Nikolai Belinski


 * For the WWII Russian tank commander, see Nikolai Badanov. For the Loyalist helicopter pilot, see Nikolai.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY VODKA!"

- Nikolai

Nikolai Belinski (Russian: Николай Белинский) was a Russian soldier who fought in World War II. He appears in Shi No Numa and Der Riese in World at War, but in Black Ops he appears in all four original zombie maps, as well as Kino Der Toten. He is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

Biography
"Stalin himself cannot stare Nikolai in the eye, no one can. For in his eyes you see the soul of a man burning with a hatred of all things living. His closet is full of skeletons, many of them with the flesh still attached. Before the war, Nikolai quickly made his way up through the party ranks by killing the next man in line, and by marrying politically. His aspirations all came crashing down after his fifth wife mysteriously died while cleaning Nikolai’s axe with her neck. Little did he know that she had been sleeping with a high ranking party official on the side. After her tragic demise, Nikolai’s reputation spread quickly through the party, and it wasn’t long before Stalin himself had heard about the psychopathic politician who killed anything that came within 5 feet of him. As soon as the war started, Nikolai was dropped at the front line and forgotten about, where he wallowed in self pity and Vodka for several years. With many weapons in his arsenal, not least of which is his breath, Nikolai Belinski can look death in the eye and say 'I know you'."

- Nikolai's Bio added in with Map Pack 3

Nikolai's reason for fighting the zombies is currently unknown. It may never be discovered as his memory was wiped by Element 115 as detailed by a document from Vbush. He, Takeo, and Dempsey are being observed by Richtofen, who knows about the memory wipe.

