Soviet characters of Command & Conquer

This page lists characters of the Soviet Union in the Command & Conquer: Red Alert series of computer and video games.



Premier Joseph Stalin
Played by: Gene Dynarski

The Premier and General Secretary of the Soviet Union, who is based on the real life Joseph Stalin.

The Soviet campaign leader, he is backed up by Nadia, General Gradenko, General Georgi Kukov, and Kane.

In the Soviet victory, Great Britain has been conquered and Stalin is seen celebrating. However, in a plot devised by Stalin's shadowy advisor Kane, Nadia kills Stalin. After drinking poisoned tea prepared by Nadia, Stalin dies and the fate of the Soviet Union remains a mystery.

In the Allied victory movie, after being severely wounded during the siege and capture of Moscow, he is smothered to death by Stavros.



Kane
Played by: Joseph D. Kucan

See the main article: Kane (Command & Conquer)

The mastermind of the Brotherhood of Nod in the Tiberium series, who appears several times throughout the Soviet campaign as a mysterious counselor to Joseph Stalin. In the (noncanonical) end of the Soviet campaign, Nadia assassinates Stalin, proclaiming her secret membership of the Brotherhood; however, when she comments that the commander would serve as a puppet leader for the foreseeable future, Kane shoots her, exclaiming "I am the future". He does not appear in the Red Alert series after that. His appearance in the game serves as the key confirmation that the Tiberium series take place in the Red Alert universe.

However, as he does not appear again in the timeline after the Allied victory over the Soviets in Red Alert, it may be surmised that the Tiberium timeline only results from a Soviet victory in Red Alert 1 and the subsequent Red Alert 2 & 3 timelines are completely separate from the main Tiberium universe.

Field Marshal Gradenko
Played by: Alan Terry

A competent military officer who commanded Red Army troops in the conquest of East Asia. His success there resulted in his promotion to Marshal and won him an advisory position to Joseph Stalin during the subsequent war in Europe. Though Gradenko had been an outstanding strategist, he made a number of mistakes at the beginning of this new war which included the loss of the USSR's stockpiles of nerve gas, a critical element in Stalin's original plans. Nadia, who was Gradenko's main opponent at the head of the Communist Party, convinced Stalin of Gradenko's incompetence. To prove his loyalty, Gradenko was forced by Stalin to sign the death warrants of Soviet generals who Stalin claimed were plotting to assassinate him.

Gradenko was the Soviet leader who was most suspicious of the "General" (the player) and seemed to have a somewhat aggressive attitude towards him. He was also the general who informed Stalin of the Allied Chronosphere project, something that led to Stalin's obsession with seizing it. Neither Gradenko nor his fellow general Kukov were informed of the Iron Curtain project. Nor were either of them (or Stalin for that matter) aware of the true powers within the Communist Party: Kane, the leader of Nod, and Nadia, who served as his deputy.

After numerous failures, Gradenko was killed by poisoned tea served by Nadia and replaced by General Georgi Kukov. Gradenko was subsequently proclaimed a traitor to the Soviet Union.

SEC Nadia
Played by: Andrea C. Robinson

The chief of the NKVD, she often gives the player specific assignments as the intelligence officer. Secretly, Nadia actually is a member of the Brotherhood of Nod society, which is featured prominently in the Tiberian series, as revealed in the final Soviet cutscene. Several scenes hint that she was Stalin's mistress as well.

Nadia is shown to favor the player over the other Soviet officers, Gradenko and Kukov. She serves poisoned tea to Gradenko, killing him painfully as a punishment for his incompetence. In the end of the Soviet campaign, she poisons Stalin, and shoots him four times in the stomach and once in the eye. She is killed by Kane with a gunshot through her back in the final Soviet ending video, the latter apparently having lost the need for her.

She is famous for her poisoned teas, exclaiming "I prepared it myself" when both Stalin and Gradenko comment on its good taste, and her quote "You bastard pig! You'll never touch me with your filthy hands again!".

