Viktor Reznov

"Dragovich. Kravchenko. Steiner. All must Die!"

- Reznov's repeated saying heard throughout the Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign.

Viktor Reznov was a Russian squad leader of the Red Army in Call of Duty: World at War during World War II. His influence on Alex Mason plays a major part in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

He is voiced by Gary Oldman.

Early History
Sergeant Reznov was born in Russia, at Saint-Petersburg (in Soviet Union renamed Leningrad) and joined the Red Army sometime before World War II. According to Reznov, his father was a musician who, during the Siege of Stalingrad, played music composed by patriotic composers with his violin; his music was a symbol of hope for his fellow countrymen and defiance for the Germans, he was killed by the Germans, who slit his throat during his sleep.

Battle of Stalingrad
He is first seen in the level Vendetta as a sniper trying to assassinate the German general Heinrich Amsel, the "architect of Stalingrad's misery". As one of the only two survivors of a brutal German massacre at a fountain, he is saved from being executed by feigning death. He and Dimitri Petrenko meet each other, with Reznov explaining his situation to Dimitri. Reznov, who can no longer snipe precisely as a marksman due to his injured hand, gives Petrenko his scoped Mosin Nagant rifle, and asks him to eliminate the general. Reznov guides Dimitri into killing a few German soldiers as German bombers fly overhead to shroud out the noise of the gunshots. He leads him through Stalingrad, dueling against a German sniper, and a whole German platoon with multiple soldiers equipped with Flammenwerfer 35s. Then, they are saved by Petrenko's squad, and continue with them on an assault against a Nazi communication post. After fierce fighting, Petrenko kills Heinrich Amsel, which gives Reznov a hearty chuckle. They are soon attacked by German panzers and soldiers. Reznov holds off numerous German soldiers before he jumps in a canal, with Dimitri soon following him. It is important to note that due to Reznov's injured finger he could not fire his rifle with perfect aim, and thus, his "character class" was changed to Submachine Gunner as he wields a PPSh-41 from then on. He is seen without his finger three years later.

Battle of Berlin - Taking the Fight to the Enemy
Three years later, on April 18, 1945 in Seelow Heights, Germany, Soviet troops are pushing towards Berlin. Sergeant Reznov along with a new recruit Chernov comes to rescue the captured Dimitri Petrenko from three German soldiers. Reznov often tells the other soldiers to follow Dimitri as an example, especially to Chernov, who seems to be shocked by the vengeful violence of his comrades against Wehrmacht soldiers. The atrocities Reznov and Petrenko saw at Stalingrad made them feel no pity for German troops.

In the level Heart of the Reich, near the Reichstag, Reznov orders Chernov to at least prove he can die for his country, if he can't kill for it, giving him the Russian flag that must be planted on the top of the Reichstag, because Chernov was writing in his diary. Reznov also states that "no one will ever read this." After Chernov had been wounded by a flamethrower, he takes Chernov's diary and states that "someone should read this," contrary to what he had said earlier. Another soldier carries the flag to the top of the roof but is killed before being able to plant it. Reznov then asks Petrenko to take the flag and plant it. When Petrenko gets shot almost fatally with a P-38 by a surviving SS trooper, Reznov jumps in and slices the unfortunate German twice in the torso and impales him in the back. After that, he helps Petrenko up, and tells Petrenko that he can make it, and that he always survives. He then cuts the rope holding the Nazi flag and tells Petrenko to plant the Soviet flag. He expects the two of them to return to their home as "heroes." Reznov mentions many times that the heart of the army cannot be broken as long as Dimitri lives.

Project Nova
Following his important role at the Battle of Berlin, Reznov was promoted to the rank of Captain, with the title of "Hero of Berlin" to boot. His and Dimitri Petrenko's last mission was after the war, under the orders of Kravtchenko and Dragovich, and was to capture the Nazi scientist Steiner, the mastermind behind Nova-6, a nerve toxin. While they are successful in defeating the German defenders and securing the Nova-6, Reznov and Petrenko are betrayed by their superiors, who intend to use them as test subjects for the gas. Petrenko's group is first to be gassed to death, but the arrival of British commandos prevents Reznov's group from certain death. Reznov and his group manage to fight their way out of the ship and destroy it. This event directly precedes Reznov's capture and deportation to Vorkuta while his companions flee before they can be captured.

Vorkuta
Reznov is sent prison camp at Vorkuta and is a companion to the protagonist, Alex Mason. where the two led a meticulously planned uprising. While Mason was able to escape, Reznov was not, and was captured and killed by the pursuing Russians. During their time in Vorkuta, Reznov told Mason about the events which led to Petrenko's death and convinced him that the men responsible for Dimitri's death had to pay, later modifying Mason's brainwashing in order to ensure that Mason would avenge both Dimitri and himself. While Mason goes on to believe that Reznov lives to escape later, it can be seen that he actually dies in a car crash after Mason escapes.

