Soviet soldiers

Jonathan, one of the Soviet soldiers stationed at the San Hieronymo Peninsula.

Soldiers of the Soviet Union were those who fought as part of Soviet land-based armed forces, such as the Red Army.

History

Warning: The following information is from outside Hideo Kojima's core "Metal Gear Saga." Its canonicity within the continuity is disputed, therefore reader discretion is advised.[?]

As early as 1964, Soviet Army soldiers, including Jonathan, were deployed to the San Hieronymo Peninsula in Colombia to develop a missile base there, after failing to create a missile base at Cuba two years earlier due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. In addition to developing the missile base, the Soviet soldiers also aided the Marxist revolutionary group FARC to wage battles against Colombia's then-current regime. Although toiling in their efforts to complete the missile base for the sake of the Soviet Union, they had suffered greatly, due to their suffering from meager meals, an unbearable climate, and were dying from diseases such as malaria, as well as during combat operations alongside FARC.

San Hieronymo Incident

Main article: San Hieronymo Incident

By late 1970, the soldiers and other personnel on the San Hieronymo Peninsula were forced to remain at the base (whose construction was cancelled) by the Kremlin, with their supplies and communications cut off. The Kremlin wanted to leave the impression that the Soviet base had been constructed by renegade soldiers, fearing its discovery by the West. The soldiers were left with little morale until the FOX Unit led by Gene arrived at the peninsula and took it over for Army's Heaven, which they willingly joined to end the abuse of soldiers, with some pondering the implications behind Soviet and American forces working together. Despite this, however, at least some were disgruntled with FOX largely because of their abrasive attitude. As such, Big Boss managed to recruit several of the soldiers to his side, including Jonathan, to put a stop to Gene's plans, especially when information implicated the use of a stolen weapon, the ICBMG, against the Soviet Union. At least one soldier ended up hospitalized due to becoming injured from construction/repair work at a heliport at the research lab. In addition, when Big Boss was suspected to be in the area, several Soviet soldiers conducted a search, and only missed him due to Elisa's interference. Several of these soldiers ended up killed late into the mission, with the ones at the plant being forced by Gene to commit mass-riot suicide via his hypnotic voice (which had earlier been supplied to him as a result of the Successor Project), and the ones at the power substation being slaughtered by the then-recently escaped Perfect Soldier, Null.

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

Peace Walker Incident

Main article: Peace Walker Incident

Russian soldier on guard duty armed with an RK-47 (AK-47) assault rifle.

In late 1974, Russian soldiers aligned with the KGB officer Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zadornov, took over a U.S. missile base in Nicaragua, with the intention of stealing an advanced American-made self-defense weapon. In addition, to ensure the completion of their goals, they also feigned cooperation with the CIA-based mercenary group Peace Sentinel's leader, Central American Station Chief Hot Coldman, until they had the opportunity to enact their goals. Dozens of these soldiers were wiped out by the Militaires Sans Frontières and the Sandinista Liberation Front, the latter of whom ironically were molded by Zadornov into an effective guerrilla group.

Phantom Pain Incident

See also: Hospital Escape and Phantom Pain Incident

A Soviet Soldier being engaged by Venom Snake.

In 1984, the Soviets had invaded and occupied Afghanistan when Venom Snake and the Diamond Dogs were operating in the region. Snake encountered some Soviet soldiers belonging to the 40th Army while searching for Kazuhira Miller. Their standard weapon was the SVG-76 Assault Rifle. Because Snake had supposedly lost his ability to speak and understand Russian from the events that resulted in his coma, he couldn't understand them without an interpreter. Originally, the soldiers were composed of those from Central Asia, although by the time of Venom Snake's awakening, the soldiers were primarily of Russian origin. Ocelot implied that the reasoning behind the shift was to ensure the troops didn't hesitate to shoot their enemy due to the Central Asian troops being too close in ethnicity to the opposing Afghans to reliably fight against them, and acknowledged the reasoning as "morbidly cynical."

Uniform and Equipment

Warning: The following information is from outside Hideo Kojima's core "Metal Gear Saga." Its canonicity within the continuity is disputed, therefore reader discretion is advised.[?]

Soviet Army soldiers stationed on the San Hieronymo Peninsula wore a visor-type balaclava, brown fatigues (which either has the sleeves rolled up or fully covering the arms depending on personal preference) with a striped shirt underneath, black boots, and at times a magazine vest or harness.They would be mostly armed with AK-47 rifles, but a few used M16A1 rifles (presumably supplied by the FOX Unit).

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

A Soviet soldier searching for Venom Snake and Quiet in 1984

The Russian soldiers who occupied the U.S. missile base in Nicaragua wore eyehole-type balaclavas with ballistic visors, a black bulletproof vest, a red armband representing the Soviet Union, a beige dress shirt with a red tie, brown pants and black boots. Heavy Infantry would wear battle armor and wield machine guns. They would often be equipped with RK-47 rifles or PKM machine guns. 

Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan belonging to the 40th Army were encountered in a multitude of style choices, though common between all of them were khaki fatigue pants, a blue or green striped telnyashka, combat boots, and optionally a khaki uniform top, a field cap, and/or a KMLK patterned helmet. In some cases, they also wore Aviator sunglasses as well as scarves, the latter as protection when trying to undergo operations within Afghanistan's sandstorms. At first they were equipped with SVG-76 rifles, though the more powerful SVG-67 CS Rifle later became standard issue. Some would be equipped with LPG-61 Machine Guns, Kabarga-83 shotguns, or Killer Bee Missile Launchers, while others would use Riot Shields in conjunction with Sz.-336 Submachine Guns. Snipers would be equipped with either Renov-ICKX or  Bambetov SV sniper rifles. 

Behind the scenes

USSR soldiers are characters that appear in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, who act as the main enemy force for several stages. There are four soldiers types within the USSR soldier character class, not counting Jonathan. In Portable Ops Plus, in addition to the aforementioned personnel, female variants of the Soviet soldiers are also featured. Their voiced grunts when choked, hit, or knocked out are revoiced, but the overall dialogue are reused voice clips of the female Soviet officers. Unlike their male counterparts, they lack a balaclava, and have brown, black, or blond hair. In addition, they also sometimes remove their brown jacket uniforms, citing it as either having it laundered, lost, or thrown away. The latter variants have them wearing a telnyashka.

"A soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top-secret mission. A shift in policy led his government to abandon him, leaving he and his fellow soldiers stranded. Wears his shirt sleeves rolled up."

―USSR male soldier A description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

"A soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top-secret mission. A policy shift caused his government to abandon him, and he and his comrades are now stranded. Doesn't wear his shirt sleeves rolled up."

―USSR male soldier B description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

"A soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top-secret mission. A shift in policy caused his government to abandon him, and he and his fellow soldiers are now stranded. Wears a magazine vest, and his shirt sleeves rolled up."

―USSR male soldier C description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

"A soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top-secret mission. A policy shift saw his government's abandoning him and his fellow soldiers, leaving them stranded far from home. Wears a magazine vest, but hates having his shirt sleeves rolled up."

―USSR male soldier D description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

"A female soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top-secret mission. A shift in policy caused her government to abandon her, leaving she and her fellow soldiers stranded. An bookworm."

―USSR female soldier A description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

"A female soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top-secret mission. A shift in policy caused her government to abandon her, stranding she and her fellow soldiers. Loves animals."

―USSR female soldier B description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

"A female soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top secret mission. A policy shift caused her government to abandon her, and she and her fellow soldiers are now stranded. Refuses to show her forehead."

―USSR female soldier C description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

"A female soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top-secret mission. A shift in policy caused her government to abandon her, and she and her fellow soldiers are now stranded. Her jacket is in the laundry."

―USSR female soldier D description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

"A female soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top-secret mission. A shift in policy caused her government to abandon her, leaving she and her fellow soldiers stranded. She's misplaced her jacket."

―USSR female soldier E description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

"A female soldier in the Soviet Army, sent to the San Hieronymo Peninsula on a top-secret mission. A shift in policy caused her government to abandon her, and now she and her fellow soldiers are stranded. She threw away her jacket."

―USSR female soldier F description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

In addition, both variety of soldiers can be acquired by passcode, although the specific passwords vary depending on whether it is the Japanese or American version. The passwords are as follows:

Character	Japanese	U.S.
USSR Male Soldier A	LBMNUYDRTAGR	N524ZHU9N4Z
USSR Male Soldier B	QK3CMV373Y	PURMSNDPPIP
USSR Male Soldier C	GNYHXCVHHN	6WXZA7PTT9Z
USSR Male Soldier D	TOLMIETTAPP	D8RV32E9774
USSR Female Soldier A	JHBPSUQGPZ	2VXUZQVH9R
USSR Female Soldier B	FUIXEYDGAVL	HPMRFSBXDJ3Y
USSR Female Soldier C	MBOBTPPWN	QXQVW9R3PZ
USSR Female Soldier D	XCSBBKCZHL	GMC3M3LTPVW7
USSR Female Soldier E	ZNJQLEKSVLIR	5MXVX6UFPMZ5
USSR Female Soldier F	NXJFSCRYXGX	76AWS7WDAV

Soviet soldiers later appear in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, specifically Russian soldiers.

The Soviet soldiers later return as the main enemy type for the Afghanistan segment of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain for the free-play mode and for all missions save for Mission 30: Skull Face, where they are replaced by XOF soldiers.

Gallery

Peace Walker Russian soldier concept art.

Appearances

• Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (first appearance)
• Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (non-canon)
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

See also

• Red Army
• Soviet Union
• Soviet officers
• Soviet scientists
• Soviet engineers
• GRU
  • Flame troopers
  • Ocelot Unit
• KGB
• Special Camo Soldier
• European local soldiers
• Japanese local soldiers
• U.S. local soldiers