Nikolai Belinski

"It is said, that it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. I... feel differently. Regret can consume a man so deeply, that it will blacken his heart and swallow his soul. For so long we have been fighting... many battles, many wars. I lost... only one. We have seen impossible things, cheated death countless times. I can no longer deny the possibility of an unseen power, a guiding hand helping us to fulfill our destiny. My path is chosen... Our fate is sealed. But the innocent... the children. Those untainted by darkness and chaos. They can find a better tomorrow."

- Nikolai Belinski

Sergeant Nikolai Belinski (Russian: Николай Белинский) is a Russian soldier who fought in the Red Army, and is a playable main character in Zombies. His player indicator color is blue (shared with Robert McNamara and Robert Englund) but is randomized in Moon and all subsequent maps. An alternate version of Nikolai appears in Origins, and reappears in Call of Duty: Black Ops III, in The Giant, Der Eisendrache, Zetsubou No Shima, Gorod Krovi (which also includes the original timeline Nikolai Belinski), Revelations and Blood of the Dead. This version also appears alongside the original version in the ending cutscene for Classified.

Original Timeline
"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.

On June 24th, 1941, Nikolai Belinski's wife was killed during the German advance into the Soviet Union. In an effort to numb the pain, Nikolai increasingly turned to vodka. When drunk, he thought of imaginary wives that he had never had, and comments about them as if they were real, to hide the pain buried beneath his true self. On December 9th, 1942, Nikolai's brother was also killed during the Battle of Stalingrad.

On January 16th, 1943, Red Army Sergeant Nikolai Belinski was captured by German Forces during the Battle of Stalingrad. Later on, he became a test subject in Group 935 experiments.

On July 15th, 1945, Dr. Edward Richtofen traveled to the Siberian Facility to do further research on "live specimens". Group 935 begins transferring three test subjects for experimentation: Nikolai, Pablo, and Takeo. Alongside fellow test subjects, an American soldier named "Tank" Dempsey, who had replaced the Mexican spy who was accidentatally killed named Pablo Marinus, and a Japanese soldier named Takeo Masaki, each are exposed to serums and Element 115, causing memory loss, and in Nikolai's case, loss of responding to stimuli, as Richtofen stated "he recently begun responding to stimuli, but only after (injections of) a new serum made primarily from vodka."

On September 27th, 1945, Nikolai, along with the other test subjects, are put to sleep until further need to reawaken them.

On October 14th, 1945, Nikolai along with the other test subjects are reawakened by Richtofen. With no memory of who they are or who Richtofen is, Nikolai, along with Dempsey and Takeo, agree to help him. The four would become known as Ultimis.

On October 21st, 1945, Nikolai along with the rest of the Ultimis crew venture off to Group 935's Rising Sun facility in Japan to obtain Richtofen's diary. Unknown to Nikolai, along with Dempsey and Takeo, the plans Richtofen detailed in his diary are to take control of the Zombies and destroy the crew along with Samantha Maxis, who is the current controller of the Zombies, once he obtains the power from the M.P.D.

On October 28th, 1945, Ultimis then returned to Der Riese. Following Richtofen's orders, they planned to use the teleporter to teleport to the moon and confront Samantha. Unfortunately, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 overloaded the teleporter and sent them through time, which caused Richtofen to drop his diary. From Der Riese, Ultimis teleported through time and space and ended up at the Kino Facility on October 28th, 1963, another station once ran by Group 935, which was located at an abandoned theater in Germany. Unbeknownst to them, they begin to receive help at this point from Dr. Monty, a Keeper, who added changes in the background across time with things such as chalk drawings of weapons on the walls, helping Group 935 come up the idea to make Perk-a-Colas, etc. Ultimis located a Lunar Lander and flew to the Ascension Facility in Soviet territory, which is where Richtofen finds out his diary is located. Ultimis then arrived at the Soviet Cosmodrome on November 6th, 1963 and following Richtofen's orders, freed Gersh, a scientist who worked for the Ascension Group from the Casimir Mechanism, after Samantha corrupted Yuri Zavoyski, another scientist of the Ascension Group, and obeyed her wish by tricking Gersh into activating the Gersh Device. The rift created by it absorbed him and allowed Samantha to travel through. Richtofen recovered his diary, and learned that they need the Vril Device from the Siberian Facility for his plan. Maintaining his ethereal form, Gersh sent Ultimis into a rift to their next destination before beginning his travels across space and time.