General Georgi Kukov
Played by: Craig Cavanah

The commander of the Red Army, who was inspired by Georgi Zhukov's figure. Unlike Zhukov, Kukov is depicted as a poor strategist. Showing great individual bravery during the (fictional) capture of Berlin, Kukov was promoted to a general. He took part in the conspiracy against Field Marshal Gradenko, and Joseph Stalin made him his main advisor. He is killed thanks to his own blunder—when the player is required to capture the Allied Chronosphere (Mission 13) and fails, Kukov blames the player saying he is a horrible strategist, but Nadia counters by saying Kukov's intelligence was the true reason: Kukov had apparently overlooked another Allied base and forgot to inform the player of said base. Needless to say Stalin is furious and kills Kukov by breaking his neck.

General Topolov
Played by: Alan Charof

A high ranked Soviet military commander and mentor to the player. He only appears during Red Alert: Retaliation. After the final Soviet mission in retaliation, Topolov retires, leaving his "drafty corner office" to the player. Unlike the other Red Alert Soviet military personnel, Topolov is not scheming or manipulative, instead acting friendly towards the commander (after the first mission he says: "I like you – I like you very much; and I'm Russian – I do not like anybody! – But I drink to you, comrade.").

Major Vladmiral Kosygin
An atomic scientist working for the Soviet Union, but loathes Stalin's ethics and defects to the Allies during the course of the game. He is the first to alert the Allies of Soviet nuclear missiles and instructs the player to destroy them.

Volkov
Volkov and his dog Chitzkoi are technologically augmented units built by the Soviet Union. Volkov is more powerful than Tanya and has substantially heavier armour. He is either armed with a machine gun or hand cannon. In the expansion mission named "Situation critical" he was captured by the Allies, who attempted to re-program him. The aim of the mission was to recover him before a certain length of time elapsed. If the player was not fast enough in rescuing him the re-programming caused him to begin attacking everything, necessitating his destruction. He was originally supposed to featured in Red Alert 2 and is the character depicted on the games box artwork, by the time of Red Alert 2's release though he had been excluded. The Soviets would not have an equivalent to a Tanya unit in Red Alert 2 until Boris was introduced in Yuri's Revenge. Due to his cybernetic augmentation he is immune to the Chrono Legionnaire's Neutron Rifle, and the only infantry unit who can safely use the chronosphere.

Chitzkoi is similar to the standard Attack Dogs used by the Soviets, although with a greatly increased attack range, and more health. Volkov and Chitzkoi reappear in the Mental Omega mod for Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge.

Yuri and Daniel Molotov
Arms dealers who appear in the expansion pack The Aftermath. They betray the Soviet Union and are killed by the player.

Premier Alexander Romanov
Played by: Nicholas Worth

The eccentric Premier of the Soviet Union following the death of Joseph Stalin, and launches an attack on the United States. Romanov has a painted turtle named Sam, after Uncle Sam. Though he is shown to very ruthless, he is an extremely comical figure and is very prone to make a fool of himself in when things are not going his way.

Romanov is a distant relative of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, and—despite the purge of his extended family—he is also a Bolshevik. He is appointed by the Allied commanders to be the puppet head of the Soviet Union after its defeat following Stalin's invasion of Europe (which took place in Command & Conquer: Red Alert). Romanov at first acquiesces to the demands the victorious Allies make, though he begins to build up a sizable military again for "defense purposes", and acquires one of Stalin's former psychics, Yuri, as his advisor. He shifts away from the western bloc diplomatically as well, stressing his belief in world revolution and forming the World Socialist Alliance (with Yuri's aid) for "peaceful" purposes. Romanov's true agenda is to use the World Socialist Alliance to begin a new war against the United States using masses of troops from all of the Second World's countries to swarm over the U.S. border with Mexico. Romanov's advisor Yuri provides the Soviets with numerous psychic technologies which Romanov implements all over the United States, most notably to mind control civilian populations to stop resistance using psychic beacons, and to mind control the soldiers in the United States' nuclear silos to prevent ICBMs from being used in the war.

In the Soviet campaign of Red Alert 2, Yuri gradually applies psychic pressure until he can mind control Romanov to give him command of the Soviet Union's armed forces, and then has Romanov brutally murdered. Before his death in the Soviet campaign, Romanov records a message on a VHS cassette detailing his plight which is sent to the player. The message gives the player full command over the Soviet troops and to "take my country back for the glory of Russia, and the spirit of justice". This ending is not canonical, as Romanov is still alive at the events of the Yuri's Revenge expansion and the Allies have won the war, where in the ending of the game for the Soviets has the player conquering the world and destroying the Kremlin, and has all of the original major Soviet characters, except for Lieutenant Zofia and the commander, killed.

