Viktor Reznov

"You did it, Mason! You did what I could not!"

- Reznov to Alex Mason at the end of "Redemption"

"Dragovich... Kravchenko... Steiner... All must die!"

- Reznov's single mission after Dimitri's death.

Captain Viktor Reznov (Russian: Виктор Резнов) was a Russian squad leader of the Red Army in Call of Duty: World at War during World War II. His influence on Alex Mason plays a major part in Call of Duty: Black Ops. He is a playable character in the flashback level "Project Nova" in Call of Duty: Black Ops. He makes a brief cameo appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Early History
"My father was a musician in Stalingrad. During the German occupation, the sound of his violin filled the air with magnificent music - Korsakov, Stasov - many of the great nationalist composers. To my countrymen, it was a symbol of hope. To the Germans, it was a symbol of defiance. Even now, his music still haunts me. The Nazis slit his throat while he slept. Collaborating with any Nazi is a betrayal, a betrayal against all of Mother Russia. Dragovich and Kravchenko were not troubled by such matters. They looked only to advance towards their own interests and agendas..."

- Reznov explaining his father's death and Dragovich.

Reznov was born on April 20, 1913 in Saint Petersburg, Russia (renamed Petrograd in 1914 and Leningrad ten years later), and joined the Red Army sometime before the start of World War II. According to Reznov, his father was a musician, who, during the Siege of Stalingrad, played music by patriotic composers with his violin. His music was a symbol of hope for his fellow countrymen, but a symbol of defiance to the Germans. His father had his throat slit by a German while he slept, one of the many reasons Reznov hated the German soldiers.

Battle of Stalingrad
"The rotten cancer of the Fascist Reich ravages Europe like a plague. Their relentless drive into our motherland steals the lives of men, women, and children alike. The arrogance of their leaders is matched only by the brutality of their soldiers. These are the darkest days of the Nazi occupation of Stalingrad."

- Reznov explaining the Nazis' push into Stalingrad.

He is first seen in the mission "Vendetta", as a sniper trying to assassinate the German general Heinrich Amsel, the "Architect of Stalingrad's misery". As one of the only two survivors of a brutal German massacre near a fountain, he is saved from being executed by feigning death. It is here that he and Dimitri Petrenko first meet each other, with Reznov explaining his situation to Dimitri. Reznov, who can no longer snipe precisely as a marksman due to his injured hand and blown off trigger finger, gives Petrenko his scoped Mosin-Nagant rifle, and asks him to eliminate the general. Reznov guides Dimitri on killing a few German soldiers as German bombers fly overhead, to shroud out the noise of the gunshots. He leads him through Stalingrad, dueling against a German sniper, and a whole German platoon with multiple soldiers equipped with Flammenwerfer 35s.

Then, they are saved by Petrenko's squad led by Daletski, and continue with them on an assault against a German communication post. After fierce fighting, Petrenko kills Amsel, which gives Reznov a hearty chuckle. They are soon attacked by German Panzers and soldiers. Reznov holds off numerous German soldiers before he jumps in a canal, with Dimitri soon following him. It is important to note that due to Reznov's injured finger he could not fire his rifle with perfect aim, and thus, his "character class" was changed to Submachine Gunner as he wields a PPSh-41 from then on. He is seen without his finger three years later.

Battle of Berlin
"Our grip tightens around the black heart of Berlin. The Führer demands all to shed their last drop of blood in it's defense. The old, the young, the weak. If they stand for Germany, they die for Germany. Building by building. Room by room. One rat at a time."

- Reznov to his troops, as they move farther into Berlin

Three years later, on April 18, 1945 in Seelow Heights, Germany, Soviet troops are pushing towards Berlin. Sergeant Reznov along with a new recruit Chernov comes to rescue the captured Dimitri Petrenko from three German soldiers. Reznov often tells the other soldiers to follow Dimitri as an example, especially to Chernov, who seems to be shocked by the vengeful violence of his comrades against Wehrmacht soldiers. For example, in the level "Their Land, Their Blood", when a T-34 blows a hole in the house where Petrenko was, Reznov and his men kill a few German soldiers. the remaining German soldiers were extremely wounded and bleeding to death. Reznov hands Petrenko a Mosin-Nagant, and tells Petrenko to kill the dying German soldiers even though they are bleeding to death already. Then the player has the option to kill the wounded, or to leave. Two scenarios like this occur during the Soviet campaign. In the opening cutscene of the mission "Downfall," Reznov will read a passage from Chernov's diary. If the player kills the Germans at both sites, the passage will describe Dimitri as a monster; If the enemies are killed in one of the two sites, Chernov will be conflicted as to Petrenko's morality; and sparing them all will earn his admiration.

