Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin

Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin (Russian: Евгений Борисович Волгин), also known as Thunderbolt, was a sadistic Stalinist GRU colonel who attempted to seize control of the Soviet Union by overthrowing Nikita Khrushchev and installing Leonid Brezhnev and Aleksei Kosygin in his place.

Early Life
Not much is known about Volgin's early life. During World War II, he took part in the Katyn Forest Massacre, in which the Soviets murdered over 20,000 Polish officers. During this time he was serving in the NKVD, a Soviet police unit that murdered deserting or retreating Soviet soldiers.

Volgin was involved in putting down the Uprising of East Germany in 1953 and Hungarian Revolution in 1956, and boasts that he personally "disposed" of over 100,000 anti-communist activists.

At some point prior to Operation Snake Eater, Volgin's father (Boris Volgin) died and Volgin inherited the Philosophers' Legacy illegally.

Also, Volgin had somehow managed to procure the blueprints for the Objekt 279 when the project was shelved and started mass producing them using the Philosopher's Legacy.

Volgin was an extremely strong man, even for his large size. He combined his tremendous strength and skills with unexplained ability of electrical manipulation, gaining him the nickname "Thunderbolt" in America.

Volgin, under the rank of Colonel, was present during the Virtuous Mission, where he supervised the formal defection of The Boss to the Soviet Union. Unbeknownst to him, The Boss's defection was a ruse set up the US government to steal the Philosophers' Legacy from him. Unfortunately, Volgin, in a move seemingly not anticipated by the US government, fired an American-made Davy Crockett at Sokolov's research facility, destroying it in a nuclear explosion, and "framing" the US for the whole ordeal (in actuality, the CIA Director had manipulated Volgin into doing this as part of a greater plan to assassinate The Boss from the beginning). This sparked an international incident, and began Operation Snake Eater.

During the operation, Volgin was constantly enraged at Naked Snake's actions, and of the actions of a spy among their ranks. He was unaware that the spy he hated was in fact Tatyana, a woman he constantly abused. In his fortess of Groznyj Grad, Volgin found and captured Naked Snake, however, when Snake disguised himself as Volgin's lover, Raikov, in order to find Sokolov. After discovering Snake, he also proceeded to beat Snake for attacking Raikov. After Snake was knocked unconscious, Volgin took Snake to an interrogation cell and proceeded to torture him through electrocution. While torturing Snake (which was proving ineffective, as Snake was mentally trained as a FOX operative and The Boss's protege to not resist physical torture), a transmitter fell out of Snake, and he discovers that The Boss had planted it in him, supposedly to have the Cobra Unit find him easier. He tells her to cut out his eyes to prove that she isn't the spy in his ranks. Tatyana intervenes, which prompts Ocelot to threaten her by juggling his pistols and firing. Snake saves Tatyana by kicking Ocelot, but the muzzle flash from Ocelot's gun blinds him in one eye. Satisfied, Volgin departs, and Snake is taken back to his cell. Snake, however, escaped his prison cell and continued his mission to destroy the Shagohod.

Later, Volgin found Naked Snake planting C3 explosives on the Shagohod's liquid fuel tanks, intending to destroy it. He, with the assistance of Ocelot and The Boss, captured Snake. Whilst this was happening, EVA had stolen the Philosophers' Legacy microfilm from Groznyj Grad's underground vaults, but was discovered by the guards, revealing her true identity. Despite his regular sadistic behavior, he mentioned that he seemed to value Tatyana as a "pet", and "cared" for her before he discovered that she was the spy. Upon her capture, he says he plans to execute her.

Volgin faced Snake in combat, but was defeated by Snake despite his impressive electrical abilities. The Colonel was also then betrayed by Ocelot who witnessed the fight and refused to obey Volgin's orders. Snake and EVA escaped Groznyj Grad by motorcycle, but were quickly pursued by Volgin in the Shagohod, which they had in fact failed to destroy. As the chase dragged on, Volgin himself laid waste on Groznyj Grad in an attempt to kill Snake and EVA. The colonel even went as far as killing his own men that got in the way; this included shooting his own men with the Shagohod's machine guns, ramming into a MI-24 Hind and destroying it, smashing a WiG and even running over several of the motorbike crews that gave chase on Snake and EVA.

After the Shagohod was almost destroyed, Volgin piloted what was left of it to face Snake and EVA. Even after the Shagohod failed completely, Volgin refused to let it go, powering it with his own electricity. In the end, however, Volgin fell to Naked Snake's RPG-7.

Standing atop the ruined Shagohod, Volgin died after being struck by a bolt of lightning. Catching a glimpse of The Sorrow at that moment, Snake could not help but wonder if The Sorrow had summoned the lightning. Six years after Volgin's death, his defeat at the hands of Naked Snake (now known as Big Boss) was spread all over the Soviet Union, making Big Boss a hero to the Soviet Union's people, as well as in America.

