Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov

Dr. Nikolai Stephanovich Sokolov was a Russian rocket scientist who defected to the United States during the Cold War. He was the head of the OKB-754 Design Bureau before he defected. He designed the Shagohod and later used designs from fellow scientist Aleksandr Granin to build Metal Gear RAXA and the ICBMG.

Early life and career
Sokolov was born sometime during the mid 1900s to early 1910s. In 1960, Sokolov participated in the Soviet Vostok program, designing the multi-engine cluster for the Vostok A-1 that sent Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to space on April 12 1961. He wanted to keep investigating for the Soviet space program, but, instead, he was named the Chief Designer of the Secret Weapons Research Office for the Soviet Union. In 1961, he began designing the Shagohod and its intermediate range nuclear weapons capabilities. He began to worry about the weapon he was developing and its consequences on the world. He decided to defect with his family from the Soviet Union.

In 1962, Major Zero helped Sokolov and his family defect to the United States, although the two-week period of travel as well as the 500 mile stretch to get him to West Berlin had exhausted him, resulting in him being checked into a West Berlin Hospital to recover. Unfortunately, the Cuban Missile Crisis threatened the world with a nuclear holocaust a week later. On October 28 1962, America and the Soviet Union reached a compromise: the Soviet Union agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba, but in exchange the Americans had to surrender Sokolov over to the Russians.

At an unspecified point afterwards, Sokolov was transferred from the OKB-812 research facility to an abandoned research facility in Tselinoyarsk, three miles away from the OKB-812, and was guarded by KGB soldiers to make him continue his work on the Shagohod.

In 1964, American intelligence discovered why the Soviets needed Sokolov to return so they set up the Virtuous Mission to "rescue" him. by dispatching FOX agent Naked Snake into Tselinoyarsk and Rassvet, the location of the abandoned research center. In the meantime, Sokolov was burning documents that were presumably related to the Shagohod's development. When Snake managed to get to the shack that Sokolov was in, Sokolov initially thought that Naked Snake was one of Volgin's men until he stated that he was a CIA agent who was to escort Sokolov to the other side of the iron curtain, as well as giving him Zero's message. Sokolov then explains that the KGB wasn't holding him hostage, they were actually guarding him, not from America, but from the extremist faction of the Red Army led by Colonel Volgin of GRU. He explained that ever since the Cuban Missile Crisis, Nikita Khrushchev intended to try and have a peaceful coexistance with America, even with the hawks in the Red Army as well as the provincial authorities. However, support for Khrushchev had waned significantly after one of his biggest allies, United States President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated, and that a certain extremist group (led by Volgin) is intending to rally over all of the anti-governmental forces to overthrow Khrushchev and then install Leonid Brezhnev and Aleksei Kosygin in Khrushchev's place. Sokolov also explained that the KGB was willing to do anything to keep the extremist faction from getting their hands on him, even if it meant killing him. When he learned that Snake learned how to speak superb Russian from his mentor, although he was still dead set in regards to defecting to America, he did mention that America was truly a frightening country. After Snake succeeded in rescuing Sokolov, he was quickly confronted by The Boss, who told Snake of her defection. The Boss then took Sokolov as a "gift" for Volgin. They also took Tatyana, who was supposedly Sokolov's lover.

A week later during most of Operation Snake Eater, Sokolov was forced to complete the Shagohod within Groznyj Grad (Volgin's personal fortess). One time, he tried to resist going somewhere (presumably trying to make the finishing touches of the Shagohod), but Volgin used Tatyana as a lightning rod for his electric abilities to force him to complete it. Ocelot then entered and attempted to scare him by firing off revolvers with only one of the revolvers having a bullet, but The Boss managed to stop Ocelot and dismantled one of his revolvers in the process. Later on, Tatyana requested the Shagohod's battle data from him. Sokolov gave it to her, thinking it would be handed over to Khrushchev (unbeknownst to him, it would actually be given to the People's Republic of China). Shortly after that exchange, Snake attempted to rescue him again, but he informed Snake that he was too late, as the Shagohod had already been completed. He did, however, think of one way to destroy it before it does the phase 2 tests, saying that if the liquid fuel tanks were to be destroyed along with the Shagohod, there would still be hope for the safety of the world. Just when Snake was going to see him out of Groznyj Grad, Sokolov refused, as he would probably sent to a Soviet prison camp, as Khrushchev had abandoned him. Snake asked him about returning to America, but Sokolov told him that he'd only be used for America's nuclear purposes, and instead of being taken anywhere he'd rather just be ensured to be safe. After the Shagohod was completed and Volgin felt that Sokolov had served his purpose, Volgin shot him with a Makarov in the kneecaps. Later on, Volgin brutally beat Sokolov, while interrogating him on the identity of the enemy spy, though he failed when Sokolov apparently died from the torture. However, Sokolov survived with the help of a Fake Death Pill given to him by the The Boss, and successfully escaped from Groznyj Grad, though was recaptured by the KGB and subsequently placed in a prison camp. Likewise, in addition to blueprints to Sokolov's Shagohod, Granin managed to send off some notes relating to his creation, the Shagohod, to his colleague in America.

