- For other characters, see Nikolai.
- "Stalin himself cannot stare Nikolai in the eye, no one can. There, in his eyes, you will see the soul of a man burning with the hatred of all things living. His closet is full of skeletons, many of them with the flesh still attached.
Early in his career, Nikolai had quickly made his way up through the party ranks by killing the next man in line, and by marrying politically. Ultimately, his aspirations all came crashing down after his fifth wife mysteriously died while cleaning his axe with her neck. Little did he know that she had been sleeping with a high ranking party official on the side. This made Nikolai infamous, and his reputation spread quickly through the party. It was not long before Stalin himself had heard about Nikolai. More importantly, he feared Nikolai. As soon as the war started, our hero was dropped on the front lines and forgotten about, where he wallowed in self pity and vodka for several years.
There are many weapons in his arsenal, not least of which is his breath." - — Nikolai's biography added with Map Pack 2 in Call of Duty: World at War.
Sergeant Nikolai Belinski (Russian: Николай Белинский), also referred to as Ultimis Nikolai, was a Russian soldier who fought in the Red Army, and is a playable main character in Zombies, serving as one of the major characters in the Aether Story. His player indicator color is blue in Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops (shared with Robert McNamara and Robert Englund) but is randomized in Moon and all subsequent maps.
First introduced in the World at War map Shi No Numa, Nikolai appears as a playable character in all subsequent Zombies maps, including Der Riese in World at War, and all Black Ops maps except "Five" and Call of the Dead (the latter of which features him as a non-playable character). Nikolai is absent in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, where a younger incarnation of him known as Primis Nikolai appears in Origins, and Call of Duty: Black Ops III, except for Gorod Krovi where a version of Ultimis Nikolai appears in a fractured timeline known as Agonia.
Ultimis Nikolai returns as a playable character in the maps Classified and Alpha Omega in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the latter of which also features Primis Nikolai as an alternate playable character. Ultimis Nikolai appears for the final time in Tag der Toten as a non-playable character. Additionally, Ultimis Nikolai can be unlocked as a playable character in the Blackout game mode.
Overview[]
Losing his love[]
On June 24th, 1941, Nikolai Belinski's wife was killed during the German advance into the Soviet Union. In an effort to numb the pain, Nikolai increasingly turned to vodka. When drunk, he thought of imaginary wives that he had never had, and comments about them as if they were real, to hide the pain buried beneath his true self. On December 9th, 1942, Nikolai's brother was also killed during the Battle of Stalingrad.
Getting captured by Group 935[]
On January 16th, 1943, Red Army Sergeant Nikolai Belinski was captured by German Forces during the Battle of Stalingrad. Later on, he became a test subject in Group 935 experiments.
Arriving at the Siberian Facility[]
On July 15th, 1945, Dr. Edward Richtofen traveled to the Siberian Facility to do further research on "live specimens". Group 935 begins transferring three test subjects for experimentation: Nikolai, Pablo, and Takeo. Alongside fellow test subjects, an American soldier named "Tank" Dempsey, who had replaced the Mexican spy who was accidentally killed named Pablo Marinus, and a Japanese soldier named Takeo Masaki, each are exposed to serums and Element 115, causing memory loss, and in Nikolai's case, loss of responding to stimuli, as Richtofen stated "he recently begun responding to stimuli, but only after (injections of) a new serum made primarily from vodka." Seeking to create the Agarthan Device as a back-up plan to reach Agartha, Richtofen creates the Elemental Shard using his soul, as well as the soul of the three test-subjects (including Nikolai); permanently binding them to the Aether itself.
On September 27th, 1945, Nikolai, along with the other test subjects, are put to sleep until further need to reawaken them.
Working with Richtofen[]
On October 14th, 1945, Nikolai along with the other test subjects are reawakened by Richtofen. With no memory of who they are or who Richtofen is, Nikolai, along with Dempsey and Takeo, agree to help him. The four would become known as Ultimis.
On October 21st, 1945, Nikolai along with the rest of the Ultimis crew venture off to Group 935's Rising Sun facility in Japan to obtain Richtofen's diary. Unknown to Nikolai, along with Dempsey and Takeo, the plans Richtofen detailed in his diary are to take control of the Zombies and destroy the crew along with Samantha Maxis, who is the current controller of the Zombies, once he obtains the power from the M.P.D.
On October 28th, 1945, Ultimis then returned to Der Riese. Following Richtofen's orders, they planned to use the teleporter to teleport to the moon and confront Samantha. Unfortunately, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 overloaded the teleporter and sent them through time and space, which caused Richtofen to drop his diary.
From Der Riese, Ultimis teleported through time and space and ended up at the Kino Facility on October 28th, 1963, another station once ran by Group 935, which was located at an abandoned theater in Germany. Unbeknownst to them, they begin to receive help at this point from Dr. Monty, a Keeper, who added changes in the background across time with things such as chalk drawings of weapons on the walls, helping Group 935 come up with the idea to make Perk-a-Colas, etc.
Helping Gersh[]
Ultimis located a Lunar Lander and flew to the Ascension Facility in Soviet territory, which is where Richtofen finds out his diary is located. Ultimis then arrived at the Soviet Cosmodrome on November 6th, 1963 and following Richtofen's orders, freed Anton Gersh, a scientist who worked for the Ascension Group from the Casimir Mechanism, after Samantha corrupted Yuri Zavoyski, another scientist of the Ascension Group, and obeyed her wish by tricking Gersh into activating the Gersh Device. The rift created by it absorbed him and allowed Samantha to travel through. Richtofen recovered his diary, and learned that they need the Vril Device from the Siberian Facility for his plan. Maintaining his ethereal form, Gersh sent Ultimis into a rift to their next destination before beginning his travels across space and time.
Retrieving the Vril Device[]
The group then teleports to Group 935's Siberian Facility on March 17th, 2011, where George Romero is filming a zombie movie with four well-known actors. Samantha, in her pursuit of Ultimis, unleashes an undead outbreak. The celebrities find the group trapped in a small room. The film's stars fight the undead horde, ultimately recovering the Vril Device for Richtofen.
Retrieving the Focusing Stone[]
Ultimis then teleports to the exotic jungle where Richtofen once teleported to in one of his experiments, now known as Shangri-La, in an effort to acquire the next artifact Richtofen stated he required to defeat Samantha: the Focusing Stone. Ultimis soon arrived at Shangri-La on April 25th, 1956. Ultimis discovered explorers Brock and Gary, who are trying to find Agartha. During an eclipse, they're unwittingly trapped in a time loop. With the help of Brock and Gary, the group assist Richtofen in acquiring the Focusing Stone.
Completing Richtofen's Grand Scheme[]
Having everything necessary to complete his plan, Richtofen teleported the group to Hangar 18 in Area 51 on October 13th, 2025. Overrun by zombies, Ultimis quickly ran to the teleporter in the hangar, which teleported them to Griffin Station on the Moon. Using the Vril Device and the Focusing Stone, Richtofen had completed his Grand Scheme and swaps bodies with Samantha on the Moon, giving him full control of the zombies and the Aether. Nikolai, along with Dempsey and Takeo then realized Richtofen's scheme for unlimited power and attempted to stop him by contacting Ludvig Maxis, who was present at Griffin Station on the Moon. Instead of helping the trio, however, Maxis manipulated them by claiming that Richtofen's link could be destroyed by launching three missiles to sever the link from Agartha and the Moon. The trio went forward with the plan to fire the missiles, only for the Earth's ozone layer to become polluted, and for the explosion as a result of the missiles to create more zombies and further chaos.
Teleporting to Groom Lake[]
Nikolai along with the rest of the Ultimis crew time travel from the Moon back to Groom Lake as revealed in "Classified". The four were discovered by Corneilus Pernell who recognized Dempsey and Richtofen. Nikolai and the others are then held captive in Hanger 04 on Groom Lake for potential Element 115 experiments from the US Government.
Recruited by Primis[]
When Takeo expresses confusion on how they are back on the Earth despite blowing it up Dempsey simply puts it as “More time travel bullshit.” Dempsey is also confused on how Richtofen got his body back despite witnessing him switch souls with Samantha. Moments later, the Primis crew teleport in the cell, being led by Primis Nikolai. After uniting the team as one and telling the Ultimis crew that they must leave quickly, Primis Nikolai says that a war must be fought with Dempsey saying “War? What kind of war?” Primis Nikolai replies by saying “A war unlike anything you have seen before. The Great War.”
Journey to Camp Edward[]
Alongside Primis & Ultimis, Primis Nikolai led his comrades to the Camp Edward facility in Nevada to gain access to the Elemental Shard. With the assistance of Rushmore, Primis & Ultimis defeat the former director of the facility, Cornelius Pernell, who has since become the "Avogadro" and gain access to the Elemental Shard. Soon after, the group is reunited with Samantha and Eddie, who have been teleported from the House to Camp Edward.
The End[]
Soon after their journey to Camp Edward, Primis Nikolai leads the group to an unknown forest, where they start a campfire and begin celebrating their upcoming victory within the Great War. However, Primis Nikolai had previously poisoned the alcohol the rest of the group was drinking, killing all of them besides Ultimis Richtofen, who had become Undead Richtofen.
Personality[]
- Primis Nikolai: "Nikolai Belinski, put down that bottle right now!"
- Ultimis Nikolai: "Why? Would you like some of my vodka? Heh... too bad! You can't!"
- — Conversation between Ultimis and Primis Nikolai in Blackout
Nikolai seemed to lack intelligence as revealed from various amount of quotes. He tended to crack weird, yet funny, jokes, intentionally and unintentionally. He seemed to not care about his physical appearance and smell, but only ever cared about Vodka. However, at the darkest of times, he could also be vigilant and appeared to have a very keen survival instinct. He liked Dempsey, and tended to despise as well as appreciate Richtofen at times (until Moon), but held a deep hatred for Takeo and monkeys.
Appearances[]
Black Ops and Black Ops III only
Black Ops and Black Ops III only
Cameo as portrait
Heard only
Appears as a non-playable ally, then boss in the main quest.
Appears as a child in the intro cutscene.
Both Primis & Ultimis versions playable.
Appears in cutscenes and can be heard in-game
Gallery[]
Call of Duty: World at War[]
Call of Duty: Zombies (Mobile)[]
Call of Duty: Black Ops[]
Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies (Mobile)[]
Call of Duty: Black Ops III[]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4[]
Trivia[]
- Nikolai is an alcoholic and loves vodka; however, Richtofen suggests that the Element 115 used on him caused him to become an alcoholic.
- However, it is confirmed in the Zombies Chronicles timeline that Ultimis Nikolai became an alcoholic because of his first wife dying during the Battle of Stalingrad.
- Out of all three of the other characters, Ultimis Nikolai shows the highest respect for Ultimis Dempsey while he and Ultimis Richtofen appear to have a strong friendship, but deeply hates Ultimis Takeo.
- Ultimis Nikolai hates monkeys so much about their beady little eyes and reminded him of circus in Bagrationovsk.
- Ultimis Nikolai loves cats but hates dogs. Primis Nikolai loves dogs except for Hellhounds.
- Between the two World Wars, Nikolai was a carpenter.
- During the song that plays when the "115" Easter Egg is triggered in Kino der Toten, Nikolai will sometimes sing along to one of the verses in his own version of that part.
- Nikolai at one time in his life either lived or worked on a pig farm.
- Aside from his many wives, Nikolai's family includes:
- A mother, who he notes used to drink "bullmilk".[1]
- A father, who he implies was abusive during his childhood.[2]
- A sister he refers to multiple times, who he hates.
- A brother-in-law, who he also hates.
- A daughter, who was noted to own a teddy bear.
- A brother, who is homeless and broke.
- In reality, his brother is mentioned to have died during the Battle of Stalingrad.
- Nikolai was said to have married at least nine times, and murdered at least five of his wives. The first wife was supposedly killed with a shotgun, the second is by either a PPSh-41 or a PTRS-41, the fifth wife was killed by an axe, and his third wife was killed with a sickle. Only his fourth wife was confirmed to have escaped alive. Even then, another Ascension quote implies he chased this wife down, and promptly beat her to death with his own hands. He mentions having a seventh wife in Moon, which also means he had a sixth but has not mentioned killing either of them. It appears that his seventh wife is still alive, as one of his quotes in Moon states that he has to tell her about his new girlfriend. It is said at the end of the Richtofen's Grand Scheme Easter Egg that "wife number nine" and "his new girlfriend" has died when the Earth was destroyed.
- He "killed" his first wife because she looked like him, his second because she is always asking for more, his third wife was killed because "she was bitch", his fourth wife was killed because she took his money and ran away, and because she was "always talking", and he killed his fifth wife when he was cleaning his axe with her neck.
- In the official timeline it was revealed that Nikolai only had one wife, and fabricated the rest while drunk to hide his painful memories.
- He "killed" his first wife because she looked like him, his second because she is always asking for more, his third wife was killed because "she was bitch", his fourth wife was killed because she took his money and ran away, and because she was "always talking", and he killed his fifth wife when he was cleaning his axe with her neck.
- Nikolai's favorite weapons are PPSh-41, FN FAL and H115 Oscillator.
- After the player completes the Original Characters Trapped Easter Egg for the first time in co-operative, they will receive a gamer picture of Nikolai's profile card as seen in Shi No Numa's loading screen.
- Nikolai appears to have pithecophobia judging from his quotes when he gets the Monkey Bomb or when he kills monkeys on Ascension and Shangri-La.
- According to a quote from Der Riese, at one point Nikolai had syphilis.
- Based on his quotes from Shangri-La, Nikolai hates Stamin-Up.
- Nikolai calls the FN FAL the "FNfalafel" and sometimes refer its sounding name as analogous to "Fucking Fail", similar to Dempsey calling the Wunderwaffe DG-2 the "Wonder Waffle."
- Rarely when using the Pack-a-Punch Machine, he will sing the Quick Revive jingle.
- Nikolai was physically abused as a child.
- In Call of Duty: Black Ops, Nikolai's gloves will show up in first person, but not in third person.
- Richtofen mentions Nikolai on Green Run, such as asking the survivors if they were going to mention vodka and even claiming he missed him.
- Albert "Weasel" Arlington sometimes mentions Nikolai when killing zombies with the Ray Gun.
- Nero Blackstone may also mention Nikolai's name when all the fuses are placed in the power box inside the subway. This, however, may be a reference to Nikola Tesla, rather than Nikolai.
- In the Dead Ended music video, Ultimis Nikolai can be seen killing off Primis.
- Within Zombies Chronicles, Ultimis Nikolai can be seen carrying a gun pouch on his side, which within is the KAP-40 from Black Ops 2.
- According to Dr. Monty in Revelations:
- Nikolai used to be a writer, and kept journals of his travels in Europe.
- Monty also revealed that he attempted to "water down" Ultimis Nikolai's vodka for years, but he just kept drinking regardless.
- He also mentions that Ultimis Nikolai once made a bear cub drink vodka. According to Monty, they both regretted it.
- Monty also says that Ultimis Nikolai truly loved his first wife and he was never quite the same after her death.
- Monty also references Ultimis Nikolai's brother, who the latter alluded to in the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. He says that Nikolai apparently forgot about him.
- Primis Nikolai is less of an alcoholic than Ultimis Nikolai.
- Whilst fighting Ultimis Nikolai in Gorod Krovi, if one listens closely, the Soviet anthem can be heard in the background.
References[]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||