Chernov

"Are we to shoot them in the back?" "The back, the front, the head, whatever you wish, just so long as they are DEAD!"

- Sgt. Reznov, answering Chernov's question

Private Chernov 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 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 desparate 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, 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 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.

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 thinks that men like Chernov needs to be toughened up and brought to the red army's posterboy as more of a barbarian than what he is now. 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. 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 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

 * 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.


 * It is possible to have Chernov see Dimitri as a true hero, simply get to Their Land, Their Blood and DO NOT kill the Germans at the beginning (the ones who are bleeding to death) then play the mission Downfall. This is strange, as their death was inevitable but shooting them would just make it quicker and thus be the merciful option. However, Chernov's statement of the Germans already bleeding to death may be false, so that if the Germans are not fatally injured, they may have a chance of survival.


 * 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, you can see his eyes popping out.


 * If the player looks 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 when he is burned by a flamethrower.


 * 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.


 * Chernov is quite similar to Leslie Baron from Call of Duty 3. Both can be seen as cowards (though this isn't necessarily true) when fighting in battle, and when they find their courage, they're both killed or seriously injured (Chernov's death is debatable, with evidence going either way). 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 Reichstag and is seriously burnt (possibly even killed) by a flamethrower.


 * Nikolai Belinski from the downloadable Shi No Numa and Der Riese maps has the same character model as Chernov. Also, Nikolai - when he gets a flamethrower - may say, "I was on fire once. It was no fun."


 * In the level Blood and Iron when the Red Army are entering the train if you look to the left you can see another soldier who looks like Chernov.


 * Despite the fact that he wishes to show mercy to the Germans, in the level Their Land, Their Blood, he seems to throw Molotovs a lot, which would be an incredibly painful and rather slow way to die, it is possible that he only cares to show mercy to Germans who surrender, but does not care whether the ones who are fighting suffer or not. A classic example of 'hot or cold blood' mentality of killing.


 * He is an expert with the Mosin-Nagant as he can get a lot of head shots while firing from the hip at long range. He even uses this in times where an automatic weapon would be better, such as the asylum.


 * Sometimes his Mosin-Nagant can be seen firing semi-automatically, with no pause in between shots.
 * If the player throws Molotov Cocktails at the Nazis trying to surrender, Reznov will tell Chernov he should have shot them, because he is not honorable enough to do what Dimitri does.
 * If the player shoots them, Reznov will say the same thing, except in reverse.
 * At the end of Heart of the Reich if you point your gun at Chernov the crosshair color indicates that he is still alive.
 * Chernov shares the same war characteristics as Upham in Saving Private Ryan.
 * Even though Chernov is killed (or at least severely wounded) by a German Flamethrower, his diary (which was kept just inside his jacket) is completely legible.

Quotes
"This is not war, this is MURDER!"

"When we first spoke of Dimitri, Reznov told me he was a hero. Someone we should all aspire to be. At times, I have seen him show mercy and another side of complete brutality. I do not understand him. Perhaps heroes need not question their actions."

- Chernov if Dimitri doesn't get involved in the unnecessary/merciless actions that Reznov orders.