Meet the Makarov
Revenge is like a ghost... It takes over every man it touches... Its thirst cannot be quenched... Until the last man standing has fallen...
Vladimir Makarov
Sound. Graphics. Gameplay. Story. These are just a few components of virtually any game. Modern Warfare 2 was no exception.
A person who played the campaign superficially will say that the entire storyline is complete nonsense, the ramblings of a scriptwriter. Others will say that the writer was completely out of it when he wrote the script, and that it can only be understood with at least some degree of inebriation.
However, there will always be people who say: "It's all possible. It's just an alternative reality — one of many." Nonsense? Perhaps. But one shouldn’t draw conclusions until they know the subject in sufficient detail.
But simply dissecting the plot would be far too boring. Therefore, I am launching a series called "Meet the...". Each such post will have two parts. The first will introduce the character. The second will explain why in the game the character acted this way, rather than that.
The first individual worthy of discussion is Makarov Vladimir R. (the full patronymic is unknown). Perhaps, potentially, he is the most interesting character. Purely because he is not absolute evil, not the standard "Main Villain." His actions are explicable, his goal in a sense righteous... But we'll get to all of that in due time.
General Information
Date of Birth: October 4, 1970
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 83.5 kg
Nationality: Russian
Biography
The world’s men of action... will look in wonder... how it came to this...
Vladimir Makarov
Makarov was born on October 4, 1970. According to CIA data, he graduated from Frunze Military Academy in Moscow, thereby becoming an officer. He served in the Russian army as a paratrooper. Later he was transferred to special forces and has been deployed in this role twice in Chechnya. There is information that his team conducted some of the most brutal "cleansing" raids.
Subsequent events are more obscure; various names and organizations are mentioned. The general idea is that Western human rights activists requested certain lists of individuals who most significantly violate these rights. Makarov was first on this list. He had no choice but to leave the army.
Evidently, this deeply offended him. He developed a strong hatred for the Russian government, but even more so — for the USA. He joins ultra-nationalist Zakhaev.
To earn money, he loots, kidnaps people, launders money, explodes, orchestrates terrorist acts. While Zakhaev was alive, he controlled Makarov's atrocities. But he was killed, and Makarov seized the opportunity.
Zakhaev became a hero of New Russia (why — below), while Makarov portrayed him in the light of a great martyr. Thus, he conducts magnificent propaganda.
Meanwhile, Makarov follows in Zakhaev's footsteps. However, Vladimir works not so much for the idea itself but for money. Interestingly, Makarov rarely conducted terrorist acts on Russian soil.
He has connections almost around the globe. For instance, a weapons dealer in Brazil — Rojas. A house with an extensive weapons depot on the Russian-Georgian border, a graveyard of planes in Afghanistan, and many more.
So, five years have passed since Zakhaev's death...
Video
In these videos, you can hear Makarov's voice. Full of spoilers.
Trailer from **May 24:**
Trailer from October 4:
Interesting Facts
[addressing Americans]
The world has been your battlefield. Everywhere you go, the blood of brothers and sons screams out against you.
Vladimir Makarov
Apparently, to avoid a misstep with the surname, the developers chose the surname "Makarov" after the homonymous Soviet pistol.
Makarov was voiced by Roman Varshavsky.
One of the trailers featuring Makarov was released on October 4 — on his birthday.
Makarov is the only one from the team in the mission "No Russian" who has no visible tattoos (including Allen).
Take a close look — Makarov's eyes are different colors. The right one is blue, while the left is green. He most likely has Heterochromia.
A Lyric Digression
Or about why Russians are not Russians, and the USA are not the USA
[continuation of the previous quote]
Perhaps you cannot yet hear it... because the soil is not your own. But you will... you will.
Vladimir Makarov
I think, before continuing, it is worth considering why one cannot take all of this seriously.
Although, no. Why one cannot take it seriously — you will understand. There are too many blunders in the game. But if you think about it, these are not just blunders. This is an alternative reality. And it is worth discussing how each character turned out in this reality.
What is Russia represented as in the developers' vision? It presents as a country that hates the USA, promotes terrorist acts (against the West), and seeks to restore the USSR. The latter was portrayed in the first part as a small civil war.
In fact, this is why Imran Zakhaev is memorialized. Note that he is a hero of New Russia. He became a hero thanks to the active propaganda from his supporters, led by Makarov.
The Americans, on the other hand, appear pompous and pseudo-great. In fact, the developers' attitude toward the USA can be well understood by the actions of Shepard and
the destroyed White House.
It seems that only the English managed to evade the consequences. But they appear in the game — only as characters essentially siding with the Americans.
And all the other nuances of these relationships we will see already in the game.
In game
... So, five years have passed since Zakhaev's death.
Surely, everyone knows about the infamous mission in the Zakhaev International Airport. Naturally, it is quite brutal. But from the perspective of the world where the actions take place, these atrocities, after a bit of reflection, seem justifiable.
Overall, at this point, there are 3 perspectives on what Makarov's motives were.
Just the ramblings of a scriptwriter
The official version
Player conjectures
We will not consider the first point. However, the official version (from the game world — the developers have commented on nothing) is worth recalling.
In a few sentences, it can be summarized as follows: Makarov blew Allen's cover, thus he took him along "for the job." There, the entire team spoke English with a clear American accent, carefully sweeping everything alive in the airport. Ultimately, Makarov kills Allen and makes his escape with the team in a rescue vehicle.
