Viktor Reznov

Sergeant Reznov is a Russian squad leader of the Red Army in Call of Duty: World at War during World War II. He is voiced by Gary Oldman.

Biography
Sergeant Reznov was born in Russia and joined the Red Army sometime before World War 2. He is first seen in the level Vendetta as a sniper trying to assassinate the German general: Heinrich Amsel, "architect of Stalingrad's misery," which seems to be the sergeant's hometown. As the only two survivors of the massacre in the fountain, he and Dimitri Petrenko meet each other, with Reznov explaining his situation to Dimitri. Reznov, who can no longer shoot precisely as a marksman due to his injured hand, gives Petrenko his Mosin-Nagant rifle, and asks him to eliminate the general. Reznov guides Dimitri into killing a few German soldiers as German Bombers fly overhead with shroud out the noise of the gunshots leaving the other German soldiers unknowingly of their allies befallen. He leads him through a Stalingrad in ruin, dueling against a German sniper, and a whole platoon equipped with flamethrowers. Then, they are saved by Petrenko's squad, and continue with them an assault against the Nazis troops. After deadly fighting, Petrenko kills Amsel, which gives Reznov a hearty chuckle. They are soon attacked by a Panzer tank and Nazi soldiers. Reznov holds off numerous German soldiers while Petrenko jumps in the water. It is assumed that Reznov too jumped after Dimitri. 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 since he wields a PPSh-41 from then on. Most likely Reznov was a superior sniper but due to the his finger he could not snipe any more.

Three years later, Soviet troops are on the German land pushing toward Berlin. Sergeant Reznov along with a new recruit Chernov comes to rescue captured Private Petrenko from 3 German soldiers. Now, they are fighting together in the 3rd Shock Army. Reznov is good friends with Petrenko, and often tells the other soldiers to follow him as an example, especially to Chernov, who seems to be shocked by the vengeful violence of his comrades against Wehrmacht soldiers, and Reznov disliked his merciful attitude towards the German soldiers, although he truly did like Chernov, as you will see near the end of the game. The atrocities Reznov and Petrenko saw at Stalingrad made them feel no pity for German troops. At the last mission, in Berlin near the Reichstag, he orders Chernov to atleast prove he can die for his country, if he can't kill for it, giving him a flag that must be planted on the top of the building. After Chernov had been wounded (He most likely died of his wounds after this, but as you can see he survived the initial attack by looking at him closely you can see him breathing and blinking in pain) by a flamethrower, he takes Chernov's diary and said "Someone.. someone should read this.". Another man carries the flag to the top of the roof but gets killed. Reznov then asks Petrenko to take up the flag and plant it. When Petrenko gets shot almost fatally with a pistol by a surviving SS trooper, Reznov runs in and slices the unfortunate german twice and impales him in the back. After that, he helps Petrenko up, 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.

Personality and Traits
Reznov is patriotic, strong and is best friends with Private Petrenko, often telling heroic stories of him and Dimitri during the Battle of Stalingrad. He also hates German soldiers with a passion and shows no mercy to any Wehrmacht soldier, as many of his comrades and friends were coldly executed, in front of him, by Wehrmacht soldiers during the Siege of Stalingrad. He is assumed to have lived in Stalingrad before World War II as he is has great knowledge of the city and tells Petrenko of his life in Stalingrad before the German Invasion. In combat, he uses a PPSh-41. Reznov is missing the upper tip of his right index finger, as can first be noticed during the Stalingrad mission (when it is wrapped up in a bloody bandage) which explains why he cannot use a sniper although it is presumed that he was a marksman before his injury.

Trivia
The developers of Call of Duty 5: World at War based Reznov off of the character model of Imran Zakhaev from Call of Duty 4, and if you compare the two of them they look similar to eachother, and they are both patriotic about Soviet Russia, so it is possible that Zakhaev is a descendant of a cousin of Reznov, although unlikely.