Viadimir Koltsov

Viadimir is an idealistic, charismatic, and principled man who strongly believes in equality and socialism. A natural leader and persuasive speaker, he is willing to sacrifice his personal happiness and family life for his political ideals. Though war and the collapse of the Noobic Union have made him more cynical and paranoid, he remains determined to create a better society. Deep down, however, he regrets the sacrifices his ambitions have forced his family to make and fears dying without accomplishing anything meaningful.

Viadimir has buzz-cut hair hidden beneath a red knit hat. He wears a brown military trench coat with shoulder boards, which he has kept since the Reintegration War. He also wears grey pants and combat boots.

Originating from Roslakavkas, Viadimir was born into a family of socialist intellectuals. His father was a university professor of political economy, while his mother taught history and was actively involved in the Communist Party's local organization. From an early age, Viadimir was indoctrinated with communist ideals. His parents taught him that a just society had neither rich nor poor, that every citizen contributed equally to the well-being of society, and that factories, businesses, and the means of production belonged to the people rather than to private individuals.

Among the other children, Viadimir quickly distinguished himself as an exceptional student. Intelligent, charismatic, and naturally gifted in public speaking, he showed a deep interest in books and the history of his own country from an early age. His neighbors and their families often described him as an idealistic child who dreamed of "correcting injustice" when he grew older.

Viadimir's dedication to learning eventually helped him gain admission to Secondary Boarding School No. 18 named after Vladimir Lezhnev, a specialized institution for gifted children. As part of the school's traditions, every student was expected to join the Young Pioneers Organization. Viadimir quickly became one of the most respected members of his group, earning the trust of both his peers and teachers through his dedication to helping others and his strong sense of responsibility. As a result, he was appointed as a squad leader, responsible for guiding a small group of younger pioneers.

For Viadimir, the Young Pioneers Organization became his first experience with leadership, public speaking, and defending his beliefs in front of others. His favorite activities were environmental projects, including planting trees, caring for local areas, and working with the land.Eventually, during his years at school, Viadimir achieved his first notable position of authority - Chairman of the Pioneer Squad Council. Through his dedication, organizational skills, and ability to inspire others, he proved himself as a responsible and capable leader. He was trusted with coordinating various activities, including community service projects, school assemblies, and Pioneer meetings.

This position became Viadimir's first experience with leadership and public administration. He learned how to organize groups of people, deliver speeches, and persuade others to support his ideas.

Once he was old enough to leave his parents' home, Viadimir moved to Nubizkyl to pursue an education in agriculture. By then, he had already gained a degree of recognition among politically active students, having developed a reputation as an outspoken young socialist with a talent for public speaking and debate. He continued attending political meetings and party events, frequently participating in discussions about the country's future. It was during this period that he met a young woman who would go on to play a major role in his life - Natasha.

Viadimir and Natasha shared similar political and worldviews, as well as a mutual passion for agriculture. However, what Natasha loved about Viadimir was not his political beliefs. She was drawn to his charisma, intelligence, and genuine desire to help others. Unlike many people in their political circles, who were quick to give passionate speeches while doing little to live up to their own words, Viadimir sincerely believed in what he preached. This quickly brought the two closer together. They would often spend time walking through parks, going on dates, and exchanging small gifts.

Despite sharing many of Viadimir's beliefs, Natasha was far more grounded when it came to political activism. While Viadimir was increasingly absorbed in politics and grand ideas about changing society, Natasha often reminded him of the world outside of politics - the people around them, their everyday lives, and the simple things that made life worth living. In many ways, she was the person who kept Viadimir grounded, pulling him away from abstract political ideals and bringing him back to the real world.

After graduating from college, Viadimir and Natasha continued to build their lives around agriculture. They eventually decided to move to the Batarstani lands, where the soil was more fertile than anywhere else in the country. Far from the noise and political turmoil of the cities, they found a quiet place under the sun where they hoped to spend the rest of their lives together, living peacefully and happily.