The group then teleports to Group 935's Siberian Facility on March 17th, 2011, where George Romero is filming a zombie movie with four well-known actors. Samantha, in her pursuit of Ultimis, unleashes an undead outbreak. The celebrities find the group trapped in a small room. The film's stars fight the undead horde, ultimately recovering the Vril Device for Richtofen. Ultimis then teleports to the exotic jungle where Richtofen once teleported to in one of his experiments, now known as Shangri-La, in an effort to acquire the next artifact Richtofen stated he required to defeat Samantha: the Focusing Stone. Ultimis soon arrived at Shangri-La on April 25th, 1956. Ultimis discovered explorers Brock and Gary, who are trying to find Agartha. During an eclipse, they're unwittingly trapped in a time loop. With the help of Brock and Gary, the group assist Richtofen in acquiring the Focusing Stone.

Having everything necessary to complete his plan, Richtofen teleported the group to Hangar 18 in Area 51 on October 13th, 2025. Overrun by zombies, Ultimis quickly ran to the teleporter in the hangar, which teleported them to Griffin Station on the Moon. Using the Vril Device and the Focusing Stone, Richtofen had completed his Grand Scheme and swaps bodies with Samantha on the Moon, giving him full control of the zombies and the Aether. Nikolai, along with Dempsey and Takeo then realized Richtofen's scheme for unlimited power and attempted to stop him by contacting Ludvig Maxis, who was present at Griffin Station on the Moon. Instead of helping the trio, however, Maxis manipulated them by claiming that Richtofen's link could be destroyed by launching three missiles to sever the link from Agartha and the Moon. The trio went forward with the plan to fire the missiles, only for the Earth's ozone layer to become polluted, and for the explosion as a result of the missiles to create more zombies and further chaos.

Nikolai along with the rest of the Ultimis crew end up time travelling from the Moon and back to the Pentagon as revealed in "Classfied". The four were discovered by Corneilus Purnell who recognized Dempsey and Richtofen who at the time was brain dead due to Samantha’s soul no longer inhabiting his body. Nikolai and the others are then held captive in Hanger 04 on Groom Lake for potential Element 115 experiments from the US Government. Nikolai is alive, but traumatized by the events that occurred while on the Moon.

After Richtofen awoke from his comatose state, the group was rescued by the Primis versions of themselves, who gathered them to fight in the "Great War".

Dimension 63 Timeline
"Forgotten and abandoned on the front lines of Europe, Red Army Sergeant Nikolai Belinski has learned to survive and endure even in the darkest of times. His loyalty to the Motherland has seen him battle his own demons, overcoming personal trials that few have ever truly understood."


 * — Nikolai's biography for Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

On August 3rd, 1917, Sergeant Nikolai Belinski of the Imperial Russian Army was sent into exile. On December 10th, 1917, still exiled in Europe, Nikolai received new orders from the Imperial Russian Army to investigate the enemy "War Machine." Still loyal to the motherland, he willingly obliged.

On February 23rd, 1918, Nikolai wrote of the ongoing civil war in his homeland. He did not expect peace to last long, but he is enjoying his time in France, while still spying on Group 935.

On June 4th, 1918, Element 115 completely awakened the undead knights from The Great War and quickly consumed the camp. Nikolai, along with American spy "Tank" Dempsey and Japanese spy Takeo Masaki unite with German scientist Edward Richtofen on the battlefield and help free a girl named Samantha from her imprisonment in Agartha. The four uniting marks the return of Primis from the original Great War, as the group were reincarninated versions of them. Samantha, who had been freed and sent to the House, then sent Primis to their next destination.