Abilities
Volgin had incredible strength which made him a deadly foe in battle. He used his Makarov sidearm to shoot Sokolov in the kneecaps after deducing Major Raikov was Naked Snake in disguise. Colonel Volgin then turned the Makarov on Snake but the gun is disarmed from him with Snake's quick CQC skills. It was attempted to be used on Snake again once The Boss overpowered him, and The Boss did a similar disarming manuver to render him bare-handed.

He also used bullets which he fired using his electric powers. On top of this, however, Volgin possessed the ability of electrical manipulation; as he stated during his torture session with Naked Snake, his "body carries an electric charge of 10 million volts." How he acquired these powers is not revealed. He used it to enhance his strength to a superhuman level. Notably, he was seen punching through the solid metal of the Shagohod's armor which even the RPG-7 was unable to penetrate directly. Volgin was also known to peform an attack that does damage on three levels; to hold four bullets between his knuckles, punch a person, and drop the bullet casings in an intimidating manner. It worked three-fold, a punch, igniting the bullet's gunpowder for a "gunshot" effect, and using the metal of the bullets to conduct an electricity shock on the opponent. He first showcased this ability on a concrete wall after learning from The Boss that The Pain was killed by Naked Snake. He then did it on Granin while inside a metal drum.

However, the true capabilities of his electrical power were not seen until his battle with Naked Snake. During this battle, he demonstrated the ability to electrify metallic objects to his own specifications (for example, he was able to create a steady band of electricity across the floor) and project steady beams of electricity forward. Instead of using a firearm, he could hold bullets in his hands and use his power to ignite the propellant. He used this ability in several ways, including a barrage attack, a machine gun, and to increase the damage from his punches. He could also use it to create a shield that could temporarily protect him from gunfire. He also had the ability to channel his own electricity, as shown when he was able to revive and power the Shagohod after it was nearly destroyed by Naked Snake's RPG.

Nevertheless, his electricity was subject to the same physics as regular electricity. It was attracted by metal (which he used to his advantage to stop Naked Snake from using a gun by igniting all the bullets in the magazine at once). It might also been that he himself was vulnerable to it, as he wore an insulated rubber suit under his clothes (this may explain the lightning-shaped scars on his face and arms). This is further implied with his apparent hate for water.

Personality
Volgin is shown to have a ruthless and almost power-hungry individual, as one of the reasons why he desired to overthrow Khrushchev and install Breznev and Kosygin in his place was so he could secretly control the Soviet Union. He is also extremely sadistic, as evidenced by his love of torture (even though most of the times he tortures people he also kills them before they even get the chance to reveal any intel.) as well as his frequent abuse of EVA/Tatyana and his boasts of killing people in the Katyn Forest Massacre, the Uprising of East Germany, and the Hungarian Revolution. He also has little regard his own men, as evidenced by the fact that he killed many of them while using the Shagohod.

Despite his negative qualities, Volgin mentions that his primary reason for trying to take control of the entire Eastern Bloc was to reunify the Philosophers, who had split apart and began warring amongst themselves, and essentially end the Cold War. Volgin also seemed to legitimately care for Raikov, as evidenced by his being enraged if anything happened to him. He also, shortly after discovering that EVA was the spy, remarked that despite his abuse towards her, he "valued her as a pet and cared for her" when about to execute her, as well as almost paining him to kill her. He also seemed to have respect for The Boss. He also implies that he has at least some respect for Naked Snake as he mentioned that fighting him is a "once in a lifetime battle."

Trivia

 * Volgin was bisexual, as could be seen by his relationships with both Major Raikov and EVA.
 * He was shown to have a deep sense of respect (and to a certain extent, even fear) for The Boss.
 * On several occasions (particularly whenever it was raining) Volgin would chant the phrase "Kuwabara, Kuwabara", meaning "mulberry bush." In Japanese mythology, lightning did not strike mulberry bushes (its use is similar to the phrase "Rain rain, go away"). Ironically one of the rare times Volgin did not utter this phrase, he was struck by a bolt of lightning.
 * Volgin claimed to be a skilled interrogater, but in reality, he often failed to interrogate anyone sucessfully. Most of his victims died before they could reveal any information. As for the one man who survived his torture (Naked Snake), Volgin not only failed to learn the details behind Snake's mission, he actually achieved the opposite of the interrogation. He informed Snake about the true nature and the location of the Philosophers' Legacy.
 * Nearing the end of Operation Snake Eater, if Snake interrogates a guard, he will reveal that Volgin doesn't like water.

Behind the Scenes
Volgin's last name is a common Russian surname that derives from the Volga river. It is also the nom de guerre of a Marxist revolutionary and theorist known as Georgi Plekhanov. The latter part fits in with the fact that he attempted to revolutionize the Soviet Union and destroy America.

Gameplay
If Naked Snake dons the Raikov disguise during his fight with Volgin, Volgin will get down onto his knees and say "Ivan...?", thus allowing a free hit on Volgin. However, this can only be done once (afterwards, he would have wised up), and if Snake took the opportunity to hit him, he has to get out of the way, as Volgin will charge at him at an even faster rate than before, shouting "How dare you!! You will pay for what you did to Ivan!!"