The Russian Federation, more commonly known simply as Russia, is a country spanning Europe and Asia. It is the largest country in the world, and shares land borders with the most countries in the world - sixteen. From its northwest to its southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea.
Russia does not use the PEGI system of other European countries, and instead uses its own ratings system.
Between 1922 and 1991, Russia was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the CCCP, USSR, or the Soviet Union. Because of this, any games which make reference to the Soviet Union are listed below.
References in the Grand Theft Auto Series
General
- The Russian Mafia appear throughout the Grand Theft Auto series.
- The AK-47, an assault rifle that regularly appears throughout the GTA series was first developed in the Russian SFSR by Mikhail Kalashnikov.
- The RPG-7, a rocket launcher that regularly appears through the GTA series, was first developed in the USSR.
- There are eleven vehicles in the series based on Russian/Soviet vehicles: the Bulwark, the Dune, the APC, the Savage, the Nightshark, the V-65 Molotok, the Cheburek, the Chernobog, RM-10 Bombushka, the RO-86 Alkonost and the Kosatka. The Akula and Zhaba are also purported to be of Russian origin; however, they are based on American and Ukrainian vehicles, respectively.
2D Universe
- The Pistol in Grand Theft Auto is based on the Tokarev TT-33.
- The neighborhood Soviet Hill is named after the Soviet Union.
- The name of the Grand Theft Auto 2 radio station KGBH is a reference to the KGB, the security agency of the Soviet Union.
3D Universe
- Many references to the Cold War are made in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
- Pastor Richards mentions Russia on Vice City Public Radio show Pressing Issues.
- The Dragunov, a sniper rifle featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories was first developed in the USSR.
- Bruno's opponent in the film Push-Up - The Movie is from the Soviet Union.
- In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, an elderly female pedestrian (internally marked as WFOST) is Russian, and often speaks in Russian, mentioning stereotypical aspects of Soviet Russia.
- At the start of the mission Just Business given to the player by Big Smoke in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Smoke will say at the beginning of the mission on the journey to the mall: "All my life I've been told to fear the Ruskies, but I ain't even met one. Then the [Berlin] Wall comes down and we're all supposed to be friends".
- Mike Toreno references both former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who was Russia's leader from 1991 to 1999.
- The Heat-Seeking Rocket Launcher is based on a Soviet SA-7 Grail shoulder fired missile launcher.
HD Universe
Grand Theft Auto IV
- Many characters in Grand Theft Auto IV were born in the former Soviet Union.
- Hove Beach in Liberty City has a vast Russian population, as well as immigrants from other former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, such as Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.
- The Little Gorbachefs restaurant chain in Liberty City is a reference to Mikhail Gorbachev, the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- Perestroika is a Russian-owned cabaret club in Liberty City. The club's name translates into English as "restructuring" and is a reference to the political and economic reforms within the Soviet Union during the late-1980s by Mikhail Gorbachev.
- Many Burger Shot fast-food restaurants tend to have Russian women working at the cash register.
- Vladivostok FM takes its name from the Russian city of the same name, and the Grand Theft Auto IV tracklist includes music from Russian and Ukrainian artists.
- Cherenkov Vodka is a Russian vodka brand.
- Some female pedestrians may call the protagonist "chuzhoy" ("stranger" in Russian) if they bump into them.
- In GTA IV, there are a lot of warnings and signage written in Russian on the Platypus ship.
- The Gulag Garden restaurant is named after the Soviet labor camp of the same name.
- Shitster's servers are located on Bolshoy Shantar Island in the Pacific Ocean, near Sakhalin, Russia.[1]
Grand Theft Auto V
- Josef from the Civil Border Patrol is a Russian immigrant.
- The Kortz Center advertises an exhibition on Russian literature.
- Several Russian flags appear in places like the Los Santos Golf Club or Jetsam Terminal Headquarters. A Russian flag can also be seen on the rudder of the Cargo Plane.
- In the enhanced edition of Grand Theft Auto V, the Dukes has a customizable option where the player can add a Russian flag to the roof of the car for $2,500.
- During his monologues, Los Santos Rock Radio DJ Kenny Loggins sometimes says "We won the Cold War with a guitar solo", a possible reference to Billy Joel's 1986 concert in the Soviet Union.
- The Grain of Truth website advertise Russian freekeh.
- Natalia Zverovna was born in Russia.
- Golfer Mark Fostenburg claims he has a doppelgänger playing in Omsk, a city in south-western Siberia.
- In the mission The Vice Assassination, Lester Crest states that Jackson Skinner is selling customer data from Moscow to Tehran.
- The Heavy Shotgun is based on a Saiga-12K, a Russian-made shotgun.
- The MG's design takes elements from the PKM, the RPD, and the PKP Pecheneg, general-purpose machine guns of Russian/Soviet origins.
- The T-34 wreck located in La Puerta is a Soviet tank.
- Mesa's front fascia and grille are presumably copied from UAZ-469.
- In Gordon Moorehead Rides Again the main villain is Russian. Also in the show, there are a lot of mentions of the Soviet Union.
- Female Russian pedestrians can occasionally be found around Vinewood.
Grand Theft Auto Online
- Maxim Rashkovsky and Dima Popov are Russians. Also, after being broken out of Bolingbroke Penitentiary, Rashkovsky is flown back to Russia.
- The machine gun mounted on the Karin Technical is a Soviet designed DShK.
- Bogdan and his unit are Russian, as is their submarine.
- Pavel, who operates a similar submarine, is also Russian.
- The San Andreas Flight School Update added a Russian Federation Chute Bag in Grand Theft Auto Online.
- The Galaxy Super Yacht can be personalized by installing the flag of Russia on the stern.
- Similarly, the Kosatka Submarine can also be personalized by installing the flag on it.
- The Nightshark, Chernobog, Savage, Akula, RM-10 Bombushka, V-65 Molotok, RO-86 Alkonost and Cargo Plane are considered and/or based on military vehicles and aircraft of Russian/Soviet origins.
- RUNE is a Russian/Soviet vehicle manufacturer, only having two land vehicles; the Cheburek and the Zhaba, mainly based on the Russian VAZ-2106 and SHERP ATV respectively, and one naval vehicle; the Kosatka.
- One of the levels of the arcade game Invade and Persuade II is set in Russia.
- Most of the FruitFace bots are Russian.
- Avon Hertz mentions "It has to be the Russians, or the North Koreans, or the Iranians, or the Chinese using a proxy agent".
Trivia
- In Grand Theft Auto IV, some Russians will comment "If he dies, he dies" when witnessing the death of an NPC. This is a reference to the fourth installment of the Rocky series, in which Russian boxer Ivan Drago beats Apollo Creed to death and uses this line.
References
- ↑ “We are on Bolshoi Shantar island off the Pacific island of Sakhalin, which is a remote area of Russia.”— «Where are you located?» section of shitster.de