In the Allied campaign of Red Alert 2, the Allies invade Moscow, and special agent Tanya arrests Romanov in the Moscow Kremlin, where he is found with body doubles, while hiding under his desk wearing white boxers with hammers and sickles stamped all over them.

At the start of the Soviet campaign of Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge Romanov is imprisoned in the Tower of London. From his cell, he contacts "Comrade General" (the player) and Lt. Zofia in order to give them a message for his past self, containing warnings about the way Allies won the war using Einstein's Chronosphere technology, as well as information of Yuri's betrayal. After receiving the message, the Romanov from the past instructs the player to destroy professor Albert Einstein's laboratory, thus guaranteeing a victory in the war against the Allies. After his plane is shot down in Morocco he escapes from Yuri's forces. Romanov is only controlable on that mission. He does nothing much, but must be escorted to an airbase and protected from mind control and being killed. Then he sends the player on missions to crush Yuri and his mind-controlled armies throughout the world and even on the moon. In the ending, the world is conquered by the Soviets and Romanov's ambitious space programs expand the socialist world throughout the Solar System.

In the Allied campaign of Yuri's Revenge the Allies still manage to win the war against him. After he surrenders, he meets with the other leaders of the international community in the Parliament building and they write up and ratify a treaty forming a military alliance to defeat Yuri for once and for all. It is assumed he retains control over the Soviet Union after Yuri is defeated.

In the beginning of Red Alert 3 due to the timeline of Yuri's Revenge he's not imprisoned as stated in Red Alert 2. As the Allies move in towards Moscow he's mentioned to have left his office early in order to escape the Allies. It's presumed that with the elimination of Einstein he never assumed power. This ambiguous disappearance of Romanov might be chalked up to the fact that Worth died in 2007, a year before the release of Red Alert 3.

General Vladimir
Played by: Adam Greggor

A loyal and experienced general of the Soviet Union, and its most senior commander. He is well liked by Premier Romanov, who is often wary of sending the other general (the player) out to face enemies without Vladimir's aid in the Soviet missions.

As the Soviets, the player is forced to work under Vladimir's command in attacking a naval base in Florida. Vladimir gets back to Moscow first, however, and takes all of the glory for the operation (which the player is responsible for the vast majority of - at the beginning of the mission, Vladimir recklessly rushes into battle with his command ship, and is quickly forced to retreat by the Allied navy) Yuri uses the excuse that Vladimir is too ambitious and power hungry considering his lack of military achievement, and when Romanov later wants to use Vladimir to defend Vladivostok from a South Korean attack. Yuri first tries to discourage the notion and then shows that Vladimir is currently in a hot tub with two girls in bikinis. This apparently makes Romanov think less of Vladimir, as in the briefing for the next mission he has succumbed to some of Yuri's psychic pressure and promotes Yuri to Generalissimo of the Soviet Union.

When Yuri takes Romanov's place after murdering Romanov, he declares Vladimir an enemy of the people and a nonperson and orders the player to kill him. Vladimir, who has taken up refuge in occupied Washington, D.C., desperately tries to convince the player of Yuri's treachery but to no avail. The player is forced to capture him in order to proceed to the point where it is found out that Yuri is a traitor.

As the Allies, the player fights against Vladimir at least once, in Chicago. This particular mission ends with a transmission to the player showing Vladimir pressing a button to launch a nuclear missile at the city. During the briefings for several other Allied missions, the player is told that Vladimir is commanding the Soviet forces.

In Red Alert 2, his fate in the Allied campaign and the expansion pack, Yuri's Revenge, is unclear, as it's never stated what happened to him after the war and he doesn't appear in either the Allied and Soviet campaigns in Yuri's Revenge. As the General who ordered the nuclear destruction of Chicago, it can be assumed he was put on trial for war crimes, and possibly executed. In the Soviet campaign, Vladimir is killed by Yuri using his Psychic abilities, after Vladimir rebelled against Yuri's plot to control Soviet Russia and the latter ordered the player to defeat his forces in Washington, D.C.