Post-Snake Eater
Sometime after 1964, the Soviet prison camp that held Sokolov was secretly infiltrated by FOX agent Gene, who rescued and succeeded in bringing Sokolov back to the United States and reuniting him with his family. While in the United States, Sokolov's previous assumptions came true: being the lead engineer of the first official Metal Gear project, which was based on a heavily modified version of the blueprints in Granin's office. Secretly, Sokolov planned to rebel against what he had created. Sokolov was also confused as to why Gene decided to choose the San Hieronymo Peninsula as the basis of his military nation, as, while the nukes weren't used and the personnel already had a low enough morale to be easily swayed, he knew that Gene's abilities were great enough for him to easily take over a United States missile silo that had more recent nuclear weapons and a high amount of morale if he truly intended to launch a nuke at the Soviet Union.

In 1970, Sokolov was brought to the San Hieronymo Peninsula by Gene to complete the Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear and build Metal Gear RAXA as a test/decoy model. Unknown to Gene, Sokolov secretly planned to rebel against Gene, despite his gratitude for Gene rescuing him.

During the San Hieronymo Takeover, Sokolov saw this as his opportunity to rebel when Big Boss (Naked Snake) escaped being captured from the FOX unit. After Snake escaped and began looking for ways to stop Gene's rebellion, Sokolov contacted him under the name "Prividyenie" (Russian for Ghost). "Ghost" thanked Snake for "taking care of Volgin" six years earlier.

Ghost" later contacted the Spy Unit at the Harbor with news that "parts from Metal Gear were located at the ship", and he supplied (with great difficulty, presumably out of guilt) information about how the Metal Gear was to be deployed via the Saturn V Rocket that was modified from plans that were stolen by a Soviet Spy in NASA, as well as giving Snake an early clue about his true identity when requesting that he get the blueprints to the Saturn V.

After Snake destroyed RAXA, Sokolov emerged from the shadows and told him that RAXA was only a test model and a decoy. Gene then realized that Sokolov was the one who was feeding Snake information, someone he did not expect to do so. He was then arrested by Gene's men shortly after Gene massacred both his own men and one member of Snake's unit at the assembly plant and held prisoner there.

A spy unit later uncovered evidence about the suspected area of his imprisonment in the plant, although they couldn't reveal more due to the risk of blowing their cover. After Snake managed to procure the Saturn V blueprints at the silo entrance (via an encrypted signal that he learned at the power substation), Sokolov explained why he had sent them to get the blueprints. Despite their appearance, they were not of the Saturn V, but were actually the ICBMG's booster rocket, the theft of which would put a significant delay on launching Metal Gear. He also revealed that he couldn't have Snake steal them sooner because he didn't want anyone to know that he was still in weapons development, never mind the fact that he was involved in the development of Metal Gear. He also couldn't do it himself because he "lacked the guts," explaining why he ended up creating the alias of Prividyenie, a.k.a. Ghost. Roy Campbell, after learning his reasoning, was indebted to him for supplying the information and allowed Sokolov to officially join Snake's unit. Later, when Big Boss attempted to disable the the ICBMG, Sokolov assisted him, telling where its armor was at its weakest.

After the mission, Sokolov was presumably reunited with his family and retired from rocket science, for the better of the world. Unfortunately, some of his work still managed to be created even afterwards, with the Peace Sentinels managing to create a Shagohod-like AI weapon codenamed Pupa for the Peace Walker Project, based on notes on Sokolov's Shagohod design that Granin sent to Huey.

Personality
Sokolov showed fear to his enemies but also presented courage, when Tatyana was being electrocuted by Colonel Volgin, Sokolov threatened that he would not work on the project if she was hurt, but was proven wrong when Colonel Volgin threatened him. He had no shame for what he did but had guilt that his gifts were being used to bring destruction to mankind. He loved his family and showed affection towards people who were being hurt by others.

Known equipment developed

 * Shagohod
 * Metal Gear RAXA
 * ICBMG
 * ICBMG booster rocket

Trivia

 * Sokolov apparently hated Major Raikov, according to Major Zero's comments regarding the Raikov mask, with Zero advising that Naked Snake refrain from using it during the Virtuous Mission, as well as his overall reaction whenever Snake attempted to enter his holding room in Rassvet while wearing it.
 * Like Para-Medic and Sigint, Sokolov commented about rocket engineering and sci-fi movies pertaining to things related to nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction, radiation, or unethical science (like Dr. Strangelove), as well as a novel and EVA, when called on the radio during the San Hieronymo Takeover.