For a time, it seemed that they had found exactly what they had been looking for. Viadimir devoted himself to agricultural science, while Natasha shared his passion for the land and the life they had built together. Away from politics and the ambitions of his youth, Viadimir was able to focus on something tangible -the soil beneath his feet, the people around him, and the family he was slowly building.

The happiness Viadimir and Natasha had built together was not meant to last forever. In 1980, an anti-Communist rebellion broke out in East Hermany. Despite Natasha's objections, Viadimir was among the first to volunteer for the war. Thousands of young men from across the Union arrived in East Hermany, many of them believing that the war would become a grand adventure - a rite of passage into adulthood. Viadimir was no different.

It was anything but an adventure.

For the first time in his life, Viadimir was forced to confront the contradictions between his ideals and reality. The Union's military was poorly prepared for the Hermans' guerrilla tactics, and the war quickly descended into a brutal and unpredictable conflict. Viadimir witnessed things he had never imagined possible: mutilated bodies left hanging from trees, eighteen year old soldiers returning without limbs, and young men dying far from home with no family waiting for them. The people he had once imagined as soldiers in heroic stories were now simply terrified young men trying to survive.

Among everyone who had arrived with him, only one person would remain at his side from the beginning of the war until its end - Artur Tolstoyanovsky, a young man not unlike Viadimir himself. During one of the battles, Artur pulled Viadimir out of the line of fire, dragging him to safety during a heavy machine-gun barrage.

When the war finally ended, something within Viadimir had changed. He returned home and resumed his life with Natasha, helping her with the farm and trying to settle back into the quiet life they had once shared. Yet the man who had returned was not quite the same one who had left. Viadimir became quieter and more withdrawn, spending more and more time alone in his room, immersing himself in books and political literature

His experiences in the war had left him questioning many of the ideals he had once accepted without hesitation. However, rather than abandoning his beliefs, Viadimir became determined to find a way to put them into practice.

When a local branch of the "Formation of Joint Enterprise," controlled by the Tiykoons brothers, began acquiring vast territories across Batarstan, Viadimir became increasingly convinced that the growing influence of private corporations posed a serious threat to ordinary people and the land they depended on. Gathering what remained of his resolve, he entered Batarstan's local political scene and began campaigning in the streets, speaking openly against FJE expansion. Over time, he attracted a sizable group of like-minded supporters who organized protests, filed lawsuits, and submitted complaints against the company.

FJE, however, possessed the wealth and political connections necessary to suppress criticism and conceal the environmental damage caused by its operations. Lawsuits went nowhere, complaints were ignored, and attempts to hold the company accountable were repeatedly undermined by corruption. For Viadimir, this became a crucial turning point. He had returned from the war believing that the system could still be repaired, but he was now beginning to wonder whether the system itself was the problem.

Around the same time, the Noobic-NETO War broke out. Viadimir was denied the opportunity to enlist due to the injuries he had sustained during the Reintegration War, but he refused to remain passive. Instead, he became increasingly involved in the Communist Party, gradually gaining influence within its local organization. As the war continued, Viadimir began campaigning in support of the Union and encouraging young men to enlist, arguing that dying for one's homeland was a noble sacrifice.

The irony was not lost on him. Having once witnessed firsthand how ordinary soldiers could be treated as expendable resources, Viadimir now found himself encouraging others to make the very sacrifice he had once questioned. Yet in his mind, the two situations were fundamentally different. The Reintegration War had been a senseless conflict in which young men had been sacrificed by a corrupt system. The Noobic-NETO War, however, was a struggle for the survival of the Union -a cause he now believed was worth dying for.

By late 1996, the Noobic Union had finally capitulated to NETO. The Union dissolved into a number of independent states, taking its economy with it and leaving millions of former citizens struggling to survive. As the economy collapsed, crime and poverty spread rapidly, forcing many people to turn to the black market, take illegal loans, or commit crimes simply to survive.

