" is the code name of a Russian informant amongst Imran Zakhaev's Ultranationalists, and an ally of the SAS in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. He continues to help MacTavish and Price in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3. His real birth name has not yet been revealed.

Cold War
Nikolai is a former Soviet Army Senior Sergeant from an anti-tank rifle unit.

Nikolai is also a veteran of the Soviet-Afghan War. He was also a pilot as it was mentioned in 'The Enemy of My Enemy' from in Modern Warfare 2.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
In events before the mission "Blackout," Nikolai has been detained by the Ultranationalists under suspicion of espionage. The SAS team under Captain Price must find and rescue him before he is executed. He had been informing the British from the Ultranationalist camp until his cover was blown. He helped to start the entire chain of events in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, as it was he that supplied the intel for the cargo ship mission.

In "Hunted," the Black Hawk carrying the extracted team is shot down over hostile territory, and he is forced to fight alongside the team with only the AK-74u he has been found with. Finally, under cover of AC-130 fire, Nikolai is evacuated by a second helicopter airlift to a safe house in Hamburg, and his last mention in the game is a loading cutscene in which he sends the SAS the coordinates to Khaled Al-Asad's safehouse in Azerbaijan.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Nikolai plays a bigger role in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 than in its precursor, and he is quite adept at flying and driving multiple vehicles, though it is unknown how he has acquired them. He appears to be a mercenary pilot.

In "The Hornet's Nest," the stranded Task Force 141 team is left without a helicopter, since the U.S. has been barred from entering Brazilian airspace and the invasion has overwhelmed civilian communications. Captain MacTavish calls Nikolai to come rescue the team. Nikolai arrives in a Pave Low, but heavy RPG fire makes the landing zone too "hot," or dangerous. Soap orders Nikolai to wave off, as the team should be able find a secondary extraction point. Roach, when running and keeping up with the Task Force, falls from the rooftops, further delaying the exit. Roach quickly rushes throughout the favela, evading enemy forces, reaching the rooftops, and making it to the helicopter.

In "The Enemy Of My Enemy," Nikolai extracts Price and Soap from the Boneyard under fire in a C-130 Hercules as they drive their jeep into the cargo hold of the plane. Nikolai then drops off Price and Soap at Site Hotel Bravo in "Just Like Old Times," but despite having been told that it is a one-way flight, he returns to rescue the two in "Endgame" with a Little Bird.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Nikolai is almost always alongside Yuri and the disavowed Task Force 141 ready to help when needed. First he carries Soap's injured body to the helicopter. He also provides remote air support during the mission to capture Waraabe in Somalia. His Hind is shot down during the extraction and he has to be rescued from the Somali Militia during a blackout sandstorm.

Before Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 * Afghanistan — Took part in the Soviet-Afghan War.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 * Caucasus Mountain — Rescued by Captain Price's Bravo Team.
 * Western Russia — Shot down but evacuated to Hamburg.
 * Hamburg — From this location during a cutscene, he gives Bravo Team the coordinates to Al-Asad's safehouse in Northern Azerbaijan.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 * Rio De Janeiro, Brazil — Evacuated Soap's team in a Pave Low.
 * Kandahar, Afghanistan — Rescued Soap and Price from the Bone yard.
 * Site Hotel Bravo, Afghanistan — Rescues a heavily wounded MacTavish and Price and takes them to a "secret place".

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

 * Himachal Pradesh, India — Takes Price and a wounded MacTavish to the safehouse.
 * Boosaaso, Somalia ---Provides helicopter support while searching for Waraabe and shot down before subsequently escaping the sandstorm.
 * Arabian Peninsula — Drops Price and Yuri to kill Makarov in Hotel Oasis. Provides play-by-play as to Makarov's location within the hotel.

Quotes

 * See Nikolai (Modern Warfare)/Quotes.

Trivia

 * Nikolai looks very different in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in "Endgame" than he did in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in "Blackout", although this could be because of the five year time gap. Nikolai seems to have much shorter hair and some heavy stubble. His appearance may also be different because in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare he is encountered after being a prisoner, apparently suffering from physical abuse, and possibly from malnutrition. His appearance changes again in Modern Warfare 3 seen in the prologue when Soap is moved out of the helicopter and him and Price are rushing Soap to the safehouse, his facial hair seems shaven and he wears different gear and a headset and hat.
 * Nikolai stands at 188 centimeters, as mentioned in "Blackout".
 * He is not featured in the Museum, even though his Pave Low is.
 * In "The Enemy of My Enemy", Nikolai is heard yelling in Russian after Price told him to shut up. However this was directed at Shadow Company or the Mercenaries who were attempting to shoot him down (He says: "Вот дерьмо! Нет, мне недоплачивают за эту работу! Одни ракеты сколько стоят! Твою мать! Пизда!!"; (trans. "Oh, shit! No, they don't pay me enough for this job! And not mentioning the price of missiles! Bugger! C**t!")
 * "Endgame" is the only mission in which Nikolai physically appears in Modern Warfare 2. In other missions he is only heard over the comms or piloting aircraft.
 * If you look closely at the plane's cockpit in The Enemy of My Enemy, you will see that no one is actually piloting Nikolai's plane.
 * During the "Blackout" cutscene, one can see pictures of Nikolai with an AK-47 (which he never wields) in F.N.G, and him crouching near the crashed UH-60 equipped with a Minigun on Heat, which is impossible, because by then, he would be in his safehouse in Hamburg.
 * Nikolai is one of three known characters to be in each Modern Warfare game and survive, others being Price and Overlord.
 * In end of "Endgame", he wears a pilot costume; but in the beginning of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 mission "Persona Non Grata", he wears a combat costume even though the level takes place just after the end of "Endgame".
 * Nikolai seems to be a very skilled pilot, and he also seems to fear getting shot down whenever he's in the cockpit (saying "I hope my luck holds out" and "They're aim is getting better" in Return to Sender).
 * During Return to Sender, it was the first time he was shot down while piloting a helicopter, although it is the second time shot down overall sitting in the Black Hawk in Hunted.
 * He is featured in the Far Superior title in Modern Warfare 3.
 * In "Persona Non Grata" Nikolai can be seen wielding a weapon for second time since "Hunted".

Appearances

 * (3 games)
 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (First appearance)
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
 * Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3