Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin

Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin (Russian: Евгений Борисович Волгин), also known as Thunderbolt, is a sadistic Stalinist GRU colonel who attempts 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.

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

He 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' defection was a ruse set up the US government to steal the Philosophers' Legacy from him. Unfortunately, Volgin, in a move not anticipated by the US government, fired an American-made Davy Crockett at Sokolov's research facility, destroying it in a nuclear explosion. In actuality, the CIA Director had instructed Volgin to do this, as part of a cunning plan to assassinate The Boss from the start. 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, actually EVA. Volgin found and captured Naked Snake, however, when Snake disguised himself as Volgin's lover, Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov, in order to find Sokolov. 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.

Volgin faced Snake in combat, but was defeated by Snake despite his impressive electrical abilities. 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. 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.

Abilities
Volgin has incredible strength which makes him a deadly foe in battle, even though he is rarely shown to use a weapon of any kind.

On top of this, however, Volgin possesses 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". He uses this power to enhance his strength to a superhuman level. Notably, he was seen punching through the solid metal of the Shagohod's armour which even the RPG-7 was unable to penetrate directly.

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. It is useful defensively as well, This was shown when he deflected the bullets that Major Ocelot fired at him. He is also able to channel his own electricity, as shown by how he was able to revive and power the Shagohod after it failed.

Nevertheless, his electricity is subject to the same physics as regular electricity. It is attracted by metal or water (which he used to his advantage to stop Naked Snake using a metal gun). It may also be that he himself is vulnerable to it, as he wears an insulated rubber suit under his clothes (this may explain his lightning-shaped scars).

Trivia

 * Volgin is bisexual, as can be seen by his relationships with both Major Ivan Raidenovich Raikov and Tatyana.
 * On several occasions (particularly whenever it was raining) during MGS3 Volgin would chant the phrase "Kuwabara. Kuwabara", a saying that in Japanese mythology is supposed to ward off lightning. Ironically the only time Volgin does not utter this phrase he is struck by a bolt of lightning.
 * Volgin's powers are never explained in any of the games; as with the Cobras, this is a reaction to fan criticism of the rather far-fetched backstories of the Dead Cell unit members.
 * While Sokolov claims that "you in the West know him as Thunderbolt," he is the only person to ever call Volgin by that name.
 * Volgin might be proud of his skills as a torturer, but he's actually extremely bad at it. Not one person he tortures during MGS3 tells him anything; in fact, Volgin actually manages to interrogate Naked Snake backwards by giving out information Snake didn't previously know as part of the questions he's asking, including the nature and exact location of the Legacy.
 * Volgin resembles the Resident Evil character Jack Krauser.