A scandal erupts, Russia is extremely offended at the Americans (after all, Makarov's team terribly imitated the Americans, and the discovered corpse actually belonged to a CIA agent), and they go to bash their faces in. At the same time, they manage to concoct something with satellites and send unnoticed over 100 planes, almost completely taking down Washington. And all of this — within a day. What happened next is not relevant to the case.
Of course, players are left wide-eyed and try to find at least some logical justification for what is happening. Characteristically — they found some.
Following Brainstorming
Yes, and generally, when it comes to "protection from the player," an event can only have two probabilistic assessments: "possible" and "impossible." No "very hard", or "who cares", or "they will fail", or even "no fool will go for that".
*Beta Testers: New Year’s Adventure of Testers (LKI, Ghost)*
It turned out to be sufficient to multiply several factors: alternative Russia, Makarov's views, his love for money, a plot in the style of James Bond, Russia’s responsiveness to attack.
In the end, a version was derived (it is indeed a version — it cannot be considered official) which smooths out almost all disputed moments. The Russian government is at fault. It had long contemplated plans to eliminate the USA, but needed a pretext. This was provided by Makarov, who was bought by the government.
Let’s consider the problem using the “Question-Answer” method, answering the most popular questions among us in the runet.
Q: What is Makarov's motive?
A: Money — the government bought him. Besides, he had long harbored a grudge against the USA.
Q: How was Allen’s cover blown?
A: Exactly unknown. Most likely, Makarov blew his cover and took him "for the job" to enhance the effect.
Q: Why so brutally?
A: The thing is that Americans in such a case would not be able to shirk — from the perspective of ordinary American citizens, the CIA is to blame, and they cannot provide any proof of Makarov’s involvement.
Q: Why does Makarov ask them not to speak a word of Russian?
A: As already frequently mentioned — they disguise themselves as agents of the American CIA. However, logically, it’s not quite clear why the CIA agents would begin shooting civilians, but the Americans were not given time to investigate this, and from the Russian side — it’s just part of the plan.
Q: Why did the attack happen so quickly?
A: The attack occurred just over a day later. The operation was planned meticulously, and at the moment of the attack, Makarov was in “ready to go” mode. Moreover, the specific time was planned so that it wasn’t just quick, but also so the entire world would have time to learn why the Americans are bad, and the Russians are good.
Q: How did Makarov manage to smuggle so much weaponry into the heart of the airport?
A: I think it wasn’t very difficult — after all, they check bags after registration. Judging by the beginning of the "No Russian" mission, they didn’t even make it to the metal detectors. And sneaking in weapons as baggage and quickly assembling them somewhere isn’t such a big problem.
Q: Why didn’t the Americans detect the planes until they were almost in visual contact?
A: The Russians must have done something with all their satellites right away. This is rather unlikely, but that’s the only option that is “theoretically possible.” Although, there are those who suggest that on that day, there was abnormal solar activity, far exceeding the norm. But this is less likely — the plan was evidently well thought out, and the losses of planes “on approach” were clearly not in these plans.
Q: Well, but why then were such massive preparations not noticed by intelligence?
A: Frankly, that is perhaps the only weak element. There are several options. It is possible that full secrecy was achieved. It's possible that all the needed spies were captured in time. Perhaps even that due to satellite jam they simply could not connect with the base, and communications in Russian territory were temporarily turned off. Overall, this is indeed an unclear point.
Q: Why didn’t the Americans simply nuke Russia?
A: Both Russia and the USA have enough nuclear potential to destroy the Earth several times over. Even if a strictly measured number of missiles were launched, Russia would clearly want to drag the USA down to the grave with it.
**Q:** Alright, let’s assume. But with the USA, did their detection system just die? Why didn’t they shoot down the missile launched by Price? And why didn’t they bomb Russia afterwards?
A: Good questions, purely because there are many answer options, and all are almost equally likely. It is hardest to answer the question "why they didn’t shoot down." There could be several options. Perhaps, the Americans wanted to intensify the hatred toward the Russians (but why?). It could also be that the satellites weren’t fully back in operation to accurately target the intercepting missile. Another option is that the Russians managed to eliminate all these systems. And finally — it was just fate. They missed, the system malfunctioned, etc. But why they didn’t retaliate? This is much simpler. The authority to launch missiles rests solely with General Shepard, who just had a conversation with Price. He saw some of the developments of his plan. Although he couldn’t prove anything, he had every reason to believe that it was Price and not Russia. Therefore, if they launched even one missile, it would start a nuclear war. Since the authority to launch missiles rests with Shepard, he did not take any action. Especially since, in the future, according to his plans, this explosion would positively affect his fate...
Q: Well, why was Makarov bought specifically, and not just exploited as an opportunity?
A: It shows a good plan — the war began perfectly. Making all necessary adjustments in a day and sending an army — unrealistic without preparation.
Q: Back to the airport mission: why didn’t the special forces stop the vehicle with Makarov?
A: It’s a rescue vehicle. Even special forces do not have the right to stop it unless they are absolutely sure that it contains a criminal or that the vehicle is "illegitimate".
As you can see, everything can be explained one way or another. Makarov is evil, but he has his motives — money and a goal. Moreover, the goal emerged from an old grudge.
Future Fate
Next time we meet Makarov in the plane graveyard in Afghanistan — this is the last bastion, the final stronghold of Makarov.
With nowhere else to go, he provides Price with information about Shepard's whereabouts. However, he reminds him that if it becomes necessary — he will also say a few words to Shepard.
We will not see or hear from him again. His fate remains unknown. He could have been killed at that graveyard...
Or perhaps he managed to escape.
To Be Continued...