Volkov

Volkov
Unit
Faction	USSR
Role	Commando
Armament	Automatic HE cannon (CS) Sniper rifle (AF Test Drive) High caliber pistol (AF Situation Critical) C4
Properties
Hit points	2500 (CS) 150 (AF) 6000 (AF Deus Ex Machina)
Production
Cost	1200 (AF)
Produced by	Soviet barracks
Requires	Soviet tech center
Combat
Ground attack	100 damage HE (CS) 50 damage sniper (AF)
Speed	5 (AF) 8 (AF Deus Ex Machina)
Attack range	6
Sight range	10 (CS) 6 (AF) 12 (AF Deus Ex Machina)
Function
Abilities	Uncrushable (CS) Selfhealing (AF)
Notes
25 points for destruction

“

"For this critical mission, we are allowing you access to Soldier Volkov. Use him and his cybernetic dog to sabotage the Allied control center." - Soviet Advisor, introducing Volkov.

”

Volkov (Russian: Волков) is a Soviet cyborg supersoldier appearing in Red Alert expansion packs, along with his trusty companion, Chitzkoi. He is the most powerful unit in the game (as of his Counterstrike appearance) and is the greatest commando in Stalin's army. Volkov is playable in four missions throughout the expansions, and in the fifth one, after Allied capture, he becomes a powerful "boss" enemy.

Background

The exact origins of Volkov are unknown. He is a cybernetic soldier created by Soviet scientists as the ultimate weapon of war, with extremely durable armored plating and equipped with heavy weapons.

Storyline

As befitting his status as an elite soldier, Volkov was given tasks unsuited to conventional forces.

Before full conversion into a cyborg, Volkov was one of the greatest soldiers of the Soviet Union, frequently called upon to carry out top secret assignments that could not be entrusted to anyone. Two most notable of these operations are the stopping of a rogue Soviet faction from unleashing a deadly biological weapon and stealing an experimental Allied vehicle and field testing it against its creators. The latter missions were carried out with help from Chitzkoi, his canine companion.

His physical prowess and battlefield expertise made him a natural choice for an experimental augmentation process developed by Soviet engineers. Together with his canine companion, Volkov was turned into a super soldier, a cyborg, capable of taking on entire enemy platoons at a time and survive with only minor damage. His first deployment was in Austria, where he was sent to aid Soviet forces in destroying Allied research into Soviet nigh-invincible armour plating. While Soviet forces besieged the facility, Volkov and Chitzkoi parachuted behind enemy lines to destroy the command center controlling the defenses. When the defenses were disabled the Soviets assaulted and destroyed the facility.

The final appearance of Volkov was in the mission Deus Ex Machina, where Allied forces had captured Volkov and wished to learn his secrets, and Soviet forces were sent to stop this. The fate of Volkov can go in two ways: recapturing Volkov before he is excessively tampered with, presumably leading to his decommission, or failing to save Volkov before he goes berserk, where he will fight Allies and Soviets alike until his destruction.

Game Unit

Volkov appears in the Counterstrike and Aftermath mission expansion packs for Command & Conquer: Red Alert. His armor type effectively makes him a walking tank, surpassing even the Soviet Mammoth tank.

In the Counterstrike mission Soviet Soldier Volkov & Chitzkoi he is armed with a cannon and may engage the cruisers encountered on more than equal terms.

In Aftermath he appears in multiple missions and is armed alternatively with either the purely anti-infantry gun (presumably armour piercing silenced pistol) or the cannon. The only ground unit that could theoretically take on Volkov is the equally ridiculously well armored Soviet Super tank. But as the only two prototypes were deactivated by the Allies, that is a question that will never be answered. Effective counter to Volkov is anything out of range of his weapon, notably aircraft with anti-infantry weaponry. Artillery can also be used, provided that they are speedy enough to escape or are beyond walking range of Volkov (i.e separated by natural obstacles).

In the Soviet's final campaign of Red Alert: Retaliation there is a mission to rescue (or recapture) Volkov from Allied hands. The commander will be given three Scientists: if these scientists are deployed to recapture the fake factory where the Allies have stashed Volkov (and no other obstacle is in the way), Volkov may be returned to the fold again.

Oddly enough, perhaps due to the game engine's limitations, Volkov is equally as vulnerable to attack dogs as all other infantry.

Behind the scenes

Volkov was supposed to appear again in Red Alert 2 along with other units such as the Mammoth tank, but the idea was eventually scrapped. However, a soldier, supposedly Volkov (although he also resembles a Crazy Ivan) is the main feature of the Red Alert 2 retail box cover art in both beta and final releases, but is not related to him. A similar-looking soldier appears on the European covers of the first Red Alert and its expansions.

Volkov can be considered a forerunner for Nod's Cyborg Commandos, since both units are ridiculously powerful both in terms of armor and firepower.

Trivia

• An overpowered "boss" enemy concept was reused in the end of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm.

Gallery

• RA2 Volkov Concept Art.jpg

  Red Alert 2 concept art

See also

• Boris
• Tanya Adams
• Yuri Prime (Yuri's Revenge)
• Core Defender

Template:Soviet People