Nikolai, along with Dempsey and Takeo, upon learning of Richtofen's multi-dimensional travels, attempt to stop him for fearing that he will disrupt the established continuity of the dimensions. After several dimension jumps and failed attempts, they arrive at the Original Timeline which has been slightly altered due to Richtofen's past actions of travelling through universes and killing his other selves, at the Der Riese facility on October 13th, 1945, just moments after Ultimis Richtofen trapped Maxis and Samantha in the teleporter with Fluffy. Nikolai, Dempsey and Takeo confront Ultimis Richtofen, telling him that there is a chain of events that must be carried out, and prompt him to awaken the original versions of themselves.

As the zombie horde approach them from outside, Richtofen ignored the three's warning and turns on the teleporter, only to find Primis Richtofen inside. Primis Richtofen then shot the Ultimis Richtofen in the head, killing him instantly. This triggered a fracturization across the original timeline. While the group expresses disappointment in Richtofen for tampering with history, he defends his action, believing that what he does will be to secure a better future. While the others fend off the zombies, Richtofen pretended to use the Summoning Key to acquire the original Richtofen's soul. Eventually, the four activate a beacon in the facility, allowing Maxis from another dimension to locate them.

After acquiring a Giant Robot from the Der Riese facility, the four pursue the scattered remains of Group 935 to Griffin Castle, codenamed "Eagle's Nest", on November 5th, 1945. The Germans had captured Ultimis Dempsey's cryo chamber from being experimented on by Ultimis Richtofen and planned to bring him to Griffin Station, with Primis close behind until a German soldier fires a Panzerschreck at the Giant Robot, disabling it before it could retrieve Ultimis Dempsey. After arriving at Griffin Castle, the young four watch as a rocket containing the Ultimis Dempsey launches to the Moon. After making radio contact with Dr. Groph, Ultimis Richtofen's second-in-command, Richtofen masquerades as his Ultimis, older self in order to fool Groph. However, Groph becomes suspicious of Richtofen's change of personality and announces him as an imposter. Using the Death Ray, the young four managed to bring the rocket containing the Ultimis Dempsey back to the castle, much to Groph's anger, who activated a failsafe so they couldn't touch the chamber.

Using the Vril Device obtained from the crash site, the young four awakened a ghost Keeper and help it return it to its physical form before it returns the favor and brings the M.P.D. from the Moon to the castle. However, the Keeper becomes corrupted, forcing the four to battle it, eventually defeating it. After defeating it, Groph expresses his extreme anger, vowing to destroy them and the castle itself. In order to tie up these loose ends, the four use the Summoning Key to launch several missiles towards the Moon, destroying it, ultimately destroying Griffin Station and killing any Group 935 scientist at the station, including Groph. After walking towards Ultimis Dempsey's cryo chamber, Richtofen activated the Summoning Key, forcing the others to levitate in the air.

Here, Richtofen's plan is revealed to the Nikolai and the rest of the group. Richtofen planned to kill the Ultimis versions of themselves to be put in the Summoning Key like he supposedly did with his own at the Der Riese facility. Then, Dempsey himself sadly put his older self down. Richtofen then captured the Ultimis Dempsey's soul in the Key.

Nikolai and the other three then travel to a different fractured timeline, to an island, arriving on a Japanese vessel heading for a Division 9 Facility on October 18th, 1945, before being caught and the Summoning key being taken away from him. A brief fight ensues with the Japanese soldiers with Richtofen burning one alive before he notices the Key rolling toward the ocean, luckily Takeo had managed to barely catch the Key by his fingertips much to Richtofen's relief. The four then are forced to swim to a nearby island after the ship blows up. Later, Nikolai was present when the Ultimis Takeo Masaki was cured from being a Thrasher to collect his soul.

After the Ultimis Takeo honorably sacrificed himself for a better future, Richtofen then preserved his soul. Initially Dempsey suggested going after the Ultimis Nikolai but Richtofen said a "chain of events" must be set in motion. Realizing that he wants to save his three comrades from their eventual fate, Richtofen then takes them to Alcatraz on July 4th, 1941, where he meets his younger self and acquires the Victis blood samples. Then they jump to another fractured timeline, in a war-torn Stalingrad on November 6th, 1945, to kill the Ultimis Nikolai Belinski and place his soul in the Summoning Key. Eventually the four are teleported out of the sky and parachute in front of Ultimis Nikolai's mech while he is distracted with vodka and listening to "The Ace of Spades" on his radio.

