User blog:Sclera1/Yuri (Command & Conquer)

Yuri is a fictional character and one of the antagonists in the real-time strategy computer game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and its expansion, Yuri's Revenge, portrayed by the actor Udo Kier. He is a powerful telepath and the chief advisor to Premier Romanov (his role is initially similar to Kane's role in the original Red Alert). Yuri has the Hebrew letters "resh", "vav" and "yod" tattooed on his forehead. This is possibly a resemblance to the name "Yuri", but being there no dot under the yod, it suggests that it's simplified Hebrew. However, at the end of the Soviet Campaign in Yuri's Revenge he retreats to a family castle in Transylvania, Romania. His origin remains unclear.

History
Yuri was a member of a group of telepaths gathered by Premier Joseph Stalin. The group underwent training that allowed each member to engage in mind control, and was used by Stalin to achieve political goals. Yuri's history prior to his participation in said group, as well as the fate of the other telepaths, remains unknown. Presumably, they formed the backbone of the Psychic Corps headed by Yuri by the time of Red Alert 2.

While Yuri does not explicitly appear in the original Red Alert, there is a possible early appearance in the expansion pack Aftermath. In the expansion games are missions in which the Soviets construct attack submarines (possibly the forerunners of Yuri's "Boomer" submarines, though more likely the Typhoon Attack Subs that featured in Red Alert 2), and various other early technologies seen in Red Alert 2. Additionally, in the expansion are the missions "Situation Critical", in which a renegade Soviet faction steals bio-weapons for use against the Allies, in much the same way as Yuri's renegade army steals from Romanov's military, and the mission "Brothers in arms", in which the Molotov brothers, one of whom is explicitly named as "Yuri", are found to be conducting secret armaments deals with the Alliance. This may or may not be the Yuri of the later games. After the events of the first game, Yuri worked his way up until he became the adviser to Soviet Premier Romanov.

According to former C&C designer Adam Isgreen, Yuri was originally intended to be an acolyte of Kane's, who was "sucked into a chrono-vortex that was created by a Chronosphere that GDI inadvertently activated" at some point in Westwood Studio's version of C&C3. This would then have created the alternate universe comprising the events of Red Alert 2.

Abilities
Yuri is capable of exerting immense psychic control over his targets, but this only seems to be possible due to his array of bizarre machinery and personal augmentations, which he can use to influence individuals across the globe. Yuri himself appears to have been cybernetically enhanced, and his shaved head is fitted with what is apparently a surgically-attached mechanism to his cerebral cortex to enhance his personal psychic skills. The mechanism consists of a metal band stretching across the top of his skull from ear to ear, with another metal band around the back of his neck. These two bands are connected by six black cables, which appear to have an important function; the final cutscene of the Allied missions in Yuri's Revenge reveals that the Allies have removed the cables, and Yuri is no longer capable of projecting psychic control over others, though it may be possible that it is because of his chamber or special headgear on the guards.

Yuri is capable of influencing select individuals across the globe by using a modified telephone, consisting of a standard rotary phone handpiece with a spiral transmitter attached to the earpiece. In Red Alert 2, Yuri first uses the machine to phone the commander of an American ICBM base during the Soviet invasion, psychically controlling him to ensure that the hatch doesn't open when the missiles launch. He is later seen using the phone to control General Vladimir, who falls under Yuri's psychic control despite not having an earpiece or using a phoneline at the time. In Red Alert 2:Yuri's Revenge, Yuri uses the same telephone to contact Lt. Eva, learning of the secret meeting of world leaders being held in London.

In Red Alert 2, it is revealed that Yuri has at his disposal several machines which are capable of independently relaying psychic energy. The Psychic Beacon is a large machine capable of mind-controlling people within a considerable range, including the entire garrison of New York City. The Psychic Amplifier is a much larger device capable of mind-controlling an entire continent, but is destroyed by the Allies in Chicago while still under construction. In Yuri's Revenge, Yuri has at his disposal more psychic machinery, including Psychic Radar (available to the Soviets in Red Alert 2 as the "Psychic Sensor") and Psychic Dominators, but he rarely uses Beacons or Amplifiers (with the exception of two missions in the Soviet campaign). In Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge, he planned to use Psychic Dominators in his bid for world domination.

Game unit
Although Yuri does not appear in any of the campaigns, there are two units bearing his name, one being the Yuri Prime which is the original Yuri, who is a stronger version of the regular Yuri Clones.

Red Alert 2
In Red Alert 2 skirmish and multiplayer modes, the Soviet side trains Yuris instead of the Psi Corps troopers found in the campaign, although the two are functionally identical - they both mind control enemy units and can unleash a psychic blast that kills both friendly and enemy infantry within a short radius of the telepath.

Also, if a Soviet player manages to get a spy into the Battle Lab of an enemy Soviet player, he gains access to a hero Yuri Prime unit. The latter differs from the clone units, such as he can explore land terrain though levitation (unlike the clone units), can mind control enemy units from a much longer range than the "standard" Yuris, and his psychic blast has a greater radius. However, it is not specified whether this is the original Yuri. There is also another Yuri like unit known as the Psychic Commando, which can also mind control one enemy unit at a time, and destroy buildings with C4 charges; he is available to the Allies upon infiltration of the Yuri Battle Lab with a Spy.

Yuri's Revenge
In Yuri's Revenge, Yuri's army fields a large number of Yuri Clones identical to the Yuris from Red Alert 2 but cheaper.

In skirmish and multiplayer modes, the Yuri player can train the Yuri Prime hero unit. Only one can be produced, however if the player has built cloning vats, a clone will be made, giving the player two Yuri Prime units. He can mind control both enemy units and buildings and rides a hover platform that allows him to cross water. Also, the psychic blast of Yuri Prime has a greater radius and does not harm friendly infantry. He cannot be run over by vehicles, except the Allied "Battle Fortress", a large tank-like vehicle that can be garrisoned by several soldiers which has the ability to crush any of the heroes beneath its treads.

