Imran Zakhaev

For the Reboot character, see Imran Zakhaev (Reboot).

For the achievement also called "The Fourth Horseman", see Achievements/Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Achievements/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.

For other uses, see Zakhaev.

Imran Zakhaev
Alias(es)	Fourth Horseman Hero of the New Russia
Appears in	Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare & Remaster Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Nintendo DS) (mentioned only) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 & Remaster (cutscene only) Soap's Journal Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Call of Duty: Ghosts (customization)
Nationality	Soviet (Until 1991) Russian (1991-2011)
Affiliations	Ultranationalists The Four Horsemen (leader)
Rank	Chairman of the Ultranationalist Party
Gender	Male
Status	K.I.A.
Killed By	John "Soap" MacTavish with a M1911
Death	Day 6, 2011 Altay Mountains, Russia
Height	5' 11" (1.80 m)
Marks	Missing left arm (shot off by John Price)
Hair	Black (greying and bald)
Eyes	Brown
Relatives	Victor Zakhaev (son)
Weapons	AK-47, Desert Eagle, M9
Timeline	Modern Warfare Timeline
Voice Actor	Yevgeni Lazarev
Actor	Mic Boogie (Find Makarov)

"Our so-called leaders prostituted us to the West... destroyed our culture... our economies... our honor. Our blood has been spilled on our soil. My blood... on their hands. They are the invaders. All U.S. and British forces will leave Russia immediately... or suffer the consequences."

— Zakhaev's speech during the cutscene before Ultimatum.

Imran Zakhaev (Russian: Имран Захаев) is a character featured in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and its remastered version serving as the main antagonist, and also makes a brief appearance in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Zakhaev is a Russian arms dealer, chairman of the Ultranationalists terrorist organization and leader of The Four Horsemen cabal, who orchestrated a civil war in Russia to gain power, and restore the country's status he believed was lost after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Zakhaev is briefly mentioned in the Nintendo DS version of Call of Duty 4 as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and its remastered version.

Zakhaev was also released as a customization skin for Call of Duty: Ghosts Multiplayer and Extinction mode in 2014 as part of the Zakhaev Special Character Pack.

Biography

Earlier Life

Zakhaev was born to an unknown father and mother during the reign of the Soviet Union. He believed in the Soviet Union's ideals and goals. This belief is what would drive him in his goals in his later years.

Sometime either in 1971 or 1972, he had a son whom he named Victor Zakhaev. Zakhaev loved his son, even going so far to make him a field commander in his paramilitary faction later on in life. He made his living by being a black-market arms dealer, a position wherein he made a lot of money.

In 1996, fifteen years before the Second Russian Civil War, Zakhaev witnessed the collapse of the Communist regime in the Soviet Union as an opportunity to salvage the radioactive fuel rods from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine and sell the precious uranium as nuclear material on the black market. Through the profits that he gained from these dealings, Zakhaev planned to fund his own extremist military faction that would regain control of Russia and restore its Soviet-era regime.

Failed Assassination Attempt

"Ok... I think I see him. Wait for my mark. Target acquired. I have a positive I.D. on Imran Zakhaev."

— Captain MacMillan while giving the order to kill.

His criminal activities are noted by the British intelligence and the Special Air Service received its first assassination order since the ending of World War II. The SAS dispatched two operatives, Captain MacMillan and Lieutenant John Price to Pripyat as snipers to eliminate Zakhaev. Pripyat which was an abandoned ghost town since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the peaceful countryside that was surrounding the town are swarming with Russian mercenaries that are employed by Zakhaev. However, MacMillan and Price who are wearing ghillie suits are able to sneak into the city unnoticed. Three days later, shooting from 896.7 meters away with his Barrett M82 sniper rifle, Price shot Zakhaev in the left shoulder when his target was meeting business partners near the Chernobyl power plant. The Russian mercenaries attempted to eliminate the intruders, but MacMillan and Price are able to escape from Pripyat successfully. MacMillan believed that Zakhaev would die from "shock and blood loss," but this was not the case. Zakhaev survived after being driven away to safety by Vladimir Makarov and Yuri, but the failed assassination attempt cost Zakhaev his left arm.