Upon seeing them the Ultimis Nikolai attempts to kill them until a dragon throws him into a building. Later, Dempsey and the others make a temporary truce with the Ultimis Nikolai in order to kill the dragon. Afterward, Dempsey and the other three demand Ultimis Nikolai to surrender to which he refuses and betrays them. This lead to Primis Nikolai having a brief conversation with his Ultimis version, stating he that he should stop trying bury his emotion with an alcohol fueled rage. Primis Nikolai then gets shot by his Ultimis self, where it lands on armor. Primis Nikolai retaliates with a devastating blow to the head with shotgun on Ultimis Nikolai. Richtofen opens a portal in the sky with Maxis' help and lights a beacon from the Summoning Key which releases the Ultimis Nikolai, Takeo and Dempsey. After this, he says they will see Maxis soon.

Later, the mysterious voice contacts Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo informing them that Richtofen can't hear him. He congratulates the crew on their progress of fixing the fracturing universe. However, he informs them that Richtofen had been searching for years for the correct versions of them to close off the dimensions, suggesting that the original timeline versions of the characters were the ones who determined the universe's disorder and fates of the incarnations of the alternate versions of the characters in other universes, who have all been erased due to the originals being killed off. He also tells them to not trust Richtofen and that's he's been in "The House" for "ages". Finally, the voice introduces himself as Doctor Monty, claiming it's so nice to see the characters.

Return to the house and the final battle
Soon after the events of Gorod Krovi, Nikolai along with the rest of the Primis crew finally arrive at the house. There Richtofen reunites with Maxis, the two then destroy the MDT to ensure the house would remain safe. Letting his guard down Richtofen leaves the Soul key on a table unaware of who was trapped within. The voice inside calls out to Maxis and influences him due to his lack of soul making him easy to control. Maxis opens the Soul key releasing the Shadowman inside, exploring his new surroundings, he opens a portal to Agartha and unleashes an Apothicon invasion. Monty enlists the help of the Primis crew to defeat the Shadowman and save his perfect world from destruction.

With the help of Maxis and S.O.P.H.I.A, Primis manages to kill the Shadowman and banish the Apothicons to places unknown. As the world returns to normal Monty becomes concerned as Primis remains in front of him. Noticing the empty blood vials he becomes angered claiming that they are putting his realm at risk. Initially he decides to simply wipe them from existence but decides to instead send them somewhere else. The 4 then end up in the year 1299, in northern France just as the Great war comes to an end causing the cycle to continue.

Most Escape Alive
Set before the events of Gorod Krovi, Primis enters the pocket dimension of Alcatraz to pick up the blood vials. Ending up far from their intended target, the group enters the underground lab and find another Richtofen. He gives the vials to the group and instructs Richtofen to re-read the Kronorium. Richtofen scans through pages exclaiming that pages have changed and that his blood is needed. He becomes enraged and throws the Kronorium before hearing a horde of zombies. The group then makes their escape but before entering the portal Brutus destroys it trapping the group within the twisted version of Alctraz.

Beside a mysterious machine known as the Dark Mechanism, The Primis crew battle against Brutus, Whom is being resurrected time and time again. Richtofen realized what the Kronorium meant and that the machine was intended to draw his blood, and stepped inside, sacrificing himself to free the others.

With Brutus finally unable to resurrect, the rest of Primis is joined by a post-Revelations Richtofen, who informed them that the future had changed, and that Nikolai had to keep his soul to defeat Doctor Monty. The future Richtofen explained that the cycle was broken, and that he wished he could say he was sorry to his younger self. Taking the Soul key the future Richtofen handed Nikolai the Kronorium telling him he would need to read it to defeat Monty. The remainder of the Primis members and the original Dimention 63 Richtofen, leaving the new Richtofen alone and scared, the machine continuing to drain his blood.

