Russian Mafia (Hotline Miami)

The Russian Mafia is a major antagonistic faction in the indie top-down shooter videogame series, Hotline Miami. The Russian Mafia is the dominant criminal power in Miami during the late eighties, holding significant power over the drug trade in Miami and possess political connections to the Russo-American coalition. Their typical members are predominantly represented as bald men in white suits, who serve as the most common enemies in the series.

Origins
Prior to the Russian Mafia's foundation in Miami, the United States of America loses to a war against the Soviet Union after a nuclear bomb is dropped on San Francisco on April 3rd, 1986. To prevent any more catastrophic events from happening between the two nations, a Russo-American coalition is formed, leading to a influx of Russian immigrants in America. It is within this time that the Russian Mafia moves its criminal operations into America, and to Miami where they set up their headquarters.

There, the Russian Mafia forms a vast criminal monopoly within the city, becoming the largest power in the drug trade in Miami. Many of the Mafia's criminal operations consist of cocaine dealing, manufacturing methamphetamine, smuggling USSR imported military weaponry into America, gambling, affiliations with movie producers, owning several luxurious establishments such as night clubs and bathhouses, and many other smaller businesses. The Russian Mafia has also taken over at least one news station in Miami and became heavily affiliated with several politicians representing the Russo-American coalition, and thus, giving them strong political power. However, as Russians became more prominent in Miami, so did violent Anti-Russian sentiments, resulting in patriotic groups supporting American pride being formed. One of these groups was an ultranationalist movement deceiving the public into thinking it was a "peaceful organization", known as 50 Blessings.

Masked Killings
By 1989, the boss of the Russian Mafia, the Grandfather, became elderly and wheelchair-bound, rendering him unable to lead the crime syndicate by himself, to which his son, the Father, took over the family business on his behalf. To make things even more difficult for the syndicate however, the Russian Mafia had grown so powerful within Miami that they become the primary target of 50 Blessings itself, who are aware of their involvement in the Russo-American coalition and seek to topple it to bring back glory to America. Using their resources, 50 Blessings distributed strange phone calls to the citizens of Miami and gave them orders to attack certain criminal operations owned by the Mafia and threatened those who did not comply with death.

As a result, many killers wearing animal masks violently massacred dozens of Russian mobsters within the span of several months and destroyed many of businesses owned by the Mafia. Their weapon smuggling rings were exposed by masked killers such as Richter, smaller and more entertainment providing businesses like arcades were massacred by operatives such as Biker and news stations were raided by jingoists like Jake. Amidst the chaos, the Russian Mafia was also caught in the spotlight by the press in light of the massacres throughout Miami, spawning dozens of newspaper reports and drawing the attention of Miami's police force. The police itself became involved in cracking down on the Mafia's criminal operations, including a SWAT team being dispatched to raid one of the Mafia's cocaine businesses. The Russian Mafia also seemingly lost their political connections with the Russo-American coalition after three politicians are assassinated by 50 Blessings at Hotel Blue during negotiations with the Mafia.

The Russian Mafia did not give up easily on these attacks though, and retaliated against the masked killers. While several masked killers were killed during their assaults on the Mafia's operations, other unlucky killers were caught by the Russian Mafia and were brutally tortured for information regarding who they might work for. Petrov, a senior mobster, was one notable individual who was involved in interrogating the masked killers, with Jake being among one of his victims. The torture sessions were futile, as anyone who was caught by the Mafia either didn't talk at all or couldn't give any substantial information on the killings. A few attacks were also anticipated by the Russian Mafia through unknown means, resulting in hit squads being sent by the Mafia to ambush any masked killer who might be attacking one of their businesses.

First Downfall
Although the Russian Mafia was significantly weakened by the terrorist attacks, it was Jacket, a former soldier who fought against the Soviet Union in 1985 turned masked killer, who singlehandedly destroyed the crime syndicate in 1989. 50 Blessings managed to frame potential phone call tracings made by the police on the Golden Truckstop, a wealthy night club owned by the Russian Mafia. Discovering this by raiding a police station and stealing evidence, Jacket attacks the Golden Truckstop, massacring every mobster there and finding out the address of the Mafia's headquarters.