Zakhaev's Plan

Fifteen years later, in 2011, Zakhaev became the chairman of the Russian Ultranationalist Party. In his opinion, the current Russian government "prostituted" his beloved homeland to the West, ruining their economy, their culture and their honor of the country in the process. Harboring a strong and keen hatred of the Western countries, Zakhaev sought to return Russia to its "prime", possibly seeking to return it to its condition before the Soviet Union collapsed with himself in power. To topple the current Russian government, Zakhaev took the next step in his plan and the Ultranationalist Party waged a political crisis that escalated into a civil war in Russia. The Ultranationalist troops are supported by the old Soviet-era vehicles including the BM-21 rocket artillery, BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles and Mi-24 helicopter gunships and the field commander of the Ultranationalist forces was Zakhaev's son, Victor. The Second Russian Civil War became critical to world peace as it became clear that if the Ultranationalists would win, Zakhaev would have unlimited access to the entire Russian nuclear weapons arsenal including over 15,000 active nuclear warheads. However, his plan to overthrow the government met heavy resistance from the Russian military units that are loyal to the current Russian government.

The Coup

Imran Zakhaev understood that his plan would never work because the civil war would draw the attention of the United States and United Kingdom who supported the current Russian government. However, Zakhaev had an influential and political ally in the Middle East which was military commander Khaled Al-Asad. Zakhaev contacted Al-Asad and funded and masterminded a military coup which President Yasir Al-Fulani was overthrown by the soldiers that are loyal to Al-Asad. Zakhaev and his son took part in the coup in the Arabian Peninsula. Viktor Zakhaev was in the car that transported President Al-Fulani to the arena where he was executed and Zakhaev himself witnessed Al-Fulani's execution. In fact, it was Zakhaev who gave Al-Asad the Desert Eagle that was used to execute Al-Fulani on national television. Al-Asad assumed control of his homeland, causing political instability in the Middle East and leading the United States Marine Corps to invade the country and the capital city of Al-Asad's homeland was under attack by the U.S. forces. However, Al-Asad detonated a Russian-made nuclear bomb on Vladimir Makarov's orders (as it was revealed in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3), leveling the city and destroying the invading enemy force. Before the American invasion, Al-Asad already took refuge in Azerbaijan where he was protected by Zakhaev's Ultranationalist forces. However, the SAS operatives led by John Price, now a captain, captured and interrogated Al-Asad, executing him shortly afterward. The evidence that was gathered by the SAS revealed that Zakhaev provided Al-Asad with the nuclear weapon that was detonated in the Arabian Peninsula. It also revealed that he was the mastermind responsible for everything in the Middle East.

Victor Zakhaev's Suicide

"Our so-called leaders prostituted us to the West... destroyed our culture... our economies... our honor. Our blood has been spilled on our soil. My blood... on their hands. They are the invaders. All U.S. and British forces will leave Russia immediately... or suffer the consequences."

— Imran Zakhaev's speech.

When the United Kingdom and United States understood that Zakhaev planned to divert the attention of both countries from the Second Russian Civil War, the Special Air Service and United States Marine Corps were ordered to locate and capture Victor Zakhaev in order to persuade him to reveal the location of his father. However, the operation failed when Viktor committed suicide unable to face capture. Deeply affected by the death of his son, Imran demanded "All US and British forces would leave Russia immediately or suffer from the consequences" by launching the ICBMs from a missile silo that was captured by Ultranationalist forces from the Loyalists. But, the SAS and Marine Force Reconnaissance operatives were dispatched to Central Russia to deactivate the nuclear warheads in the silo. Zakhaev launched two RT-2UTTH Topol-M ballistic missiles to the eight largest cities on the East Coast of the United States: Boston, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Richmond and Norfolk. Since the missiles carried multiple independent nuclear warheads, it was estimated that the nuclear holocaust on US soil would kill over 41 million US citizens. However, the SAS and Force Reconnaissance operatives were able to secure the silo and deactivate all nuclear warheads before they got to the US. After the warheads were deactivated, Zakhaev and a few of his bodyguards escaped from the launch facility in a helicopter.