For Viadimir, the collapse of the Union was devastating. He had spent years believing that the Union was worth defending and had encouraged others to fight for its survival. Now, after everything they had sacrificed, it was gone. The country he had devoted his life to protecting had ceased to exist, and the ideals he had once believed would save it seemed to have failed him once again.

Yet rather than abandoning his beliefs, Viadimir became even more determined to preserve what remained of them. If the Union could not be saved, he would at least try to build a better society from its ruins.

By this point, Viadimir had become convinced that remaining an agricultural scientist was no longer enough. If he truly wanted to change the country and protect Batarstan from abuses by semi-state monopolies, he would have to enter politics himself.

After reconnecting with his old contacts, Viadimir discovered that several of his former classmates from boarding school had since entered politics and become members of the Communist Party. Using these connections, he was able to enter the party without having to start from the bottom once again. His education, political experience, and natural talent for public speaking quickly earned him the respect of other party members.

As his political career began to take shape, Viadimir decided to leave his life in Batarstan behind. He transferred ownership of his land and property to his parents, allowing them to continue living on and managing the land rather than selling it to FJE. The company had already made attempts to acquire his property, offering increasingly generous sums of money, but Viadimir refused every offer. He could not bring himself to watch FJE privatize the land and further damage the surrounding environment, no matter how much money they offered him.

Eventually, Viadimir and Natasha moved to Nubizkyl, where he could devote himself fully to his political career. Natasha was far from pleased. She understood why Viadimir wanted to enter politics, but she could not accept the sacrifices he was making to do so. They already had two children, Igor and Tomila, and had spent years building a peaceful life together. Now Viadimir was willing to leave much of that life behind to pursue his political ambitions.

Viadimir insisted that he was not throwing their peaceful life away, but investing in a better future for their children and the country they lived in. To him, the sacrifice was temporary. If he succeeded, he believed, everything they had given up would eventually be worth it.

Natasha was not convinced. She had seen this side of him before - the same idealistic young man she had fallen in love with, always dreaming of changing the world. But for the first time, she began to wonder whether the Viadimir she had known was still there, or whether the war had changed him in ways neither of them truly understood.

Upon arriving in Nubizkyl, Viadimir's first stop was the communistic party Highrise, where he went to greet his fellow party members. There, he reunited with Roman Kartsev, the former First Secretary of the Communist Party and one of his former classmates, who had become far more ambitious than Viadimir himself. Roman had since become the Communist Party's presidential candidate and openly aspired to become the next President of the Nussian Federation.

Viadimir initially viewed his ambitions with some skepticism. Yet if Roman truly managed to reach the presidency, Viadimir believed that they might finally have an opportunity to change the system from within -something he had spent most of his life striving to achieve.

Thanks to his connections within the party, Viadimir quickly rose through its ranks and eventually became its primary strategist. Propaganda, public events, important meetings, political campaigns, and the preparation of speeches all gradually fell under his responsibility. He became one of the people working behind the scenes to shape the party's public image and political direction.

The workload soon began to take its toll on his family life. Viadimir spent long nights working on speeches and writing political essays praising the ideals of communism, often sacrificing time with Natasha and their children in order to strengthen his influence within the party. Exhaustion made him increasingly irritable, and he began snapping at his family over the smallest things, though he would usually apologize soon afterward.

He always promised them that things would change soon. Once the party succeeded, once the country was finally put back on the right path, he would have more time for them.

But time was something Viadimir could not simply reclaim. The years he spent away from his family, working late into the night and sacrificing his personal life for his political ambitions, were already gone. And no matter how many times he promised that everything would eventually get better, there was no guarantee that his family would still be waiting for him when that day finally came.

By 1998, Viadimir had become increasingly involved in the Communist Party's presidential campaign, working behind the scenes to support Roman Kartsev's bid for the presidency. However, the political situation was becoming increasingly unstable, with the capitalist opposition holding significant influence over the country's wealthy elite.

On March 21, 1999, a corruption scandal erupted around Roman Kartsev. Large sums of unexplained money were discovered in his bank accounts, leading the media and rival political parties to accuse him of accepting illicit funds.