Lieutenant Zofia
Played by: Aleksandra Kaniak

The Soviet Commander's advisor of Bulgarian descent, and the Soviet equivalent of Lieutenant Eva Lee, who advises to the player in the Allied campaign. In both the original game and the expansion pack, she plays little to no other role than being a nonetheless competent assistant to the player. She shows great esteem and loyalty towards both the player and Premier Romanov, and seems to be completely devoid of any ulterior motivation. On rare occasions, she displays what seems to be outbursts of affection for the Commander.

Zofia's only active involvement in a combat operation is perhaps during the Soviet ending of Yuri's Revenge expansion pack, where she overloads Yuri's time machine, sending him to the time of the dinosaurs, where it is assumed that he is eaten by a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Boris
A Soviet commando and counterpart to the Allied Tanya Adams in Yuri's Revenge. He is armed with a powerful AKM rifle which is effective against both vehicles and infantry. He can destroy entire buildings by pointing at them with a laser and calling in an airstrike from MiG-29s. He came to be the foremost and mainly used character of the Soviets in some of their missions, specifically speaking, in capturing the time machine. It is said he is a 'hero of all Russia' after distinguishing himself in the last war, although he is never seen in Red Alert 2

His image never seen during any FMV sequences in Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge.

Yuri
Played by: Udo Kier 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 nonperson. 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.

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.

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."

Yuri's ability to mind control animals is arbitrary - he is unable to control attack dogs, the T-Rex that killed him when he transported back to the Jurassic Period, and other dinosaurs encountered during the game. He is however, able to control npc animals such as the cow, monkey and alligator. Also he cannot mind control the robot units created by the Allies in "Yuri's Revenge".

Premier Anatoly Cherdenko
Played by: Tim Curry

Colonel Anatoly Cherdenko was the director of the Soviet Temporal Displacement project and went back in time to erase Einstein, resulting in him becoming the Premier in the new timeline. His intention was to save the USSR from defeat at the hands of the Allies. While the USSR is stronger now, his actions led to the rise of the Empire of the Rising Sun. Late in the Soviet campaign, he shows his true colors faking his own "assassination" in order to frame General Krukov and get him killed by the commander. Cherdenko then later tries to kill the commander after he learns of the altered timeline, but fails. Afterward he also disappears and with Dr. Zelinsky dead, this gives the commander a chance to become the new premier after the defeat of the last allied base in New York City. In the Empire campaign, he is seen only when he is killed by the commander for creating a time machine after the destruction of the Kremlin, trying to escape with the time machine in a Twinblade helicopter. In the Allied campaign, he is initially kind to the commander for helping him defeat the Empire of the Rising Sun, but ultimately betrays their alliance despite the commander saving Moscow. In the last mission, the commander must prevent him from escaping into space by destroying the Iron Curtains being used to defend the rocket launch site in Leningrad. After the last mission, he is held in 'cryo-prison" for crimes against humanity.

General Nikolai Krukov
Played by: Andrew Divoff

The leader of the Red Army, who was Cherdenko's superior prior to the trip to the past, so he naturally resents the new Premier. He does not think highly of the Commander as he was Cherdenko’s choice and never shows the commander any respect. Krukov is somewhat narcissistic, sporting a huge row of self-awarded medals. He is a decent commander, but is the type to take credit for the player's successes and blame the player for his failures. In the Soviet campaign, Cherdenko frames Krukov for an attempt on his own life, and thus the General is killed by the player. On the Allies campaign, he attempts to help the commander defeat the Empire of the Rising Sun in Tokyo, by sending the "full" might of the Russian Navy, but made excuses, first saying that they were delayed by weather, and finally stating that they are too far away to make any real difference for the battle. In reality he betrays the Allies by building up an invasion force in Cuba, consisting of Kirov Airships loaded with 50 megaton bombs. At the end of the Allies campaign he is shown to be held in "cryo-prison" along with Cherdenko. In the Empire campaign, he is killed by the player in the mission in Moscow after refusing to surrender to the Emperor.

