Chernov

"Are we to shoot them in the back?"

- Chernov to Reznov in Their Land, Their Blood

"The back, the front, the head, wherever you wish! As long as they are all DEAD!"

- Sgt. Reznov, answering Chernov's question

"This is not war, this is MURDER!"

- Chernov in Eviction

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

Biography
First appearing in Their Land, Their Blood as one of the soldiers under Sergeant Reznov's command and with the latter rescues Dimitri Petrenko from 3 Germans. When ordered 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 the latter will help 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. After ferocious close quarters fighting in a building, and after battling the disparate 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 you a choice, kill them fast or slow. You can shoot or knife them, which will lead to Reznov giving you a compliment; or you can wait for your comrades to burn them. Then you will enter the metro, and fight your 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 writing in 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, and a tip of the hat to the fact that "nobody cares about you, until you're dead." At the beginning of the level Downfall, Chernov (in a voice-over) reads a portion of his diary, discussing Dimitri. Depending on the player's actions through the game, Chernov either disdains Dimitri or views him in a more conflicted light. It is unknown if Chernov survives but it is most likely he was dead after a few minutes of his squad entering 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. Chernov has a twin who might have died. He is promoted to Corporal in Heart of the Reich.

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). Due to his pacifist nature, he is somewhat disliked by Sergeant Reznov, whereas the latter favors Dimitri Petrenko for being unmerciful towards the Germans whom he loathes. 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 also might believe Chernov to be a coward due to his refusal to commit the violent acts of the Red Army, but as mentioned above he is still loyal to his country. When Chernov gets burned by the flamethrower, Reznov actually showed concern by running to Chernov's aid and possibly the soldier that had done this. Reznov shows furter 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 used a Mosin-Nagant exclusively, even on levels in which the weapon is not readily available or not even available at all (this is also true for Pvt. Polonsky as he uses an M1 Garand rifle on certain levels where it is not available).

Trivia

 * He is said to be the Polonsky of the Russian Campaign., except Polonsky shows no mercy.


 * In the starting cut scene in Their Land, Their Blood you can see Chernov picking up a diary which he found on the floor.


 * It is possible to have Chernov see Dimitri as a true hero, simply get to Their Land, Their Blood and DO NOT kill the nazis at the beginning (the ones who are bleeding to death) then play the mission Downfall.


 * 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 you look at Chernov during this, you can see his eyes popping out.


 * If you look at his face, it looks like 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 as he is blasted with a flamethrower.


 * Chernov may die, as Reznov is seen leaving him behind meaning that there is nothing that can be done for him.


 * Reznov's angry attitude for Chernov may be Reznov's way of making him a better soldier, as Reznov is seen constantly telling Chernov about war.


 * Chernov is also seen throwing a molotov into a group of German soldiers in a trench in Their Land, Their Blood.


 * As Chernov a "mercy killing" soldier, it's funny when Chernov shot a dying crawling German soldier in game (rarely).


 * What is odd is that Chernov acts as a pacifist but normally shoots Wehrmacht soldiers in fatal areas such as the head and heart where as he should shoot them in a non-fatal area like in the arm so the German can at least live.


 * Chernov is slightly strange since he finds mercy in leaving wounded soldiers to bleed to death then to give them a quick near painless death.


 * It is highly probable that Chernov survived being burnt by the Flamethrower


 * There is a chance that Chernov is Nikolai Belinski because one of his quotes in Der Riese is "I was on fire once". He might have changed his name when he went to the field hospital, but this is unlikely because he probably would not be a Sergeant that quick.
 * Chernov is quite similar to Leslie Baron from COD3. Both are cowards when fighting in battle, when they find their courage they are both killed. Baron refuses to retreat when he is under heavy fire when he is shot in the head, while Chernov rushes up the stairs of the parliment building and is killed by a flamethrower.

Quotes

 * "MY GOD!"
 * "RATS!"
 * "This is not war, this is murder."
 * "THIS IS MADNESS! Our rockets are tearing the city apart!"
 * "There is no point Sergeant, they are already bleeding to death."
 * "Sergeant, these men are trying to surrender."
 * From Chernov's diary. Alternate 1. "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."
 * From Chernov's diary. Alternate 2. "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 others complete brutality, I do not understand him. Perhaps, heroes need not question their actions."
 * From Chernov's diary. Alternate 3. "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."
 * "Dimitri, look out!!"
 * "Ahhh!!"