Kartsev denied the allegations, insisting that the money had been planted to destroy his reputation. However, the scandal severely damaged both his public image and the Communist Party's chances in the election. Under the immense pressure, Kartsev's health rapidly deteriorated, and he eventually suffered a fatal heart attack.

Viadimir refused to accept the official explanation. Kartsev's family remained extremely private about his death and never told Viadimir the full circumstances surrounding it, leaving him convinced that Roman had been poisoned. He never pressured anyone to investigate, however. Realizing that he might be next, Viadimir gradually withdrew from public appearances and focused more on working behind the scenes. There was little point in pushing for an investigation anyway - the police were already compromised, and he had no evidence strong enough to prove that Kartsev had been deliberately killed.

As more and more candidates abandoned the Communist Party, its chances of winning the election grew increasingly slim. In the end, Yelistratov won the presidential race, further pushing the country into a spiral of crime and chaos. Gang wars became increasingly common, mafia organizations openly carried out contract killings, and the police did little to stop them.

Viadimir himself was not afraid of dying. He had lost that fear during the Reintegration War. After surviving a conflict that had claimed the lives of so many young men around him, death no longer frightened him in the way it once had. What frightened him was the possibility of dying for nothing.

He had survived the war, returned to his family, and sacrificed years of his life in the belief that he could make a difference. Now, after everything he had endured, he feared that his life could end without accomplishing anything at all. Worse still, he feared becoming nothing more than another assassinated political figure - a name briefly mentioned in the newspapers before being forgotten by everyone except his family.

With each passing day, Viadimir's paranoia grew worse.

On August 21, 1999, he received information that the Tiykoons - the same wealthy businessmen who had once attempted to acquire vast amounts of land in Batarstan and had become some of the most vocal opponents of the Communist Party - were holding a private gathering at the HighRise.

By then, Viadimir had become increasingly convinced that the country's political establishment was willing to silence anyone who stood in its way. He could no longer shake the feeling that he was being watched, and that sooner or later, someone would come for him.

That day, while Natasha and the rest of the family were away at work or otherwise out of the house, Viadimir sat down and wrote his wife a letter.

For the most part, it was an apology.

He apologized for all the years he had spent away from her, for the nights he had chosen political work over his family, and for all the times he had promised that things would get better without ever truly changing anything. He admitted that he regretted not listening to her when she had tried to warn him. He remembered the early years of their relationship, the walks through the parks, the small gifts they had exchanged, and the life they had built together after leaving the city behind. He wrote about Batarstan, too - about the land, the fields, and the quiet life they had once imagined they would live together. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to remember the man he had been before politics consumed him.

"None of those bastards will get away with what they've done to my family and this country." Relationships Sergei Koltsov - Father Unnamed Mother (†) Natasha Koltsova - Wife Igor Koltsov - Son Tomila Koltsova - Daughter Artur Tolstoyanovsky - Comrade/Adversary Roman Kartsev (†) - Political Ally Roman Mikhaylov (†) - Adversary Fyodor Yelistratov - Political Opponent Maksim Tiykoon (†) - Adversary Gennady Tiykoon (†) - Adversary He kept his father's pocket watch with him throughout his entire life, including during the Reintegration War. Despite his political career, Viadimir never stopped considering agriculture his true profession. He never told Natasha that he suspected Roman Kartsev had been assassinated, fearing that doing so would put her in unnecessary danger. His experiences during the Reintegration War were the reason he stopped fearing death, but they also left him deeply afraid of dying without accomplishing anything. Despite everything he had done for his political beliefs, Viadimir's greatest regret was the amount of time he had lost with his family. He spent years telling his family that his sacrifices would eventually be worth it. In the end, he never lived long enough to find out whether they were. Many Vanguardists attended at Koltsov's public meetings, which strongly influenced their beliefs and shaped their future ideology. Age 45 Occupation Agricultural Scientist/Political Party Member