Mind Game
Reznov 'reappears' during the mission The Defector, where the SOG are dispatched to Hue City to meet up with a Russian defector carrying an important dossier on Nova-6. While the real defector had actually been killed in the fighting, the brainwashing and mental tampering that had been done to Mason at Vorkuta had left him with antisocial personality disorder, so that Mason saw Reznov--alive, well, and unaged--as the defector, a tangible being instead of the hallucination that he really was. As Mason continued performing missions as part of SOG, the Reznov in his mind accompanied him as an SOG member in the missions Victor Charlie, Crash Site, and Payback. During this time, there are hints made that Reznov does not actually exist.

Reznov accompanied Mason for the last time in his unauthorized assault of Rebirth Island. According to Mason's perception, the two of them fought their way to Steiner, and Reznov proceeded to execute him with a pistol. However, the real events were witnessed by Hudson and Weaver, who saw Mason executing Steiner with a pistol while proclaiming himself to be Viktor Reznov.

After an interrogation session by Hudson and Weaver, Mason finally realizes that Reznov is a figment of his imagination. After Mason finally kills Dragovich, Reznov commends him for doing what Reznov himself could not do.

World at War
Reznov is patriotic, strong, and is a close friend of Private Petrenko, often telling heroic stories of him and Dimitri during the Vendetta. He also hates Nazi Germany with a passion, refers to them as mudaks, rats, and animals and shows no mercy to any Wehrmacht soldier, as many of his comrades and friends were coldly executed by Wehrmacht soldiers during the Siege of Stalingrad. He is assumed to have lived in Stalingrad before World War II as he is has great knowledge of the city and tells Petrenko of his life in Stalingrad before the German invasion. In combat, he uses a PPSh-41. Reznov is missing the upper tip of his right index finger, as can first be noticed during Vendetta (when it is wrapped up in a bloody bandage) which explains why he cannot use a sniper rifle although it is presumed that he was a marksman before his injury. Skillful handling of a sniper rifle is very much appreciated by Reznov. When Dimitri kills a German soldier in the Battle of Stalingrad by shooting a sniper rifle from the hip, Reznov compliments him, "No scope? Hahaha, nice!" He is also a powerful speaker giving motivational speeches to his soldiers time after time about Dimitri and the successes he has when he fights alongside him. When he kills Germans, he calls it an example of "mercy-killing," most likely because of what can happen to them if they don't get killed there on the spot as a reference to the brutality in Soviet prison camps. He seems to have a good son/bad son relationship with Petrenko and Chernov, often yelling at Chernov for not being like Petrenko whom he regularly compliments.

Black Ops
In Black Ops, Vorkuta, Reznov's patriotism was completely destroyed by the events of Project Nova. While Reznov was always a man who exacts his revenge, his treatment at Vorkuta only drove him even more bitter for revenge, so he dedicates what remains of his life trying to find a way to kill Nikita Dragovich, Lev Kravchenko, and Friedrich Steiner to avenge for Dimitri Petrenko and himself. He is shown eager to get his revenge and is willing to do anything for it: building a friendship with Alex Mason, re-brainwashing him, planning the prison riot, and finally, sacrificing his life just for Mason to escape and get revenge for himself and Dimitri Petrenko.

He also felt pity for Dimitri Petrenko, saying that he should have died honorably in Berlin instead of like a lab rat, dying horribly in that gas chamber, just so Dragovich could see the effects of Nova 6.

In Mason's self imagination, Reznov's relationship with him is actually similar to the one he had with Dimitri Petrenko. Feeling proud of him, and giving him advise when he is confused. Though during some parts, Reznov is shown encouraging him to take some actions eagerly, such as trying to get to Steiner before the CIA in Rebirth.

