Victor Zakhaev (Original)

"You are all going to die anyway"

- Victor, before committing suicide

Victor Zakhaev (Виктор Захаев) was the son of Imran Zakhaev and field commander of the Russian Ultranationalists. His relationship to his father is apparently very close and it can be assumed they share the same ideals, mainly of Russia returning to Communism and a Soviet-style government. He is easily recognizable by his blue-striped tracksuit. In the game, he is also referred to as one of the Four Horsemen.

In-game


He is first seen at the beginning during the Execution of Al-Fulani (the passenger in the car). Victor is present in the unnamed Middle-Eastern country during the execution of President Al-Fulani, riding along with him in the car that delivers him to the presidential palace and his eventual death, directing the driver and holding his favorite weapon; a Mini-Uzi.

After the death of Al-Asad at the hands of Cpt. Price, Imran Zakhaev goes into hiding. Despite this, his son continues to directly lead the Ultranationalist forces in Russia. He becomes the subject of a manhunt and eventual pursuit by a combined Loyalist/SAS/USMC task force during the level "The Sins of the Father". He is chased through an abandoned town in Russia and soon cornered in a five-story building. However, even when he can't escape, he moves at the final floor of the building. The SAS and the U.S. forces block him. He doesn't surrender even when he is told to put down the weapon. When SAS operative "Soap" MacTavish moves to take his weapon, Victor commits suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. It is possible to take Victor's M1911 with which he kills himself with as a trophy.

His "official" cause of death, as reported by the Pentagon, was "a car accident outside Volgograd".

Victor's death deeply affects Imran, who takes over an ICBM Missile Silo in the Altay Mountains and launches two ICBMs at the United States' East Coast in retaliation. He also laments in an ultimatum to British and U.S forces that "Our blood has been spilled on our soil. My blood... on their hands... they are the invaders...", in a trembling, angry voice.

Trivia

 * Victor commits suicide with an M1911, but the gun audio is actually that of a Desert Eagle if one speeds up the suicide by 2x. This is also present when Cpt. Price executes Al-Asad, likely because the clap of an M1911 would not be dramatic enough and the boom of a Desert Eagle suited better.
 * If the player is using the "A Bad Year" cheat, his body will explode into tires after he shoots himself.
 * Griggs likes to poke fun at Victor's age calling him "Daddy's boy", and, "the little punk".
 * Like his father Victor only has one line in the entire game. Unlike Imran, Victor says his line before he commits suicide.
 * Shooting Victor's gun has no effect - neither knocking it out of his hand nor counting as a mission failed because you didn't hit him. Even throwing a flashbang has no effect.
 * Victor seems to favor the Mini-Uzi.Sasha.jpg
 * He is modeled after Sasha, a Serbian sniper from the movie Behind Enemy Lines who, interestingly enough, is played by Vladimir Mashkov, which sounds similar to Vladimir Makarov.
 * In the Modern Warfare 2 introduction, instead of saying "My blood... on their hands..", Imran said "My son's blood... on their hands...".
 * It is stated in Modern Warfare 2, that the official Pentagon statement says Victor Zakhaev was killed in a car accident outside of Volvograd.
 * Griggs calls Victor "Little Punk" despite the fact that Victor appears much older then Griggs.
 * Since Russians have a patronymic between their given and family names, his full name could be Victor Imranovich Zakhaev.