Trivia

 * Looking from his quotes, Nikolai is an alcoholic and likes vodka
 * In Blood and Iron, when Dimitri Petrenko enters the train, the player will see two figures similar to Nikolai. One of them is probably Chernov, while the other one could be Nikolai. However, when he exits the train in Ring of Steel, there is only Chernov on the right. The other figure is nowhere to be found. He might have exited the train before reaching Pankow.
 * The PPSh-41 seems to be his weapon of choice.
 * Nikolai is the only Soviet character heard cursing in English through out the entire game (besides Reznov occasionally cursing in Russian in "Vendetta" and "Heart of the Reich").
 * The player controlling Nikolai will have their point color as blue.
 * Nikolai seems to be the comic relief of Shi No Numa and Der Riese. He is constantly referring to Communism, Vodka, and Russia in his quotes.
 * One of Nikolai's quotes in the zombie map Shi No Numa when he gets a sniper rifle (or rarely the PPSh-41), is "Vasili would be proud". It may refer to the Call of Duty 2 character, Vasili Koslov, but it is more likely a reference to the famous Russian sniper, Vasili Zaytsev.
 * Another one of Nikolai's quotes in Shi No Numa when he gets a headshot is "Holy shit, did you see that fucking head come apart?", this is a reference to a line from Platoon, a 1986 War film set in Vietnam. Call of Duty: World at War has been known for referring to Platoon before.
 * It is currently unknown why or how he was in the middle of a swamp in the Pacific. Possibly he was dropped at the front lines to end the Zombie threat or maybe was part of Operation August Storm, Soviet Union's invasion of the Japanese-controlled Manchuria.
 * It is interesting that Nikolai always pairs up with Richtofen in the trailers, as they are direct enemies. As being Russian/German, and completely hating each other in-game.
 * Nikolai seems to have no respect for Takeo Masaki, as in Der Riese, he makes quotes such as "We should watch Takeo, there's something wrong with that boy" or "Maybe Takeo is a zombie, I mean, how can you tell?" Also in Kino der Toten, if the player holds the action button in front of Takeo's portrait, he'll say "I hate you Takeo."
 * Before the war, he was apparently a Carpenter, because when the player gets the Carpenter power up, he says "I used to be a carpenter", which explains, somewhat, why he owned an axe but in Kino der Toten, he says "Please I have no job" when he doesn't have enough money to buy a gun.
 * It is revealed that Nikolai killed his first two wives with any type of shotgun, and his third wife with the PTRS-41. He says that his first wife was a bitch, but he said that when he killed his second wife, he thought it was an accident (apparently she talked too much). His fifth wife is possibly the only wife he killed without a gun, instead using his axe.
 * One possible reason for Nikolai being rude to Takeo is the Russo-Japanese War, which Russia and Japan had a peace treaty after, and also World War II itself when Soviet Union and Japan were enemies.
 * He commonly makes quotes about vodka, like I'm almost out of vodka, I mean, ammo along with saying Pack-a-punch. Oh my God I think it makes vodka, and Oh look a distillery. Oh wait it's just a teleporter feeding to a common stereotype that Russians are heavy vodka drinkers.
 * He was apparently hunter as a hobby, or just carried 2 jobs before the war, as one of his quotes when he gets the Teddy bear is "In Russia, I kill bears TEN TIMES your size!".
 * Nikolai seems to be the only one of the playable characters who doesn't directly disrespect Dempsey. In fact Dempsey seems to be the only character Nikolai respects as he often comments Dempsey's actions with phrases like 'Ura! The Marines' Dempsey!' 'Ura Tank! Destroy them! ' and 'Right here with you Tank!' Dempsey on the other hand doesn't seem to notice this and completely ignores Nikolai.
 * There appears to be writing on Nikolai's bag, and upon closer inspection, it says Nikolai's Vodka.
 * Dr. Richtofen calls Nikolai his Cossack comrade or friend. A possible reason for this is that Richtofen likes Nikolai because he murdered his wives brutally.
 * Rarely, Nikolai will sing the jingle for Quick Revive when using the Pack-a-Punch Machine.
 * Nikolai is apparently a Cossack, as one of his quotes are "This is not a good weapon for a Cossack!" Also, Richtofen refers to him as his "Cossack friend." Cossacks faced discrimination in the newly formed Soviet Union, and a significant number saw Germans as liberators and defected from Red Army ranks (either directly or out of prisoner pools) into the German Army in Cossack units.
 * It seems that Tank, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen all hate each other, but one of the bigger friendships lies between Richtofen and Nikolai.
 * Because he has a Polish surname, some have suggested he may come from a Polish background. This is possible because in the late 1700s Poland was divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria, with it only becoming free after World War I.
 * Despite speculation, Nikolai's death in the Der Riese trailer is not canon.
 * Apparently, Nikolai knows that he is in a game, much like Dempsey. When the player playing Nikolai activates the Dead Air Achievement/Trophy, he will say: "Another musical easter egg. I like this!"
 * When playing as Nikolai and the player get the Carpenter bonus, the player will hear him sometimes say, "I've got a hammer, now get me a sickle!" This is referring to the Soviet Union's symbol, the hammer and the sickle.
 * Nikolai is portrayed as the "classic" Russian stereotype.
 * Whenever Nikolai kills a zombie by knifing, he says a line. Knifing many zombies during insta kill can result in him saying over 4 lines simultaneously.
 * Nikolai uses the same character model as Chernov, although he looks older in Nazi Zombies (this could be since they were both on fire).
 * Sometimes, when buying the Bowie Knife, he will say "Good strong Russian steel", although it is invented and manufactured in America.
 * If the player has a Panzerschreck with ammo in the red (3 or 4) he will say at least 7 lines simultaneously
 * Occasionally, on the level "Ring of Steel" in the Campaign Mode, immediately after exiting the train, look to the left; There may be a soldier named Sgt. Belinski. This soldier wears the same uniform as Nikolai, so it may be the same soldier. This is most probably an easter egg put in by Treyarch. So far, Nikolai makes his only campaign appearance in "Ring of Steel" (and it possibly isn't even him).
 * He is a father, as he says: "My daughter loved that fucking bear." But he does show some hatred to teddy bears. An example is when he gets the teddy bear from the Mystery Box he will say "I have been humiliated by child's toy."
 * In Kino der Toten he has fingerless gloves in 1st person view but in 3rd person he has no gloves.
 * Nikolai's first person model in Kino der Toten is actually taken from Alex Mason's first person model in the level Vorkuta.
 * Whenever Nikolai buys a weapon off the wall or Mystery Box he will sometimes say "I got 99 problems but a gun ain't one!" possibly referring to rapper Jay-Z's song 99 Problems
 * One of Nikolai"s new quotes is said without a Russian accent, and it does not even sound like him. This could be a dubbing problem. The quote is 'His head's at crotch level, don't get excited Dempsey."
 * Nikolai wears the same gloves and shirt sleeves as Alex Mason when Mason is imprisoned in Vorkuta.
 * During the easter egg song 115 in Kino Der Toten, Nikolai will sometimes sing along to on of the verses his own version of that part.
 * In Kino der Toten Nikolai has a bandage on his arm indicating he is injured
 * In Kino der Toten if Nikolai gets a teddy bear in the mystery box, he'll say "First it takes my money, then it disappears, just like 4th wife." His 4th wife may be the only one he didn't brutally murder.
 * As mentioned above, that could possibly mean that his 4th wife was the only one he actually loved.
 * When killing one of the gas crawlers, Nikolai may quote Ugh, that smells disgusting. Like my fourth my wife... She pretty... Pretty and smelly, weird combo.
 * Nikolai at one time in his life either lived or worked on a pig farm, as when he recieves/buys a poor weapon, he will sometimes say "There were better weapons on my pig farm."
 * Nikolai has a sister, as sometimes in Kino der Toten, he will say "You shoot like my sister, Takeo!"
 * Nikolai and the rest of his group sing in a CD called 'A Very Zombie Christmas', a CD which play altered Christmas songs.