In the mission "Heart of the Reich", near the Reichstag, Reznov orders Chernov to at least prove he can die for his country, if he cannot kill for it, giving him the Russian flag that must be planted on the top of the Reichstag, because Chernov was writing in his diary. Reznov also states that "no one will ever read this." After Chernov had been wounded by a flamethrower, he takes Chernov's diary and states that "someone should read this," contrary to what he had said earlier. Another soldier carries the flag to the top of the roof but is killed before being able to plant it. Reznov then asks Petrenko to take the flag and plant it. When Petrenko gets shot almost fatally with a P-38 by a surviving SS trooper, Reznov jumps in and slices the unfortunate German twice in the torso and impales him in the back. After that, he helps Petrenko up, and tells Petrenko that he can make it, and that he always survives. He then cuts the rope holding the Nazi flag and tells Petrenko to plant the Soviet flag. He expects the two of them to return to their home as "heroes". Reznov mentions many times that the heart of the army cannot be broken as long as Dimitri lives.

Operation Olympus
"The men and I had fought through the most bitter of winters on the Eastern Front, but we were no strangers to the cold. Even now, the blood in my veins chills when I think back to the events of that day... Far, far from home..."

- Reznov telling Mason the story of Project Nova

Six months after the Battle of Berlin, Reznov was promoted to the rank of Captain. Reznov continued to serve in the 3rd Shock Army alongside Dimitri Petrenko under the orders of Kravchenko and Dragovich, despite maintaining animosity with Dragovich for his failure to assist during Stalingrad. Reznov was incorporated with Petrenko in the Unit 45 and they deployed to Arctic Circle to capture the Nazi scientist Steiner, the mastermind behind Nova-6, a nerve toxin ordered in secret by Hitler to combat the imminent Allied victory. The Russians swept through the remaining SS troops and made contact with Steiner, who was expecting Dragovich. Reznov and Petrenko lead the way into the hold of the frozen vessel, discovering that the Germans were planning on using long-range V2 rockets to send Nova-6 to Allied cities. The group finds and secures Nova-6, but Dragovich orders his troops to restrain Reznov and his soldiers to see the effects of Nova-6 himself. Reznov witnesses Petrenko's horrific death when he and his comrades are gassed. Reznov escapes the same fate by the timely arrival of British commandos also seeking to capture or destroy the secret Nazi nerve toxin. He then decides that the weapon is too powerful for either side to wield. Reznov leads his small group of soldiers out of the vessel, killing both British and Russian soldiers in their escape. He manages to arm explosives to sink the ship under the ice, hoping to prevent anyone from using the toxin ever again.

Imprisonment in Vorkuta, uprising and death
"Today, my comrades... Vorkuta... BURNS!!!"

- Reznov during the uprising

Reznov was presumably captured and sent to a prison camp in Vorkuta, and had been there for the past 18 years. There, he became a companion to an American prisoner, Alex Mason, gaining his trust and protecting him during their time in the gulag. Because of this bond, Reznov was able to exploit Mason's resistance to Steiner and Dragovich's attempt to brainwash him by overriding their original mission with his own personal agenda: killing Dragovich, Kravchenko and Steiner.

Reznov masterminds a massive uprising in Vorkuta's prison camp. He and Mason engaged in a mock fist fight to draw the guards' attention. Once Mason eliminated the guard and seized the keys, Reznov led the prisoners to the surface. The Russian prisoners expressed doubt over Mason's trustworthiness, but Reznov convinced them by explaining how they were both "soldiers without an army" and betrayed by their leaders. Reznov continued to lead the insurrection, securing a secret weapon for Mason to blow their way out. He pulled Mason out of a tear gas barrage and the two escaped on motorcycles. Mason managed to escape by leaping onto a train, but Reznov is surrounded by the pursuing soldiers, and is presumably killed.



Mind Game and Legacy
"Mason! You did it Mason! You did, what I could not!"

- Reznov speaking for the last time to Mason

Years later during the Vietnam War, the SOG was dispatched to Hue City to meet up with a Russian defector carrying an important dossier on Nova-6. To Mason's surprise, the defector turned out to be Reznov. Reznov gave Mason the dossier and revealed that Dragovich and Kravchenko are nearby. Reznov fought alongside Mason, but went missing during the American incursion into Laos. He reappeared after Mason's helicopter crashes, stating that Woods was a good man and that Mason had chosen his friends well. He met up with Mason again inside the Viet Cong tunnels. At this point, Swift turned around and asked what was wrong with Mason, seemingly oblivious to his contact with Reznov. When playing these missions, it is clear that Reznov is part of Mason's imagination since his right index finger, which he lost in Call of Duty: World at War, is intact.

After Kravchenko's presumed death, Reznov accompanied Mason in his unauthorized assault on Rebirth Island. The two of them fought their way to Steiner, and Reznov proceeded to execute him with a pistol. Mason insisted that it was Reznov who killed Steiner. However, the real events were witnessed by Hudson and Weaver, who saw Mason executing Steiner with a pistol while proclaiming himself to be Viktor Reznov.