Preparing for the Great war.
In order to prepare for the coming battle; Primis makes a stop at Groom Lake to gain some allies. Within Hanger 4 the Ultimis crew were being held seemingly after the events of Moon, With Richtofen also retaining his body. As Ultimis Nikolai expresses glee at being able to drink uninterrupted, Primis Nikolai emerged from a portal asking his alternate self if drowning his sorrows in vodka is the best choice. The Primis crew rallies their alternate selves and recruit them to fight in the coming battle. As the they each face their alternate selves Ultimis Dempsey asks Primis Nikolai "What kind of war?" to which he replies "A war unlike any other that you have seen. A Great war."

Letters
"December 10th - 1917 Reports from the area suggest the Kaiser's War Machine may be gearing up to unleash something unlike anything we have seen before...''"
 * ''It appears my current exile from the motherland may prove fortuitous. I have received orders to undertake a vital mission in Northern France.
 * — Nikolai Belinski



"February 23rd - 1918 The people of France share my hatred and contempt for the Hun. They have been very kind to me on my journeys; offering me food, shelter and other more worldly comforts. It is a great relief that even amongst the madness of war, I may still find moments of joy in the arms of a good woman…''"
 * ''Despite the abdication, my country remains gripped by Civil War. Reds and Whites battle for power as I am forced to watch helplessly from afar. Despite the March treaty, many among us do not expect lasting peace… Our memories will not allow us to forget the tens of thousands of souls lost at Tannenberg… This war remains a threat to all our futures…
 * — Nikolai Belinski

Ultimis Nikolai
Nikolai seemed to lack intelligence as revealed from various amount of quotes. He tended to crack weird, yet funny, jokes, intentionally and unintentionally. He seemed to not care about his physical appearance and smell, but only ever cared about Vodka. However, at the darkest of times, he could also be vigilant and appeared to have a very keen survival instinct. He liked Dempsey, and tended to despise as well as appreciate Richtofen at times (until Moon), but held a deep hatred for Takeo and monkeys.

Primis Nikolai
Due to his alcoholism not yet acquired, his personality was completely different. He was intelligent and got along with and tried to cooperate with his comrades; although did not hold himself in high esteem. He was willing to give his life for the greater good, humble and has a high survival instinct, while also maintaining an enjoyment in life. Unlike his Ultimis self, his opinions on the other three varied depending on how well they fought, he disliked Takeo and Dempsey if they fought poorly, and respected them if they fight well. However he hated Richtofen if he fought poorly and tolerated him if he fought well. When Samantha began to speak, he was the most concerned for her safety and wished to attempt to save her more than the other three. He was a proud revolutionist and supporter of Communism who did not wish for medals or glory. He also worried and feared the damage they can do when teleported into the future, but relents as he needed to make sure future events don't happen. However, as the jorney continues he starts to frustrate with seemingly endless battle against zombies and Richtofen's uncetain"plan" he is forced to follow. In Blood of the Dead,  the frustration reaches the peak and he attempts to convince his teammates to help murder Richtofen, which both Dempsey and Takeo strongly opposes. In Gorod Krovi, this effect starts to wear off as we see Nikolai develop a steady mindset once again.