Doctor Gregor Zelinsky
Played by: Peter Stormare

A scientist, considered one of the most intelligent minds of Russia (if not the entire world) developed the USSR's Temporal Displacement Device in a twelve-year long secret project. His device would be used in the mission to eliminate Einstein, shown in the prelude of Red Alert 3, though he is against the decision and worries of the consequences as he tried to stop the assassination when they met Einstein. With resulting creation of the Empire of the Rising Sun, his concerns were shown to be well-founded. It's shown later on that he defects to the Allies in an attempt to redeem himself of the deeds he created, but in the Soviet campaign he reveals to the player that the Soviets altering the timeline caused the events of the game, and the eventual betrayal of the Premier. When the commander tries to contact him again he's mysteriously gone. He also defects in the Allied campaign, though this time he survives, and reveals to the Allied commander and Bingham that the events that happened were the result of Soviets tampering with the timeline and warns them of the Invasion force being built up in Cuba. The Empire campaign he is first observed via spy robot by the Empire, revealing to Ackerman (the spy robot) and Bingham the Soviets' tampering with the timeline. In the last mission of the Empire campaign, he is apparently granted command over the Soviet army (as both Cherdenko and Krukov are dead) and interferes with the assault using massive Orbital Drops on the entire city, while garrisoning himself inside the Futuretech Co. building in an effort to use the Allies' Chronosphere technology to construct a new time machine and prevent the rise of the Empire. When the Commander manages to reach the outskirts of the Futuretech Co. he chrono-teleports Vacuum Imploders across the entire city, wiping out the player's base and army; using the Emperor's Elite Bodyguards the player destroys the Futuretech Co. building. Dr. Gregor Zelinsky is killed by the player as the Futuretech Co. building is blown up.

His last words were: "No no no no NO! You are a mistake! — My mistake!!!" implying that it was his mistake being unable to stop the Premier using the time machine, and cause the rise of the Empire.

Intelligence Officer Dasha Fedorovich
Played by: Ivana Miličević

The Soviet Intelligence officer, who performs essentially the same function in the game as the Allies' Lt. Eva and the Empire's Suki Toyama. Her loyalty is with the commander, proven when Premier Cherdenko goes mad and attempts to kill the commander. She is perhaps the firmest believer in communism on the Soviet side, in the Allied campaign she actually considered the Soviets invading New York liberators. In the end of the Soviet Campaign she toasts the commander on his election to Premier.

She returns in Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Uprising as the new Soviet leader. She performs as a respected leader commanding the resistance forces of the Soviet Union who is only a shadow of its previous glory. Dasha and the Russian Commander together sever the influential corruption of President Rupert Thornley, who is plotting to conquer the world with the FutureTech technology, and to erase the Soviet Union from history through the use of the Sigma Harmonizer. When proven triumphant by destroying the Future Tech Harmonizer, the Allies leader leave alone the Reds and Dasha at their command. She proclaims in the Soviet ending that they will begin to rebuild the greatest USSR.

Sniper Natasha Volkova
Played by: Gina Carano

A Russian folk hero, so much so that hers is a household name (her first name, that is) among Soviet citizens who love to show up in throngs to her staged appearances on national holidays and in military parades. Paraphernalia autographed by this highly decorated Leningrad-born sniper is known to sell for many tens of thousands of rubles, though few Soviets would be unconscionable enough to willingly part with such a treasure. After all, the Soviet Union has none other so renowned for her astonishing marksmanship, startling beauty, and complete devotion to the Soviet cause. Allegedly, Natasha's natural talent with a rifle was discovered early on by Soviet military recruiters, who worked with the press to make her name and prowess become the talk of the Union—and, before long, the world. Questions exist as to her identity, personality, and abilities, with some suspecting that aspects of these may have been fabricated for the purposes of propaganda. While her exploits may be exaggerated, she is determined to serve the Soviet cause.

There may be a darker side to Natasha's story. While government agencies have flatly dismissed or even incarcerated journalists who questioned Natasha's military conduct or the validity of official sources about her life and career, rumors and gossip of Natasha's "shocking cruelty" supposedly still circulate among the conscripts who have seen her in combat firsthand. One infamous story about her involves an execution of six enemy prisoners-of-war with a single shot from her custom rifle.

