Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin

Dr. Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin (Russian: Александр Леонович Гранин) was a Soviet weapons scientist and the former director of the OKB-812 Granin Design Bureau. He is responsible for developing the concept of the bipedal tank Metal Gear.

Early life and career
Granin was born sometime during the mid-1890s to early 1900s. An engineering genius, Granin created the basic design for the mobile ballistic missile system SS-1C ("Scud-B") (speculated to be the mobile platform itself ), and made countless other contributions to the Soviet weapons program ever since the Eastern Front during World War II. His government recognized his patriotism, hard work, and dedication by twice awarding him with the Order of Lenin and the Stalin Medal, which he wore proudly on his suit jacket. At some point he met the American researcher Huey Emmerich, which also had them appearing in a newspaper article.

Granin later developed the concept for a bipedal walking tank, a weapon that he believed would provide the "missing link" between infantry and artillery. Though his theories had support from American colleague Huey Emmerich, they were widely criticized by the general scientific community. As a supporter of Alexei Kosygin, and harboring an intense rivalry with fellow scientist Nikolai Sokolov, Granin allied himself with Colonel Volgin's anti-Khrushchev faction in the GRU, solely due to the Soviet Premier's support of Sokolov.

In August 1964, Granin's "Metal Gear" concept was passed over by Colonel Volgin in favor of Sokolov's Shagohod, who believed it to be a more worthwhile project; a decision that left Granin greatly embittered. He planned to send all of his research and blueprints for Metal Gear, as well as a copy of the Shagohod blueprints with his own disparaging commentary on it, to Huey Emmerich in the United States, as he suspected that he would end up dead sooner or later, and predicted that his creation would one day be used. During this time, he also began heavily drinking to take his mind off his ideas being rejected. At some point, Granin accepted a pair of shoes as a gift from Volgin's lover Tatyana (a.k.a. EVA), which housed a hidden transmitter.

When Granin (in the midst of "drowning his sorrows") was confronted by Naked Snake in Graniny Gorki, he, after telling Snake to put down the gun as it will "spoil" his drinking, decided to assist in the CIA agent's mission to rescue Sokolov. He wished for Sokolov to be taken back to the United States, thereby eliminating his research rival and hopefully having the Shagohod destroyed in the process. He described his Metal Gear concept to Snake, showing him blueprints for the bipedal walking tank, and told him of the Philosophers' Legacy, which Volgin had illegally inherited from his father, and was using to fund the Shagohod's development. In gratitude for complimenting him on his shoes, an intoxicated Granin gave Snake a key that would provide him passage to Groznyj Grad. However, Snake believed that Granin may have given the key to him and told him the location because he was drunk, and would later inform EVA as much when she contacted him later.

Granin would not live to see if his plan would come to fruition, as Volgin suspected him of being the spy that was aiding Snake and chose to torture him for information. Feeling that Granin served no further use, Volgin had him placed inside a large metal drum and proceeded to pound away at it with his electrically-charged punches, eventually killing the scientist before he could reveal anything. However, Volgin was able to find the transmitter planted in his shoe, confirming that there was indeed a spy amongst his ranks.

After death
Ocelot, a triple spy of the Philosophers, stole some of Granin's Metal Gear designs and submitted them to the DCI for the American branch of the Philosophers, to use as a possible future weapon.

During the San Hieronymo Takeover in 1970, Big Boss (Naked Snake) initially suspected that his contact "Prividyenie" ("Ghost") was Granin due to his detailed knowledge of Metal Gear, although he quickly ruled out that possibility when he recalled that Granin had been killed by Volgin six years earlier.

Granin's prediction that Metal Gear would be of use in the future eventually came to pass as early as 1970, and variations of the weapon system would be developed and used throughout the world up until the mid-2010s.

Notable technologies developed

 * SS-1C (Scud-B) missile launch system
 * Flying platforms
 * Metal Gear (incomplete)

Behind the scenes
Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin is a character who appears in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. When performing Granin's scenes, motion capture actor Takashi Kubo was told by the game staff to drink a lot of whiskey in order to make his acting drunk legitimate. However, this resulted in a fiasco, with several lines of dialogue being skipped over midway and the studio stinking of alcohol.

When Snake first encounters Granin, a variation of the "Metal Gear Solid Main Theme" can be heard in the background, entitled "Old Metal Gear" on the Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Original Soundtrack. Models of both Metal Gear REX and Metal Gear RAY can be seen on the shelf behind Granin, along with the Jehuty mech from Konami's Zone of the Enders. Granin's designs (Metal Gear REX and Metal Gear D) can also be seen by pressing the R1 button during the scene in which Granin shows them to Snake. There were also intended to be pictures displayed of failed Metal Gear bipedal experiments, but they were cut from the final version. If the player fires their weapon or makes any other loud noise outside Granin's office, he will complain that they are "ruining [his] drinking."

Granin is also one of the only characters in the game who speaks with a Russian accent, yet slurs some of his words. This is likely because of his heavily drunk state at the point of Snake's contact with him.

In Metal Gear Solid 3, Granin mentions "his friend in the United States" to Naked Snake, who was strongly suggested to be either Hal Emmerich's father or grandfather. Two photographs in Granin's office and a radio conversation between Snake and Sigint (following the former's meeting with Granin) supported this. Character biographies leaked prior to the release of Metal Gear Solid 3 stated that this man was Hal's father, though the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database contradicted this by stating that it was his grandfather. This was later clarified in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, when it was revealed that the man in question was Hal's father Huey Emmerich.

Granin's demise was later referenced in the non-canon Secret Theater film Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser, in which Raiden unintentionally time travels right into the drum can that Volgin had killed Granin in. When Volgin punches the barrel into the stack of drum cans and sends Granin's body flying, Raiden is also flung out and ends up with the barrel landing on his head.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
 * Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (Secret Theatre; non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (mentioned)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (mentioned)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops (trading card)