Quotes
Viktor Reznov/Quotes

Videos
400px|Video:A tribute to Reznov

Trivia

 * He is missing his first finger on his right hand, yet is still able to fire a weapon right-handed fine.
 * He was born in Leningrad(St Petersburg) according to his files in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
 * For some reason, in the picture with Reznov in "Their Land, Their Blood", he still has his hand in bandages, which he does not have during gameplay in the level.
 * In the Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer, Reznov is seen using a Knife to kill a Viet Cong in the tunnel, however it can be seen that he has a second knife attached to his left shoulder. Why he has two is unknown, but the one he used may have been for a quick draw.
 * The developers of Call of Duty: World at War based Reznov off of the character model of Imran Zakhaev from Call of Duty 4, but he bears more of a resemblance to the first Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin. Reznov's resemblance to Zakhaev is further developed during the mission "Rebirth" (Call of Duty: Black Ops) where Reznov wears a coat highly similar to Zakhaev's.455px-Lenin.jpg
 * The knife (Boyevoy Nozh, or "Combat Knife") that Reznov kills the German with is the first time the player sees him use it, but he apparently has had it all of the game (shown in the cutscene in "Blood and Iron").
 * Even after two and a half years he is still a Sergeant meaning either the developers missed this, he turned down other promotions or the Red Army doesn't give promotions out lightly. This is true for Roebuck, Polonsky, and C. Miller in the Pacific campaign, hinting that this was a mistake or done purposely for sake of following the campaign easily.
 * The voice for the multiplayer Red Army team is Reznov.
 * He looks quite old to be a soldier, like Captain Price and Lt. Volker in Call of Duty 4. Reznov's recently confirmed birthday reveals that he was 50 at the time of his death in Vorkuta, and in fact only 29 during Vendetta, his first appearance.
 * On the mission "Vendetta" when you run out of ammo for every weapon Reznov says "Take the shot Dimitri ", your weapon will be with ammo again so is impossible to run out of ammo this is probably a glitch.
 * Considering how he always calls Petrenko by his first name, it is possible he knew him before Stalingrad or maybe even the war. However, he never addresses Petrenko by name, until after they meet Daletski. After that he calls Petrenko by his first name.
 * There really was a Reznov in the 3rd Shock Army but he was a Brigade Commissioner, not a Sergeant.
 * In Vendetta, if the player runs out of ammo, (Possibly only for normal and lower difficulties) Reznov will whisper "Take the shot Dimitri !" and fully reload ammo. This can be important for when the player finds the PTRS-41, or the Walther P-38 when the player attempts to kill Amsel with a pistol shot, as the Walther comes with low ammo.
 * Reznov is the only Russian character in the Call of Duty series to use a Boevoy Nozh.
 * If the player shoots a Nazi Soldier or a dog in Vendetta with his sniper rifle without scoping, Reznov will say "No Scope?!! Nice!"
 * At the beginning of Heart of the Reich, when Reznov catches Chernov writing to his diary, he says "Which do you think will lead us home? Writing about this war, or fighting it? No one will ever read this!", but then at the end after Chernov is torched by a flamethrower and is dying, he then says "Someone should read this.". This shows that even though he doesn't like Chernov very much for not fighting like Dimitri Petrenko, he shows compassion for him.
 * Reznov is always seen with his fur coat and ushanka in World at War, with the exception of Vendetta.
 * Reznov will always be a submachine-gunner, except on Vendetta where he is a Sniper. Even so, he will only be a sniper for several seconds, as he obtains a PPSh-41 sub-machine gun.
 * In the above photo of Reznov stabbing the VC soldier, a U.S. ARMY branch tab can clearly be seen over his left breast pocket. This however maybe because Mason's hallucination involved Reznov being loaned fatigues from a Soldier.
 * The fact that his father had been killed by a Nazi during the war may explain his hatred for the Germans.
 * As Reznov is Mason's hallucination in Call of Duty: Black Ops, it still remains unclear how Reznov is able to kill NVA & Spetznaz soldiers while fighting alongside the SOG . It is likely however that Mason could have hallucinated Reznov killing the NVA & Spetznaz soldiers when it was actually Mason doing the killings, or, the enemies never existed.
 * In Project Nova, Reznov appears to be promoted, because he is now referred to as "Captain Reznov".
 * If the player keeps looking at the truck Reznov drives in Vorkuta, at the end they can see it flipping over as it hit the barricade, which is most likely how he was captured (or killed in the crash).
 * Whatever Reznov is seen wearing after Vorkuta is actually what Mason is wearing (Besides the defector), as whatever Reznov is seen to do (and occasionally say) was actually done by Mason.
 * In any mission after Vorkuta, you can shoot or knife Reznov as much as you want, and you will not get the friendly fire penalty. Also, bullet holes will appear where you shoot him, so you can obscure his whole face.
 * While Dragovich deemed Mason was a failed subject to be his sleeper agent due to Mason's atypical resistance to the brainwashing, Reznov was able to imprint his targets. That was due to Reznov's friendship with Mason - or so what Mason seems - and that broke down the resistance which allows Mason to be receptive of Reznov's instructions.
 * The reason why Mason would see Reznov accompany him in his fight was a side effect of the brainwashing.
 * Apparently Kravchenko and Reznov have a rivalry seeing as Dragovich tells Kravchenko to put aside his petty rivalry when talking to Reznov in Project Nova.
 * In "The Maverick Code" it is shown that there might be a possibility that Reznov in fact, did not die, as shown in this video. LINK
 * Reznov shares his birthplace with Kravchenko both are born in Saint-Petersburg