Urban legends further suggest she may not even be of Soviet descent, or that she may not even be the "real" Natasha. This, in turn, gives rise to further conspiracy theories about how, exactly, a youthful-looking woman such as Ms. Volkova could have operated in so many combat encounters in such a short period of time. Certainly, argue the theorists, she cannot be a single person. On the other hand, one of Natasha's qualities that is widely accepted is her propensity for showmanship: Her unorthodox marksmanship technique looks almost like an elaborate dance. In the game, Natasha's has an airstrike calling ability similar to that of Boris, and the vehicle-sniping ability of the GLA's Jarmen Kell. Her sniper shots also have the ability of going through multiple units in a straight line. Due to a combination of her long range and ability to kill any infantry unit with a single hit, Natasha is also among a few units capable of effectively countering the Empire's psychic commando, Yuriko Omega.

Commander Zhana Agonskaya
Played by: Vanessa Branch

A Soviet Co-Commander, who has a background in the Russian Air force and Russian Intelligence. She constantly boasts about having the most loyal units to the Motherland, and is deeply committed to the cause of Soviet Communism. With her background in the Air force, she has preference for air units, in particular the Twin Blade attack helicopter. Since she came into command of the air force (and was included in their ad campaign), the Soviet military has received an unprecedented number of new recruits. She helps the player clear Vladivostok of Empire troops and survive the Premier's betrayal on Easter Island. In the Allied campaign, she leads the Soviets in the attack on one of the Imperial floating fortresses, with the Allied troops. In the Imperial campaign, she fights the Japanese in Stalingrad.

Commander Oleg Vodnik
Played by: Dimitri Diatchenko

A friend to the Soviet Commander since their days at the Academy. He is mentioned in the game to be one of the few commanders to be promoted from a conscript to a General due to him cheating death on a consistent basis on the battlefield, which explains his respect for the lower ranks of the Soviet Army. Despite being overly casual for a General, his positive attitude and reliability in battle more than compensate for his quirks as a commander. Yet, despite his rise from lowly origins, his strategies are rather basic, as he prefers massing tanks to crush the enemy while placing less emphasis on air and navy units. He deeply admires his long-time friend, the player. He helps protect the St. Peter and Paul Fortress in Leningrad from Empire attack, as well as capture the Swiss banks in Geneva. Furthermore, he helps the Commander to fight Major Giles at the Von Esling air base and eliminates the "traitorous" General Krukov (branded a traitor by Premier Cherdenko). The Allies fight against Oleg at least twice in the Allied Campaign; during the liberation of Heidelberg, and during the battle on Cuba. In the Imperial Campaign, during the invasion of Vorkuta, he is greatly displeased at the Japanese for attacking on a holiday.

In Uprising, Oleg returns as a military leader of the Soviet affairs. His uniform has changed since Red Alert 3. In a stunning move, he mounts a full scale assault against the Empire's territory. His first move is to take out the main border by attacking Commander Kenji. Despite ruthless efforts, he is defeated. His last defeat is at the hand of the Imperial Commander who presumably eliminates him along with Moskvin.

Commander Nikolai Moskvin
Played by: Gene Farber

A commander with a notorious sadistic streak, his mood swings are as unpredictable as his tactics. His swings from cool to hysterical rage happen without warning but his strategies are always aggressive regardless of his mood. He likes the player and encourages him to eliminate the enemy painfully. He helps the Commander in the assassination of the Emperor, as well as in the destruction of the Statue of Liberty in New York, and takes great pleasure in killing Tanya if he kills her with his units; if the player kills her then he remarks that she should have had a more painful death. During the Allied campaign, his base in Cannes is destroyed. Later, he is forced to pair up with the Allies to fight against the Imperials in Gibraltar. In the Imperial campaign, his forces (along with Krukov's troops) are helplessly trampled by the Shogun Executioner in Odessa. Moskvin has a preference for special units, such as Terror Drones and Sickles.

In Uprising, he is a Soviet warlord fueled by revenge against the Japanese forces. During the Empire's campaign, Commander Moskvin attempts (and fails) to destroy the tomb of Emperor Yoshiro. He and Commander Oleg Vodnik are defeated and presumably killed in action when the Empire Commander ravages both their bases with the essential support of Giga Fortresses. Before his defeat, Moskvin blames Oleg for their defeat (and Oleg returns the sentiment).

Commander Vera Belova
Played by: Moran Atias

Known as a White Sparrow, this Ukrainian freedom fighter restored some sense of order and hope to the Soviet people after the collapse of their leadership after the war. Her promises of glory and retribution have inspired a new generation of Soviets to take up arms in the defense of their nation. She only appears in the Commander's Challenge.