Jacket arrives at the Grandfather's mansion where, after a lengthy fight, he kills the Father, his personal bodyguard and his two pet panthers. He grabs the Father's pistol and confronts the Grandfather at the balcony of the mansion, where the Grandfather simply tells him to do whatever he came here for. Jacket shoots the Grandfather in the head, killing the patriarch of the Russian Mafia and sending the organization into ruin. Shortly after killing the heads of the Russian Mafia, Jacket is apprehended by the police and taken into custody.

Aftermath
Despite there being a few surviving members of the massacres of 1989, the Russian Mafia is left leaderless and, as a criminal empire, is essentially dead. The Mafia fades into obscurity in the criminal underworld, with smaller gangs and petty crooks taking over what remains of the Russian Mafia's territory and gaining significant power. More notably however, the Colombians, after hearing about the Father's death, seized the opportunity to steal most of the Russian Mafia's surviving businesses for themselves. These actions enormously elevated the Colombian crime syndicate's status and within the span of two years, takes over as the top criminal organization in Miami.

Even though the criminal empire is a shell of what it once was due to the strength it has lost over time, the Russian Mafia still exists in Miami and is held under control by the Father's son, who holds an immense grudge towards the Colombians for leeching off the Mafia's prestige. Additionally, the Russian Mafia still gets some form of attention from the press and the police. After gaining leads, freelance writer Evan Wright briefly interviews Petrov about the masked killings of 1989. However, due to the mysterious circumstances behind the massacres and the disappearance of the phone call operations, Petrov is unable to give Evan any clear answers aside from what the Mafia experienced in 1989.

The Drug War
Having reached his wit's end by November 18, the Son decides to wage a a gang war with the Colombians to take back his territory. After receiving an invitation to the grand opening of one of the Colombians' new strip clubs, the Son informs the Henchman that he wants to use this opportunity to take the Colombians by surprise, much to the Henchman's hesitance. The Son heads to the strip club by himself and singlehandedly wipes out the Colombian forces guarding it and immediately instigates the gang war. Meanwhile, as his last job before retirement, the Henchman is sent to take out a gang of hoodlums running a chop shop, who have withdrew their cut from the Russian Mafia and allied themselves with the Colombians. After successfully killing all of the hoodlums, the Henchman steals a bag full of money from the chop shop for himself and takes it home.

While the war is so far heavily in favor for the Russian Mafia due the Son recently robbing a bank owned by the Colombians and cutting off the Colombians' source of finance, the drug war ends up becoming one of the biggest topics for the press in Miami, rivaling that of the recent resurgence of more masked killers in Miami. The gang war draws the attention of the police, who are specifically shown to crack down on the Colombians' operations. The corrupt police detective Manny Pardo notably assaults a Colombian cargo ship by himself, destroying the criminal operation while surviving Colombians are arrested by the police. The actions made by the police unintentionally tips the war in favor for the Russian Mafia, and leaves only one target left for the Son to attack: the Colombians' mansion. The Russian Mafia slaughters the last of the Colombians, including their boss, and results in the Russian Mafia becoming the top crime syndicate in Miami once again.

Second Downfall
Unfortunately for the Russian Mafia, the criminal empire soon faces another downfall on December 20th. The Russian Mafia becomes "untouchable" once again when the Son releases his new drugs to the public: green and purple capsules. His new product is put in full-scale production and he manages to dominate the drug market with it, and even keeps some of the pills for himself to indulge in at his brand new headquarters. When the Son tries to invite the Henchman over to his headquarters, he unintentionally gives the Fans, the new masked killers, the address of his building. The Fans have killed the Henchman ever since he left the Russian Mafia and stole his phone, using it to listen in on the Son giving away his address. With a brand new target to go after, the Fans decide to attack the new Russian Mafia headquarters and slaughter the majority of the mobsters residing there.

Meanwhile, the Son overdoses on his own drugs out of frustration and begins to have wild hallucinations of his own men transforming into demons and, once the Fans arrive, he sees them as animals taking on monstrous forms. The Son then goes on a drug-fueled rampage, killing dozens of his own men and kills nearly all of the Fans before accidentally killing himself by walking off the roof of his headquarters and falling to his death. A SWAT team arrives at the headquarters to clean up the massacre, while Manny Pardo personally kills a surrendered Tony, the last surviving Fan. With the Russian Mafia completely decimated and with no one else left to inherit the business, the Russian Mafia is dissolved for good.