Director's Commentary

 * Sokolov's family picture was originally supposed to be shown during the Virtuous Mission briefing as well as by Sokolov, but the picture during the briefing was cut from the final version.
 * Sokolov and Snake were originally intended to actually speak Russian during the scene where Sokolov meets Snake, but the creators, after Akio Ohtsuka asked if it was alright to record in Russian, decided to make it more like how Hollywood movies handle it.

Gameplay
According to his stats in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Sokolov's SNS skill is 10, which ranks among the lowest Spy scores. However, he was able to successfully feed information to Naked Snake and his resistance, prior to his recruitment by the group, surprising even Gene when his actions were later discovered.

Portable Ops recruitment
If given the option, and as noted above, the player can recruit Sokolov. This section details how to recruit Sokolov.

After rescuing Naked Snake from the Guest House, and assuming that a Spy Unit is already dispatched to the Harbor, a Spy Report will be sent by the Spy Unit explaining that there are leftover parts from the weapon. Snake then infiltrates the docked Supply Tanker and goes back to the crate that originally contained the ICBMG. Afterwards, Snake receives a call from Ghost. Ghost explains (albeit with difficulty) that he has technical new information: Snake already knew that the ICBMG is to be launched in a manner similar to a ICBM. However, in order to launch the ICBMG, its massive size requires a rocket booster that is more powerful than an ICBM or even a Soyuz Rocket. Ghost clarifies that it is to be launched by a modified Saturn V, the same rocket that was used to house the Apollo Lunar Module for the Apollo Mission. This is because the Saturn V was the largest multi-stage rocket built by man, and while the rocket itself was made in America, the base was designed specifically for the Saturn V due to blueprints that were stolen from NASA by a Soviet Spy. He mentions that the blueprints for the Saturn V should still be on the peninsula, and asks Snake if he could recover the documents and deliver them to him. Snake isn't sure, as he thinks getting the documents won't stop Metal Gear, so he asks Ghost why he needs them. Ghost mentions they'd be useful for "something." Snake then guesses that "Ghost" might have an interest in Rocket Design, and he mentions that it would be understandable if this were Sokolov. Ghost then explains that it's not out of personal interest, but rather that if they were to find out how to stop Metal Gear, the sooner, the better. Snake then agrees, although he mentions that he cannot make any promises and will only search them out if time allows him. Ghost then thanks Snake.

Shortly after Cunningham is defeated, Snake (or one of the soldiers) then returns to the Silo Entrance and interrogates a FOX Guard with a RPG-7, to which he explains that a friend of his at the Power Substation knows the frequency. The Resistance then returns to the Power Substation and encounters the FOX soldier's friend: A Soviet soldier. The resistance then interrogates the soldier, to which he reveals the frequency: 145.62. The resistance then returns to the Silo Entrance, and used the frequency in the second building from the direct entrance to the Silo Complex, and discovered the Blueprints to the Saturn V rocket. Afterwards, a Spy Unit planted in the Plant sends a report about someone being locked up in the computer room. However, they cannot reveal any more details without blowing their cover. The resistance then storms the Plant and arrives at the Computer Room of the Plant, discovering that the person locked in it is none other than Sokolov. Roy Campbell then asks if he is Sokolov, and after Sokolov confirms it, Roy Campbell then gives Sokolov the Saturn V documents. Sokolov then realizes that they did get the documents for him. Roy Campbell then asks him why he needed the Saturn V documents, anyways, as Sokolov was involved in developing the ICBMG, and thus had multiple chances to look at the blueprints for the Saturn V. Sokolov then explains that that's because the documents actually weren't of Saturn V. They only looked like the Saturn V documents: The documents were actually the schematics for the booster rocket for the ICBMG. He also explains that, while the documents weren't absolutely essential, they were needed to speed the process along. Roy Campbell then realizes what Sokolov meant: If Snake hadn't procured the documents beforehand, the ICBMG would have been launched much sooner than it would have. Roy Campbell then asks Sokolov why he didn't tell him sooner. Sokolov explains that this is because, had the resistance looked at his documents closely, they would have seen his name among the designers, which causes Campbell to realize that this would mean that Snake would find out that Sokolov helped develop Metal Gear. Sokolov explains that he didn't want anyone to know that he was still "dirtying his hands" in weapons development, period, never mind the fact that he was involved in developing a weapon ased on the blueprints that Granin left behind, and he didn't have the guts to steal the schematics himself, despite his wanting to, hence why he assumed the identity of Ghost and used Snake to get the documents. Roy Campbell then realizes what he tried to do: In his own way, Sokolov was trying to prevent Metal Gear from being launched. Sokolov is surprised at Roy Campbell's remark, to which Campbell explains that they owe Sokolov, and they are glad to have him on board.

"Developer of the Shagohod and director of the Sokolov Design Bureau (OKB-754). After inventing a system that places multiple engines on a single rocket (multi-engine cluster) won him widespread acclaim, he was put in charge of his own secret design lab."

- Official description from Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus