- For the campaign level of the same name, see Vorkuta (level).
- For the map of the same name, see Vorkuta (map).
Vorkuta is a forced labor camp in one of the prisons operated by the Soviet Regime in Vorkuta, Soviet Union featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. It is featured in the level Vorkuta in Black Ops, and in both the multiplayer map Vorkuta and the level Under the Radar in Black Ops 6.
History[]
1930's - 1940's[]
It was established in 1932 and gained notoriety in 1937 as the location of the liquidation of the Trotskyist Left Opposition by the Stalinist regime. In 1942, a prisoner-built railway linked it with Konosha, Kotlas and Inta, creating the largest center of gulag camps in the USSR and served as an administrative center for a large number of camps and sub-camps among them Kotlas, Pechora and Ishma.[1]
1945[]
Captain Viktor Reznov, under the command of Nikita Dragovich, was sent to Vorkuta after Dragovich betrayed him on a mission to find a weapon called Nova 6. Reznov was forced to watch Dragovich use the gas to kill his closest friend, Dimitri Petrenko. Reznov destroyed the Nova 6 shipment but was captured and sent to Vorkuta for killing fellow Russians. Reznov would spend the next 18 years in the prison.
1961[]
In 1961, a CIA operative by the name of Alex Mason was assigned to kill Fidel Castro but was forced to stay behind to ensure Frank Woods, Joseph Bowman and Carlos' survival and is captured by Lev Kravchenko and a Cuban soldier. Mason then discovers that Castro was still alive, and that he killed a double. The real Castro handed Mason over to Dragovich where he would put Mason in Vorkuta for the next 2 years.
Between 1961 and 1963[]
Between this time, Mason befriended Reznov. Mason was experimented on by Dragovich's Nazi scientist Friedrich Steiner, and they would attempt to program him to kill U.S. president John F. Kennedy. However, Mason had a resistance to their programming. But Reznov as Mason's friend was able to reprogram him to kill Dragovich, Kravchenko and Steiner. Reznov also told Mason the story of Dragovich's betrayal and the death of Dimitri Petrenko in 1945.
1963[]
In 1963, Mason and Reznov came up with a plan to escape Vorkuta. They made eight steps to this operation:
- Secure the keys.
- Ascend from darkness.
- Rain fire.
- Unleash the horde.
- Skewer the winged beast.
- Wield a fist of iron.
- Raise Hell.
- Freedom.
They also had the assistance of Sergei Kozin. But Sergei gave his life to help Mason get to the controls to open the main doors. Mason then grabbed a minigun and they pushed through Vorkuta. However, tear gas stopped them. Everyone else was killed but Reznov and Mason, who got out on motorcycles. They then hijacked a truck and found a train. Mason jumped to it and made it. Mason then told Reznov to do the same, but Reznov told him that freedom was not for him and lead the pursuing trucks away from Mason. Reznov was killed soon after.
1991[]
After the end of the Cold War and with the Soviet Union collapsing, the prison was shut down, but Pantheon took over the place to convert it into a manufacturing facility to mass-produce the Cradle virus.
2058[]
In 2058, Vorkuta was considered as a possible location by the CIA for unwilling candidates for experiments into Direct Neural Interface research. However, it was later decided that it was too risky to try to source candidates from the prison.
Known Prisoners[]
- Viktor Reznov (K.I.A.)
- Alex Mason (Alive/K.I.A.) (player-determined)
- Sergei Kozin (K.I.A.)
- Vorkuta Prisoner (K.I.A.)
- Anthony Rizzo
Trivia[]
- Mason's presence at Vorkuta in 1963 is not possible in reality, as the real Vorkuta gulag ceased operations in 1962. However, the real Vorkuta did experience a mass prisoner uprising in 1953 (albeit bloodless), so the 10-year discrepancy may simply have been to help the Black Ops timeline work better.
References[]
- ↑ The presentation in the room where Reznov is found in The Defector