Chernov

"This is not war. This is murder!"

- Chernov after the execution of a German POW

Private Chernov (Russian: Чернов) is a Red Army soldier in Call of Duty: World at War. He is one of the main characters that follows the player through most of the Russian campaign.

Biography
Chernov first appears in "Their Land, Their Blood" as one of the soldiers under Sergeant Reznov's command, and with the latter rescues Dimitri Petrenko from three Germans. When Reznov orders Chernov to execute the dying Nazis, he displays a pacifist nature by refusing to shoot fatally wounded German soldiers that were already bleeding to death. Reznov responds by handing Dimitri Petrenko a Mosin-Nagant rifle, saying, "Then maybe our friend will help them (the Germans) bleed faster." After rescuing Dimitri, Chernov and the others push into the German countryside, clearing a barn and a nearby German camp. He and the others then board the commandeered train bound to Berlin and push the Germans further into the German Capital and eventually reach the city itself. In the beginning of the level Eviction, a group of Russians kill a German soldier that was begging for mercy and Chernov says "This is not war, this is murder." After ferocious close quarters fighting in a building, and after battling the desperate German troops on the city streets, the squad reaches a metro in which three surviving German troops plead not to be killed. Reznov will give the player a choice, kill them fast or slow. The player can shoot or knife them, which will lead to Reznov giving the player a compliment; or the player can wait for the player's comrades to burn them. Then they will enter the metro, and fight the player way to the end. Chernov, Reznov, and Dimitri barely escape with their lives when the metro they were in is flooded by Germans in an attempt to kill the advancing Soviets. After surviving the tunnel flood, Chernov is seen trying to dry off his diary. Reznov then grabs his diary and says to Chernov, "Which do you think will lead us home? Writing about this war, or fighting it!? No one will ever read this! If you lack the stomach to kill for your country, at least show me you are willing to die for it!" Chernov then takes the Red Army flag with him and fights through German infantry defending the Reichstag. When Chernov reaches the stairway leading to the Reichstag entrance, he is wounded by a flamethrower-wielding German and falls to the ground coughing and burned. Reznov sympathetically takes his diary saying "Someone should read this", in a blatant reversal of his earlier statements. At the beginning of the level Downfall, Reznov (in a voice-over) reads a portion of Chernov's diary, discussing Dimitri. Depending on the player's actions through the game, Chernov either disdains Dimitri, views him in a more conflicted light, or acknowledges him as a true hero. It is unknown if Chernov survives but his squad did leave him when they entered the Reichstag. But when he is burned by a flamethrower his name is still displayed, and he also moves, twitches, and groans, possibly indicating that he might have survived.

Personality and Traits
Although Chernov is loyal to his country and a good soldier, he is a pacifist by nature and is dismayed by his comrades and their cruel and unmerciful methods of waging war against Wehrmacht soldiers (particularly Reznov and Dimitri), whose cold-blooded attitude towards the Germans he does not understand. He appears to be nearly an opposite to Sergeant Reznov, shown by how he is against the unjust slaughter of the Germans (exemplified when he shouts in protest to the cruel execution of a German soldier, which in contrast, Reznov seems to relish in). This manifests itself in the fact that Dimitri continuously receives compliments from Reznov, while Chernov is always being degraded and told to be more like Dimitri ("Dimitri, you have earned the rest. CHERNOV! You have not.") Reznov thinks that men like Chernov needs to be toughened up and brought to the Red Army's poster-boy as more of a barbarian than what he is now. When Chernov is wounded by a flamethrower, Reznov actually shows concern, and comes running to Chernov's aid. Reznov shows further sympathy towards him by taking his diary when he had possibly died, saying that someone should read it.

His clothing consists of a standard Red Army uniform, with the addition of a cloth tied over his head like a bonnet. He uses a Mosin-Nagant exclusively, even on levels in which the weapon is not readily available or not even available at all, which is the same for Pvt. Polonsky, of the American campaign, with his M1 Garand.

Quotes
"There is no point, Sergeant. They are already bleeding to death."

- Chernov's first words

"This is madness, our rockets are tearing the city apart!"

- Chernov in Eviction

"April 30th, 1945: When he first spoke of Dimitri, Reznov told tales of a hero. Someone we should all aspire to be like. At times, I have seen him show mercy, and at others, complete brutality. I do not understand him. Perhaps heroes need not question their actions."

- Chernov if Dimitri doesn't follow all of Reznov's merciless orders.

"April 30th, 1945. When he first spoke of Dimitri, Reznov told tales of a hero. Someone we should all aspire to be like. His merciless brutality defines in more ways a savage, just like the rest of the Red Army. He is no hero."

- Chernov if Dimitri follows all Reznov's merciless orders.

"April 30th, 1945: When he first spoke of Dimitri, Reznov told tales of a hero. Someone we should all aspire to be like. His bravery on the battlefield is beyond question, but he has also shown mercy amidst the brutality of The Red Army. He is indeed a hero."

- Chernov if Dimitri doesn't follow Reznov's merciless orders.

"Sergeant Reznov, you seem to relish in the slaughter."

- Chernov

Trivia

 * In the starting cut scene in "Their Land, Their Blood" the player can see Chernov picking up a diary which he found on the floor. This diary is seen several times later in the campaign.
 * As mentioned above, Chernov acquires the diary at the beginning of that level but in the opening cutscene of "Downfall", it says that the diary began in 1942.
 * Chernov uses a similar character model to Nikolai Belinski.
 * At the end of "Their Land, Their Blood," Reznov will stand on a tank and give a little speech about their victory over the Germans, and if the player looks at Chernov during this, the player can see his eyes popping out. This also happens with the remaining Russian soldiers.
 * If the player looks at his face, it looks like he had been burned before or something else had damaged his face/head, which is probably why he wears the blanket around his head to protect his previous injuries.
 * Despite Reznov seeming to hate him, Reznov seems to at least care about him a little, as he is seen showing concern for him when he is burned by a flamethrower.
 * In the level Blood and Iron when the Red Army are entering the train if the player can look to the left and they can see another soldier who looks like Chernov. It has been hinted to be Nikolai Belinski, however, may not because many skins are reused for AIs.
 * Sometimes his Mosin-Nagant can be seen firing semi-automatically, with no pause in between shots.
 * At the end of "Heart of the Reich" if the player point their gun at Chernov the cross-hair color indicates that he is still alive.
 * Chernov uses the Mosin Nagant throughout the Red Army campaign.
 * On the Wii version of the game, when the supporter falls and opens the way to the Reich stair, Chernov would already look like he is burned but was actually covered in ashes and it is the same look as he is burned.
 * In "Heart of the Reich", Chernov appears to react to grenades even after he is burned by the flamethrower, as he will shout "Grenade!" and "Look out!".