Nikolai Belinski

''For the WWII Russian tank commander, see Nikolai Badanov. For the Loyalist helicoper pilot, see Nikolai.''

"Even drunk, I am too strong for you."

- Nikolai, randomly while killing a zombie

Nikolai Belinski (Russian: Николай Белинский) was a Red Army soldier who fought in World War II. He appears in Shi No Numa and Der Riese. 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”.

Quotes
Shi No Numa/quotes

Der Riese/quotes

Trivia

 * Nikolai is the only Russian character heard using bad language through out the entire game (besides in the campagin when Reznov occasionally curses in Russian and in Heart of the Reich.).
 * You are controlling Nikolai when your point color is 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.
 * He is probably killed by the zombies in the Der Riese trailer.
 * Nikolai Belinski bares a striking resemblance to Chernov, though they are from different families and they are nothing alike in personality. Although when killing zombies with a flamethrower, he says "I was on fire once, it was no fun." possibly referring to when Chernov was burned in front of the Reichstag in the single player mission Heart of the Reich.
 * 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. World at War has been seen 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.
 * 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?"
 * Before the war, he was apparently a Carpenter, because when you get the Carpenter power up, he says "I used to be a carpenter", which explains, somewhat, why he owned an axe.
 * It is revealed that Nikolai killed his first 2 wives with the Double-Barreled Shotgun and the PPSh-41, 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, fielding to a common stereotype that Russians are heavy vodka drinkers.
 * He was apparently a hunter before the war, as one of his quotes when he gets the teddy bear is "In Russia, I kill bears TEN TIMES your size!". This could also be because of him being frustrated that the teddy bear is moving the mystery box.
 * Nikolai seems to be the only one of the playable characters who doesn't directly disrespect Dempsey. It is clear Richtofen doesn't like Dempsey because he kills too quickly, also Takeo's quote "My gun is like Dempsey's head. Empty," shows his dislike of Dempsey.
 * There appears to be writing on Nikolai's bag, and upon closer inspection, it says Nikolai's Vodka, likely where he keeps his 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 Edward all hate each other, but one of the bigger friendships lies between Edward and Nikolai.
 * Because he has a Polish surname, some have suggested he may come from a Polish background. This is possible because in the early 1600s Poland was divided between Russia and some German states, with it only becoming free after World War I.