Trivia

 * Nikolai is an alcoholic and loves vodka; however, Richtofen suggests that the Element 115 used on him caused him to become an alcoholic.
 * However, it is suggested that Original Nikolai became an alcoholic because of his first wife dying in an air raid.
 * Origins Nikolai appears to have traded his love for vodka for a love for bacon, according to some of his quotes in maps such as Gorod Krovi.
 * Out of all three of the other characters, Original Nikolai shows the highest respect for Original Dempsey while he and Original Richtofen appear to have a strong friendship, but deeply hates Original Takeo.
 * The Original Nikolai hates monkeys so much about their beady little eyes and reminded him of circus in Bagrationovsk.
 * Between the two World Wars, he was a carpenter.
 * During the song that plays when the "115" Easter Egg is triggered in Kino der Toten, Nikolai will sometimes sing along to one of the verses in his own version of that part.
 * Nikolai at one time in his life either lived or worked on a pig farm.
 * Aside from his many wives, Nikolai's family includes:
 * A sister he refers to multiple times, who he hates.
 * A brother-in-law, who he also hates.
 * A daughter, who was noted to own a teddy bear.
 * A brother, who is homeless and broke.
 * He was married at least nine times, and murdered at least five of his wives. The first wife was supposedly killed with a shotgun, the second is by either a PPSh-41 or a PTRS-41, the fifth wife was killed by an axe, and his third wife was killed with a sickle. Only his fourth wife was confirmed to have escaped alive. Even then, another Ascension quote implies he chased this wife down, and promptly beat her to death with his own hands. He mentions having a seventh wife in Moon, which also means he had a sixth but has not mentioned killing either of them. It appears that his seventh wife is still alive, as one of his quotes in Moon states that he has to tell her about his new girlfriend. It is said at the end of the Richtofen's Grand Scheme Easter Egg that "wife number nine" and "his new girlfriend" has died when the Earth was destroyed.
 * He "killed" his first wife because she looked like him, his second because she is always asking for more, his third wife was killed because "she was bitch", his fourth wife was killed because she took his money and ran away, and because she was "always talking", and he killed his fifth wife when he was cleaning his axe with her neck.
 * In the official timeline it was revealed that Nikolai only had one wife, and fabricated the rest due to his memory being wiped clean.
 * Nikolai's favorite weapons are PPSh-41, FN FAL and H115 Oscillator.
 * Nikolai's favorite bow is the Void Bow.
 * Nikolai's favorite staff is the Ice Staff.
 * After the player completes the Original Characters Trapped Easter Egg for the first time in co-operative, they will receive a gamer picture of Nikolai's profile card as seen in Shi No Numa's loading screen.
 * Nikolai appears to have pithecophobia judging from his quotes when he gets the Monkey Bomb or when he kills monkeys on Ascension and Shangri-La.
 * According to a quote from Der Riese, at one point he had syphilis.
 * Based on his quotes from Shangri-La, he hates Stamin-Up.
 * Nikolai calls the FN FAL the "FNfalafel" and sometimes refer its sounding name as analogous to "Fucking Fail", similar to Dempsey calling the Wunderwaffe DG-2 the "Wonder Waffle."
 * Rarely when using the Pack-a-Punch Machine, he will sing the Quick Revive jingle.
 * Nikolai was physically abused as a child.
 * In Call of Duty: Black Ops, Nikolai's gloves will show up in first person, but not in third person.
 * Richtofen mentions Nikolai on Green Run, such as asking the survivors if they were going to mention vodka and even claiming he missed him.
 * In the Origins Intro Cinematic trailer, his last name was initially misspelled "Belinksi", but this has since been fixed.
 * Origins Nikolai has a preference of shotguns, as he uses an Olympia in Origins and a KRM-262 in The Giant, Der Eisendrache, and Gorod Krovi.
 * Albert "Weasel" Arlington sometimes mentions Nikolai when killing zombies with the Ray Gun.
 * Nero Blackstone may also mention Nikolai's name when all the fuses are placed in the power box inside the subway. This, however, may be a reference to Nikola Tesla, rather than Nikolai.
 * According to a quote whilst interacting with Dempsey in The Giant, Origins Nikolai has taken part in three World Wars, rather than two.
 * Upon activating a radio on The Giant, one can hear an alternate Nikolai claim that he has killed at least three Richtofens.
 * In the Origins recap trailer for Revelations, the original Nikolai can be seen killing off the Origins characters.
 * Within Zombies Chronicles, Nikolai 1.0 can be seen carrying a gun pouch on his side, which within is the KAP-40 from Black Ops 2.
 * According to Dr. Monty in Revelations:
 * Nikolai used to be a writer, and kept journals of his travels in Europe.
 * Monty also revealed that he attempted to "water down" the Original Nikolai's vodka for years, but he just kept drinking regardless.
 * He also mentions that the Original Timeline Nikolai once made a bear cub drink vodka. According to Monty, they both regretted it.
 * Monty also says that the Original Timeline Nikolai truly loved his first wife and he was never quite the same after her death.
 * Monty also references the Original Nikolai's brother, who the latter alluded to in the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. He says that the Original Nikolai apparently forgot about him.