During Mason's interrogation, Hudson and Weaver revealed that the real Viktor Reznov had been dead for five years, having been killed in the escape from Vorkuta. Having brainwashed Mason, Reznov was able to complete his personal objective of killing Dragovich, Kravchenko and Steiner; leading Mason to become obsessed with pursuing them in spite his other objectives, inadvertently continuing Reznov's posthumous legacy. The Reznov witnessed by Mason was a guardian angel-like hallucination, possibly developed by multiple personality disorder.

After Mason finally killed Nikita Dragovich, he heard the voice of Reznov congratulating him for doing what he could not accomplish.

"Next thing you know, he starts talkin' to the Russian. Fuckin' Reznov. Good ol' Tricky Vik."

- Woods reminisces with David Mason about Alex Mason's interactions with the hallucinary Viktor Reznov.

In 1986, Alex Mason was sent to Afghanistan along with Frank Woods to obtain intel on Raul Menendez from the Mujahadeen. In exchange for the intel, the Mujahadeen leader demanded that Mason help them fight off an invasion by the Soviet military. In the climax of the battle, Mason discovered Kravchenko was still alive and leading the Soviet attack from within a massive Soviet tank. As Mason fought Kravchenko on top of the tank, the numbers were retriggered inside his head, and he heard the voice of Reznov telling him that "Kravchenko must die."

After being captured by Mason and Woods, Kravchenko was interrogated for information regarding his connection to Raul Menendez. During the interrogation, Mason was compelled by his numbers brainwashing and the voice of Reznov to kill Kravchenko. The player is given the option of either resisting the brainwashing to hear what Kravchenko knows, or giving in and killing him (immediately). Regardless of their decision, Mason and Woods are betrayed by the Mujahadeen, beaten and abandoned in the desert to die. After some period of time passes, Mason saw Reznov, dressed in desert garb, riding up on a horse. Reznov dismounted and offered Mason a drink of water.

In 2025, David Mason and Frank Woods discuss how Alex Mason credited Reznov with saving their lives in the desert that day. However, Woods dismisses the idea that it was really Reznov, stating that if he had really been there, he would have "stuck around" for them to regain conciousness in order to "explain a few things."

Trivia

 * His face strikes a close resemblance to his voice actor, Gary Oldman, and in Call of Duty: World at War, his face strikes a close resemblance to the first Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union,.
 * According to the intel in Call of Duty: Black Ops and his certificate of death, Reznov's birthplace is St. Petersburg, Russia. But in the CIA report, Reznov's birthplace was Moscow, Russia.
 * According to his certificate of death, Reznov is buried in Moscow.
 * According to the intel from Call of Duty: Black Ops, Reznov is 5'11, and 200 pounds, with a "heavy-set" build.
 * His height is exactly the same as Alex Mason's.
 * Reznov's birthday is April 20, the same date as Adolf Hitler's.
 * If the player decodes the phonetic alphabet code names (X-ray, Sierra etc.) in the beginning of each level of Call of Duty: Black Ops into their first letters, changes the serial numbers into letters (A-1, B-2), and removes all the Xs, the player will get this message: "Reznov is dead, or is he dead, there was no body, is he who he says he is".
 * Reznov is the seventh playable character to die, though he dies as a non-playable character.
 * He is the only playable character that has a missing finger in all of the Call of Duty series.
 * He is the Red Army announcer for Call of Duty: World at War's multiplayer.
 * Reznov and Volk from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 both share the same nickname, as "The Wolf".
 * If the player shoots Reznov in any level other than "Vorkuta" in Call of Duty: Black Ops, it will not cause a penalty, only his blood comes out if the player keeps shooting him.
 * Reznov is Russian for butchery.
 * Reznov also appears in the non-canonical after-credits dance party in Call of Duty: Black Ops II once the game is finished. He can be seen dancing next to old Alex Mason; when the camera cuts away from them and returns, Reznov has disappeared, causing Mason to appear confused. At the dance party, Reznov is dressed as he was on Rebirth Island.
 * Often in missions where Reznov is a hallucination, he will have his right index finger. Some missions, such as "Rebirth", show his hand missing a finger just as the real Reznov.
 * He is the only character from the Black Ops timeline to make it from the World War II-era (1942) all the way to 2025 (although via the non-canonical ending, and as a hallucination). He is also the only character in the Black Ops series to appear in every one (if counting World at War).
 * Reznov's name and birthdate are on the Dog Tags in Kill Confirmed in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
 * Despite his finger still being missing at the end of Call of Duty: World at War, in "Project Nova" he is able to use any sniper rifle he finds as if he were uninjured.
 * On the Wii version of World at War, Reznov's hand will still be injured and will still be wrapped in a bloody bandage. Even in the later levels which take place three years after "Vendetta".
 * Nikolai Belinski's model in Origins strongly resembles to Reznov's. Most notable is the beard and the eyes.
 * The "Reznov's Revenge " is a usable weapon found in Mob of the Dead, a zombies map in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Виктор Резнов Viktor Reznov Viktor Reznov