Red Alert 2
Yuri plays a key part in both the preparation and execution of the Soviet invasion of the U.S., using his mind-control technology to prevent nuclear retaliation, and later to turn the American population into mindless slaves via giant Psychic Beacons.

In the Soviet campaign, Yuri initially serves as an advisor to Premier Romanov and the commander of the Psychic Corps of the Soviet Army. The Premier favors General Vladimir, whom Yuri sees as incompetent. Yuri uses his influence on Romanov to give the command over important battles to the player. As the war progresses successfully, Yuri replaces Romanov as supreme commander of the Soviet army, eventually removing the latter from office completely, claiming the Premier has "fallen ill". Vladimir accuses him of treason. After ignoring Vladimir's accusations for a while, Yuri claims that Romanov has been murdered by Vladimir and declares him a non-person. When Vladimir is captured (never to be seen again), Yuri sends members of his "psi corps" to mind control the American President. When the mission is successful, Yuri realizes the commander he himself so advocated to advance has become too powerful within the army. He then invites the player to come to Moscow, to "personally thank" him for their services. Simultaneously, a video recording made by Romanov prior to his death reveals that Yuri was actually the mastermind behind his death, controlling him and then disposing of him. The player then destroys the Kremlin, trapping Yuri under the debris. The Soviets then capture Yuri's files to locate the last remaining Allied Base. At the end of the Soviet campaign, a human brain is shown floating in a jar, and Yuri's voice whispers that he would have liked to have read the player's mind, and that "he may still have a chance".

In the Allied campaign, after a brief appearance in a mission briefing, he is nowhere to be seen. It's assumed that he is gathering his forces and is in San Francisco, setting up the Psychic Dominator as seen in the beginning of Yuri's Revenge.

Yuri's Revenge
In the expansion pack Yuri's Revenge, the Allies have won. Yuri returns and serves as the main villain in both campaigns. Yuri then resurfaces with an army of his own and a plot to take over the world with mind-controlling Psychic Dominators affecting nearly every country. Yuri personally announces the activation of this network to President Dugan. The latter orders an airstrike on the nearest Dominator, damaging its power generator and saving the San Francisco area and his command center from falling under Yuri's control. However, the majority of humanity succumbs to Yuri's dominance permanently. The Allies and Soviets both take up arms against Yuri, using the Allied-built time machine to travel back in time and stop Yuri from carrying out his plan.

In the Soviet campaign, the Soviets change the outcome of the previous war in their favor by destroying Albert Einstein's laboratory and Chronosphere and gain control of the Allied armies (The player plays the opposing side of an Allied mission from Red Alert 2, in which the player had to defend the lab and Chronosphere. Hence, the mission's name "Operation Deja Vu"). Shortly after, Yuri's forces intercept Premier Romanov's plane, and attempt to capture him when the latter survives the crash. The attempt fails. Yuri constructs a massive fleet of Boomer submarines to take out the world's major cities. When the fleet is sunk, Yuri launches a space mission towards the Moon. Soviet troops follow this mission and destroy Yuri's new Moon base. Eventually, Soviet and Allied armies defeat Yuri in his family castle in Transylvania but manages to escape using the time machine captured in the beginning of the campaign. However Lt. Zofia and the commander find out about Yuri's plan and force the time machine to malfunction, sending him in the prehistoric era where he is killed by a T-Rex.

In the Allied campaign, Yuri captures Hollywood and starts "recycling" its population in Grinders to fuel his war effort. Movie stars, such as "Flint Westwood", "Arnie Frankenfurter", and Sammy Stallion" aid the Allies in foiling this plot. Yuri then turns his attention to Seattle and "Massivesoft", using the company's R&D teams to advance his genetic research (which later manifests in a mutation inducing device), as well as blackmailing its owner for money. Yuri also threatens the city with a nuclear missile, but the Allies push his forces out using a weather-control machine. Next, professor Albert Einstein is kidnapped at Yuri's orders. The former's expertise is used to try and accelerate the construction of Yuri's global network of Psychic Dominators, but Einstein sabotages the one he is assigned to in Egypt and is later rescued by Tanya Adams. Yuri launches a cloning operation in Australia, attempting to replace the world's leaders with clones. When this fails, he mind controls Lt. Eva Lee into revealing the secret location of a convention where the aforementioned leaders gather to sign a military cooperation treaty between the Allies and Soviets. A direct assault on the London Houses of Parliament ensues. After the assault fails, Yuri is tracked down by Lt. Eva, allowing the Allies and Soviets to finally destroy the last Psychic Dominator and capture him in Antarctica.

Downfall
In the Soviet campaign, Yuri, unharmed by the Soviet attack on his lair, attempts to escape into the past using the time machine he captured in San Francisco, stating that time was his 'to command and conquer'. However, Lt. Zofia drains the power reserves into the time machine, resulting in a similar effect the Soviets faced when first experimenting with the time machine. The result is that Yuri is trapped in the Cretaceous period for good, where the time machine is attacked by a T. rex. It is to be presumed that the bewildered and frightened Yuri is subsequently devoured off-screen.

In the Allied campaign, the Allies capture Yuri in Antarctica and haul him to prison. There he is put inside Doctor Einstein's latest invention, the Psychic Isolation Chamber, which is used to strip Yuri of his mind control abilities, guarded by security personnel with headsets that block psychic transmission. There, it is assumed Yuri remains in prison for the rest of his life. As General Carville put it: "He won't be able to mind control a fly."