Gurlukovich Mercenaries



The Gurlukovich Mercenaries, also known as Gurlukovich Soldiers, were an army of over 1,000 Russian mercenaries, comprising former Spetsnaz GRU soldiers. The mercenaries were involved in the 2007 Tanker Incident and the 2009 Big Shell Incident. The army was commanded by Sergei Gurlukovich and later by his daughter Olga Gurlukovich.

Formation
The Gurlukovich Mercenaries were formed by GRU colonel Sergei Gurlukovich after the collapse of the Soviet Union, bringing together former Soviet soldiers who had been left unemployed after the reorganization of the Red Army, and who had nowhere else to go. Their main goal under Colonel Gurlukovich was to restore Russia to its former glory as a world superpower.

The Gurlukovich Mercenaries were originally to be deployed during the 2005 Shadow Moses Incident, in order to assist FOXHOUND and the Genome Army in the operation of Metal Gear REX. FOXHOUND commander Liquid Snake had also intended that this serve to boost the morale of the Genome Soldiers, whose brainwashing had begun to wear off following the death of Psycho Mantis. However, due to the actions of Solid Snake, this never occurred.

After learning of the existence of the newly-developed Metal Gear RAY, Sergei Gurlukovich, Olga Gurlukovich, and Revolver Ocelot, led a large team of at least 18 operatives in the takeover of the USS Discovery, on which the weapon was being transported down the Hudson River, Manhattan. They also infiltrated the ship with precision, indicating that they had thoroughly trained for the event of the takeover. Successfully bringing the vessel under their control, the mercenaries then planted Semtex explosives throughout the ship. After a small team updated Sergei on their status, the colonel ordered them to keep his daughter Olga safe, though they were later neutralized single-handedly by Solid Snake during an intense shoot-out, despite their efforts, the latter of whom deduced their nationality earlier from Gurlukovich's haircut. One mercenary evaded Snake's assault only to be shot dead by Ocelot moments later, with the latter commenting that his commander would join him soon.

Members of the unit also descended into the holds where Metal Gear RAY was stored with Sergei and Ocelot personally leading them, and held the U.S. Marines there hostage along with their commander, General Scott Dolph. However, after Ocelot revealed his betrayal to Sergei and both mortally wounded him and killed General Dolph (as well as killing four members of the unit who attempted to avenge the former), the troops (along with the Marines) were killed when Ocelot hijacked RAY and sunk the tanker, including those still on the upper levels and the Marines. The only survivors were Olga, Snake, and Ocelot.

After the Tanker Incident, Olga inherited command of the Gurlukovich Mercenaries. During the Big Shell Incident, Olga loaned the army to Solidus Snake's Sons of Liberty to help them take over the Big Shell offshore plant, where Arsenal Gear was under development. Attack teams were often accompanied by Hi-Tech Soldiers, former members of the Counter Assault Team within the U.S. Secret Service, who had originally been assigned to Solidus during his presidency. The Gurlukovich Mercenaries were also subdivided into two main squads: One for guarding the Big Shell itself, and another for guarding the hostages within Shell 1's core. The latter of the two squads also wore the uniforms that were utilized during the Tanker Incident. The surviving mercenaries later evacuated to Arsenal Gear upon its activation, and faced a final showdown with Solid Snake and Raiden, this time utilizing Tengu commando equipment, which they had earlier been outfitted with under Solidus' orders, making them more dangerous. Despite the advantage in numbers and firepower, they were ultimately killed.

Olga had earlier informed Solidus that once their business with the Sons of Liberty was over, she and the remainder of her soldiers would return to Russia and live their own lives. However, she ended up betraying them, under the alias of the Cyborg Ninja, a.k.a. Mr. X, to ensure that Raiden survived, on the Patriots' orders, due to their holding her child hostage. She was deeply affected and bitter for being forced to do this to her comrades, whom she valued as family. She even went so far as to declare that she would go to Hell for what she did, when sacrificing herself to save Raiden, even if she only did so to save her child, whom she would never meet.

Military hardware (2007-2009)
Weapons
 * AKS-74U
 * Equipped with a suppressor (Tanker Incident only)
 * AN-94
 * SPAS-12
 * Makarov PMM
 * M4 (+ M203 grenade launcher) (Hi-Tech Soldiers only)
 * P90 (Arsenal Tengu only)
 * High frequency blade (Arsenal Tengu only)
 * PSS (Olga only)
 * USP (Olga only)
 * Grenade
 * Stun Grenade (Attack teams only)

The Gurlukovich Mercenaries possessed ID-tagged weapons, including those that were acquired from the black market. It's assumed that the weapons were ID-tagged by the mercenaries themselves, being professionals and not wanting to have their own equipment used against them.

