General Nikolai Krukov (Russian: Николай Крюков, Nikolay Kryukov) is a Soviet general and field marshal known for his tendency to talk down to lesser commanders and ruthless military tactics. He is a major antagonist in Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3.
He was voiced and portrayed by Andrew Divoff, who also portrayed Richard Ganz in Another 48 Hrs., Luis Cali in Toy Soldiers, Ernesto Mendoza in A Low Down Dirty Shame, Boris Bazylev in Air Force One, The Djinn in the first two Wishmaster films, Ivan Sarnoff in CSI Miami, first father in Criminal Minds, Andre Bushido in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Lev Kravchenko in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Biography[]
In the post-war crisis, the Soviet Union was on the brink of destruction. In the former timeline, the Allies had all but shattered the Red Army, and was now besieging Moscow. In desperation, Premier Romanov had fled Moscow, leaving the city to the Allied forces. In a desperate attempt to save the Soviet Union, Colonel Cherdenko revealed to General Krukov a time machine created by the Soviet scientist, Dr. Gregor Zelinsky.
Using the machine, Cherdenko, Zelinsky and Krukov traveled back in time to eliminate Albert Einstein before he had even developed the weapons technology that had brought the Allies its technological superiority. When arriving in their present time, the three Soviet-loyal time travelers discovered that Krukov now had command of the entire Soviet military, Dr. Zelinsky was now the greatest scientific mind of the time (replacing the now non-existent Albert Einstein), and Cherdenko was the Premier. The last fact angered Krukov.
Even the war itself had been changed: the Allies were now on the run in this new reality, and the Red Army had begun the invasion of Western Europe. However, the Soviet interference in the space-time continuum spawned a new world power in the Far East; the even more technologically advanced Empire of the Rising Sun had emerged. Mere minutes after the three Soviets arrive in the present, the Empire's massive army and navy made landfall on the lightly defended Pacific coast of the Soviet Union, with the hopes of fulfilling the Empire's divine destiny to rule all the nations of the world.
Personality[]
General Krukov was a highly skilled tactician and proved to be a tough opponent for anyone against him. Egotistic, dramatic and cruel, he never wasted a single opportunity to remind his friends and foes of his glorious victories. Despite his rashness, he was still a true Soviet patriot, but he had made many an error by underestimating his enemies (and his allies, to an extent), and never admits to his enemies having superior abilities to his.
Before the merging of the timelines, it would be easy to note that he was a patriot. He saw the time machine as a sort of joke until he decided to join Cherdenko in his journey to the past. It is likely that his insolence was the result of Cherdenko becoming Premier as well as the USSR now having two mortal enemies.
Roles[]
General Krukov was the de-facto leader of the Soviet Military, and led the (miserably failed) assault on Great Britain. The Red Menace failed to invade Great Britain and the Soviet military leader swore that the Allies had not seen the last of him.He retreated with his surviving forces into France and captured Cannes along with Soviet commander Moskvin.
The Allied High Command dispatched an experienced Commander along with Special agent Tanya and Commander Warren Fuller to rescue the Allied leaders, sabotage the naval forces and destroy Moskvin's base. Krukov himself was not there at the time and evaded defeat, but he joined the last Soviet bastion (and strongest in Europe) to prepare a counter-attack. However Oleg was defeated when the same Allied Commander and Commander Lissette razed the Iron Curtain and the Soviet HQ.
When the Empire of the Rising Sun declared war on the Soviet Union and the Allied Nations, the General fought alongside his former nemesis. However when the Allies attacked Tokyo to knock the Empire out of the war, Krukov told the Allied Commander that the Soviet navy would not arrive in time to make a difference to the ongoing battle. He mockingly stated that the victory would be his alone if indeed he could be victorious. Against all odds, the Allied Commander and Lissette succeeded.
Krukov was aware of Cherdenko's plan all along to destroy the Allies from a secret base in Cuba. The General remained in Leningrad where the defenders of freedom stormed the city and destroyed his Vacuum Imploder. At the end of the war, he and Cherdenko were trapped in a Cryo Prison for crimes against humanity.
Non-Canon Perspectives[]
During the Soviet campaign, General Krukov was introduced to a new commander by Premier Cherdenko whom he grew to dislike despite (or because of) his tactical abilities. The commander was also treated more favorably and was given harder missions because Cherdenko was confident that he would be victorious (and his confidence not being misplaced), so Krukov may have gotten jealous in that regard. During a particular mission briefing, Cherdenko had staged an assassination attempt on his own life and later framed Krukov for it. He and his loyalist forces were ordered to assassinate Krukov before turning their attention back to the Allies, and Krukov’s surviving forces swore their allegiance to the commander. It was later revealed to be a hoax after the Premier himself attempted to backstab the commander on Easter Island, but had failed.
During the Imperial campaign, Crown Prince Tatsu ordered the Imperial commander to destroy Krukov using a Shogun Executioner. However, the General narrowly escaped before his HQ was destroyed. A short time later, he was seen along with Allied commander Lissette Hanley in the Allied-Soviet invasion of Yokohama Harbour. Although Krukov arrived later in the fight to reinforce the Allies, the Imperial commander still managed to defeat the coalition but Krukov retreated. During the siege of Moscow, Krukov was given the opportunity to surrender, but refused. The General then met his end at the hands of the invading Imperial forces, as part of the Kremlin came crashing down. The Shogun, Kenji and the Shogun Executioner stormed him and a dying Krukov could not believe that he had been defeated by the likes of the Imperials.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Soviet Union Yuri's Forces Empire of the Rising Sun Allied Forces See Also | ||