Death

The SAS and Force Reconnaissance operatives attempted to flee from the silo, but the bridge that was crucial to their escape was destroyed by an Ultranationalist Mi-24 helicopter. During the firefight on the bridge, Staff Sergeant Griggs of the Force Reconnaissance was killed by the Ultranationalists while attempting to save Soap. Zakhaev and his bodyguards arrived at the scene. Zakhaev personally executed an SAS operative named Gaz and his bodyguards shot the other two SAS commandos and he moved to kill John Price and John "Soap" MacTavish.

Suddenly, Zakhaev and his bodyguards were distracted by the explosion of their Mi-24 helicopter, caused by a Loyalist Mi-28 attack helicopter and the arrival of Sergeant Kamarov's troops. Price used this opportunity to slide his M1911 to Soap and while Zakhaev had his back turned, he and his bodyguards were shot dead by MacTavish.

Legacy

Imran Zakhaev's memorial statue in Moscow, Russia.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same. Boundaries shift, new players step in; but power always finds a place to rest its head. We fought and bled alongside the Russians; we should've known they’d hate us for it. History is written by the victor, and here I am, thinking we'd won. But you bring down one enemy and they find someone even worse to replace him."

— General Shepherd discussing Zakhaev's successor, Vladimir Makarov.

Following Zakhaev's death, it was announced that the Ultranationalist Party began developing leadership struggles. It was revealed that a schism split the group in two with Vladimir Makarov, a 'wild dog', forming a violent terrorist group and Boris Vorshevsky becoming the legitimate President of Russia at the head of a politically stable Ultranationalist Party.

Five years following his death in 2016, Imran Zakhaev was revealed to have a statue of himself erected in Moscow, Russia with a plaque entitled "Imran Zakhaev, Hero of the New Russia" by Vladimir Makarov. He also had an airport named after him in his honor, later to be the target of a terrorist attack. By this point, it appeared that the Ultranationalists were successful in gaining strong support from the Russian populace in the five years after his death, gaining a political stronghold in Russia rather than a military one. Imran's death deeply affected Makarov who vowed to kill Soap and Price for the death of his friend and mentor. He also had photographs of Gaz, Griggs, Soap, and Price in his hideout blaming them for Zakhaev's death.

Appearances

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (mentioned and cutscene)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (mentioned and flashback)
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Nintendo DS) (mentioned only)
• Call of Duty: Ghosts (DLC Only)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
• Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (pictured only)

Gallery

Zakhaev getting shot by Lieutenant Price, seen in Modern Warfare 3 flashback.

Zakhaev's mutilated arm.

Zakhaev's dead body.

Zakhaev conversing with the Four Horsemen.

Zakhaev gives his Desert Eagle to Al-Asad during "The Coup".

Zakhaev in 1996.

Zakhaev in "One Shot, One Kill".

The original version of "The Fourth Horseman" achievement, depicting Zakhaev's face.

The Remastered version of "The Fourth Horseman" achievement, depicting Zakhaev's jacket.

Modern Warfare Remastered Zakhaev concept art

Trivia

• Zakhaev only speaks once in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, during the opening cutscene of "Ultimatum". Interestingly, his name is highlighted in green, as if he were a friendly. This was changed to red in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.
• Zakhaev wears a coat with two golden stars on its lapels, implying he was a Lieutenant General.
• In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a portrait of Zakhaev can be found in one of the buildings in the map Salvage and his namecan be seen written across one of the walls in the map Quarry.
• If the player shoots Zakhaev in the head in "Game Over", no blood will be seen.
• If the player noclips out of the map in One Shot, One Kill, one can go to the spot where Zakhaev was shot and see his arm on the floor, albeit with no blood or any other graphic content.
• In the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Intro Cinematic, it shows that Soap shot Zakhaev in his torso, but in Soap's flashback during the prologue of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it is seen that Soap shoots Zakhaev in the head.
• In early versions of the game, Zakhaev's first name was Drago.
• In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, an image of Imran Zakhaev from Modern Warfare Remastered is used to depict Victor Zakhaev.