Leadership

 * The Grandfather: The elderly patriarch of the Russian Mafia, who retires from his position as the Mafia's boss and passes it down to the Father. He is killed by Jacket at the end of the first game, resulting in the Russian Mafia's downfall in 1989.
 * The Father: The Father of the Son and the highly sadistic acting boss of the Mafia in 1989, serving as the final boss of Hotline Miami. After Jacket defeats him by piercing both of his hands with throwing knives, the Father shoots himself in the head to deny Jacket the satisfaction of killing him. The Son keeps his signature MP5s as mementos in remembrance of him and continues to use them in combat
 * The Son: The boss of the Russian Mafia in 1991, who launches a gang war against the Colombian crime syndicate in Miami to take back his Father's business and continue the Mafia's legacy. Despite being a drug addict who is as vicious as his father, he is shown to be good friends with the Henchman. The Son ends up destroying his own criminal empire in a drug-induced rampage and walks off the roof of his headquarters, where he falls to his death, ending the Russian Mafia's reign for good.

Membership

 * The Henchman: The Son's right-hand man and a high ranking enforcer for the Russian Mafia. He leaves the Russian Mafia shortly after the Son starts a gang war with the Colombians and seeks to live with his girlfriend Mary in his retirement. Mary abandons him however, leaving him emotionally distraught. He overdoses on drugs and is brutally murdered by the Fans as revenge for his hit on the chop shop.
 * Petrov: A veteran member of the Russian Mafia who survives the events of the first game. A mobster with a keen fondness for bathing in saunas, he was in charge of capturing, torturing and murdering the more unlucky members of the 50 Blessings organization, with Jake being among one of his victims.
 * The Bodyguard: The Father's personal female bodyguard, who is armed with a katana and throwing knives. She is beaten to death by Jacket during the climax of the first game. The Son keeps her sunglasses and katana as mementos in remembrance for her.
 * The Club Manager: A man who runs the Golden Truckstop in the Father's absence. After giving up the address of the Father's mansion, he is brutally beaten to death by Jacket, who smashes his head apart with his bare fists.
 * The Van Driver: A molotov cocktail-wielding enforcer who leads a hit squad and tries to kill Jacket in an ambush. He surrenders to Jacket once all of his men are killed, but Jacket kills him by bashing his head into the ground, snapping his limbs and setting him on fire.
 * VIP Guard: A bouncer working for Petrov, who survives the events of the first game. In Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, he is accidentally beaten to death by Evan Wright after denying him entry to Petrov's casino.
 * Party Mobster: An unnamed mobster who becomes the Son's right-hand man after the Henchman's retirement. Although his fate is unclear, he may have either been killed by the Fans or by the heavily intoxicated Son during "Death Wish".

Associates

 * The Producer: A perverted film producer who works for the Russian Mafia and has several mobsters employed as his bodyguards. He holds a girl captive, keeping her sedated and half-naked on his bed while keeping cameras and a studio light pointed at her at all times. He is killed by Jacket, who gouges his eyes out with his thumbs.
 * RAC Politicians: A trio of three representatives of the Russo-American coalition who make regular negotiations with the Russian Mafia. All three of them are killed by Jacket in a political hit orchestrated by the Janitors.
 * Technician: Initially assisting 50 Blessings in setting up their phone call operation at PhoneHom, the Technician goes into hiding after being scared by the terrorist organization's political motives and hires a small group of armed Russian gangsters as protection.
 * Briefcase Man: A man in a trench coat and hat owning a briefcase containing unknown contents who is guarded by mobsters in a metro station. He is killed by Jacket on 50 Blessings' orders, who throws his briefcase into a dumpster.
 * Editor: A man running a news station owned by the Russian Mafia. Jake can kill the man if the player chooses to, and can also steal the man's briefcase of money.

Trivia

 * The white suits and cyan shirts the Russian mobsters are shown wearing are based on the outfit worn by Sonny Crockett, the protagonist of the eighties television show Miami Vice.
 * In addition to being the main enemies of the series, members of the Russian Mafia appear as enemies in the Hotline Miami crossover heist in Payday 2.