Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov

From the Metal Gear Wiki

Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov
Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov's face shown in Metal Gear Solid 3.
Also known as	Major Raikov
Nationality	Russian
Affiliations	GRU
Current status	Unknown
Eye Colour	Blue
Hair Colour	Blonde
Appears in	Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
First game	Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Created by	Hideo Kojima
English voice actor	Charlie Schlatter
Japanese voice actor	Kenyu Horiuchi

Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov (イワン・ライデノヴィッチ・ライコフ, Iwan Raidenovitchi Raikofu, Russian: Ива́н Райде́нович Райко́в^?) is a character who appears in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. He was a GRU major second in command at Groznyj Grad to Colonel Volgin, also being the colonel's lover.

Because of his status as Volgin's lover, he is also the only Groznyj Grad member not of Colonel class to access the West Wing of the Groznyj Grad production facility. Because of this, EVA advised Naked Snake to steal Raikov's uniform and impersonate as him. Snake, after managing to infiltrate Groznyj Grad, had located Raikov and knocked him out^[1]. He then dragged him into a nearby locker and after stealing his clothing, leaving him in nothing more than a thong, locked him up in the Locker.

Raikov later appears in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops as an unlockable character, found by placing spies in the Western Wilderness before rescuing Naked Snake. Raikov had lost his position due to his abusive ways against soldiers (a reference to MGS3, where the player could attack Soviet soldiers without reprise when disguised as Raikov, as he was "just that kind of guy" from EVA's observations), was imprisoned, and was then promptly exiled to the San Hieronymo Base and imprisoned there (most likely after the San Hieronymo Base was abandoned with it's personnel.). An unspecified time later a spy unit belonging to the resistance group that would later become the FOXHOUND unit had located Raikov, and shortly thereafter was released by Naked Snake (ironically the same person who had masqueraded as him) and his team. It should be noted that it has not been revealed whether he joined in-canon or not.

He is essentially, character in himself, although his role in the storyline is served by Snake needing to disable him and take his identity in order to infiltrate Groznyj Grad. Much humor is derived from his resemblance to Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2, himself being a character partially created in response to the controversy surrounding Raiden following his replacement of Snake as the main character in MGS2.

Raikov was also a usable character in the original Metal Gear Online bundled with Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.

[edit] Trivia

• Raikov's middle name means "Son of Raiden" in Russian.
• As noted by Major Zero in a radio conversation, "Ivan" is a Slavic version of "John", and, in English the name "Jack" (Raiden's real name from MGS2) is the diminutive version of "John." Another interesting connection with the name "John" in Raikov's name is that his middle name Raidenovitch literally means "Son of Raiden." The phrase "son of Raiden" could also be interpreted as meaning "son of thunder," and Son of Thunder was another name for the Apostle John (who was referred to collectively with his brother James as "Sons of Thunder").
• His appearances in MGS3 contain other references to Raiden, including, but not limited to:
  • In the locker in Groznyj Grad where Naked Snake hides Raikov, there is an MGS2 promo poster, featuring Raiden.
  • If the player is attacked in close quarters by Raikov, he will use the same punch-punch-kick combo as used by Raiden.
  • If the player interrogates Raikov using CQC in Subsistence, he will say several identical or similar to lines said by Raiden in MGS2, such as "No, never heard the name before." and "We'll tell them everything together."
  • During the battle with The Sorrow, if the player had previously killed Raikov when stealing his clothes, Raikov's ghost will be walking in the same manner as Raiden does when naked.
  • Shortly before the torture sequence, Volgin grabs Snake's crotch (while disguised as Raikov) in the same manner President Johnson does to Raiden in MGS2.
  • If the player is attacked in close quarters by Raikov, he might do the somersault used by Raiden.

[edit] Notes and References

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Characters
Naked Snake — Major Zero — Para-Medic — Sigint The Boss — Colonel Volgin — Ocelot — EVA The Pain — The Fear — The Fury — The End — The Sorrow Sokolov — Granin — Raikov — Johnny Sasaki, Sr.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Characters
Naked Snake — Roy Campbell — Jonathan — Para-Medic — Sigint Null — Gene — Python — Cunningham — Elisa and Ursula Colonel Skowronski — Sokolov — Ocelot — EVA — Major Zero — Raikov Teliko — Venus