Vehicles
 * Hind D (at least 1* --supplied to Liquid Snake in 2005--)
 * KA-60 Kasatka (at least 2)

Equipment (Tanker assault team & Big Shell core protection teams) The issue rifle is the AKS74u suppressed and with laser sight
 * Uniform (B.D.U.) (odd orangeish version of the Soviet TTSKo)
 * Handheld radio
 * Ration
 * Bandage
 * Rappel harness
 * RD54 paratrooper combat gear (includes a backpack, a mag pouch and a grenade pouch) oddly colored in black instead of the natural canvas old model or Flora camouflager new nylon model. Some instead use the old Soviet leather duty belt/suspenders combo
 * Russian paratroopers protective leather jump helmet, used by airborne units to protect their heads while jumping
 * Russian jackboots
 * Two hole Russian balaclava
 * Dog tags
 * Knife

Equipment (Big Shell bridges & struts protection teams) Their mainstay rifle is the AN94 Abakan. In addition, Olga herself wore the Urban variation of the Tiger Stripe camouflage during her leadership of the group.
 * Uniform (Urban Kamysh Russian camo)
 * Handheld radio
 * Ration
 * Bandage
 * Russian two hole balaclava
 * Dog tags
 * Russian combat boots
 * Knife

Equipment (Big Shell attack teams)

Same as the Big Shell strut protection teams, plus they use Additionally, some of them use SPAS-12 shotguns
 * Body Armor
 * Russian Sphera helmet
 * Ballistic shields (used normally in combo with the Makarov)

Behind the scenes
The Gurlukovich Mercenaries appear in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, where they comprise the main enemy forces encountered by the player during the game. In the English version, they are voiced by Michael Bell, Richard Gilbert-Hill, Roger Rose, Michael Gough, and William Morgan Sheppard.

The equipment of the USS Discovery attack team (TTSKo desert uniform, Paratroopers' helmet, RD54 backpack, leather jackboots) is really similar to the one used during the late stages of the Afghan War by GRU operatives & VDV (airborne) elite units. Since they were meant to have become mercenaries after the collapse of USSR, this would make some sense on why are using 1980's gear while being in early 21st century, but doesn't explain how they acquired the Urban Kamysh uniform worn by many Big Shell guards (which is issued only to Russian Ministry of Interior intervention troops & Spetsnaz) and the AN94 (which was a prototype built in very limited number and never considered for export sell), although the Colonel and Raiden implied that they gained some of their weapons and equipment from the black market. In addition, because of the scarce rendering for Metal Gear Solid 2, the Urban Kamysh Russian camo worn by the regular wave of Gurlukovich soldiers in the Big Shell Incident strongly resembles the American-made digital UCP camouflage. The latter camouflage pattern would not be developed until significantly after MGS2's release.

The skateboarding video game Evolution Skateboarding has two secret characters called Gurlukovich 1 and 2. They can be unlocked by completing the game 100% with Rick McCrank (for Gurlukovich 1) and Chris Senn (for Gurlukovich 2).

Although the Gurlukovich soldiers do not appear in the game Metal Gear Acid, they are featured in character artwork for both Dr. William Flemming and Leone, by Flemming's side and beneath Leone's foot, respectively.

Gurlukovich Soldiers also appear in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus as recruitable soldiers on higher difficulty levels. The voices of the Gurlukovich Soldiers consist of reused sound clips from the USSR Soldiers, although their grunts are completely different.

"A soldier from former GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) colonel Sergei Gurlukovich's private army. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he and his men drifted from one war zone to another, eventually occupying the Big Shell alongside Special Forces unit Dead Cell."

- Gurlukovich Soldier description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

A costume available to download for LittleBigPlanet allows the Sackboys to dress up as a Gurlukovich soldier.

Originally, the Gurlukovich Mercenaries on board the USS Discovery were going to armed with FAMAS assault rifles. This was changed to the AKS-74u in the final version.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear Solid (mentioned only)
 * Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
 * Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Alternative Missions, Snake Tales) (non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (non-canon)