WARNING: SPOILERS FOR METAL GEAR SOLID 3 FOLLOW.
I first played Metal Gear Solid 3 when I was 13. The game was unlike anything else I’d played up to that point, and I loved it. Like everyone else, I was mesmerised by the jungle, the story and the music. And like everyone else, I found Raikov funny. Because he was funny. Raikov was a parody character based on Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2, and he was remembered by most fans for his flamboyant personality and his famous, er… close quarters combat technique. On top of that, his implicit but canon relationship with Volgin made the whole situation even funnier, since the relationship is so bizarre that even director Hideo Kojima must have felt that he had outdone himself. Kojima expected people who disliked Raiden to project their hatred onto Raikov, allowing players to kill Raikov without triggering a time paradox. What’s more, his fate has been left ambiguous – the lack of a time paradox rules out any important role in the later story, but there is no explicit canon confirmation and he is simply marked as “Neutralised” in the MGS4 database. In doing so, Kojima arguably made one of the biggest writing mistakes in the game, perhaps in the entire series – which says a lot, given the notoriously convoluted nature of the Metal Gear saga. And it’s a mistake that is not even apparent until considered at depth.
Consider, for a moment, how many Russian soldiers of status survived Operation Snake Eater. If Raikov canonically survived, he would be one of the only significant Russian soldiers to survive the incident. The only exceptions are Volgin himself - comatose for 20 years before reappearing as the “Man on Fire”, consumed and blinded by revenge – and Major Ocelot, a triple agent of the same rank but with no clear loyalty. Raikov was the highest ranking loyal Soviet official (that we know of) to survive. Not only would he effectively be the only high-ranking Russian survivor, but he was the closest person in the army to Colonel Volgin and would have been in the loop at an executive level. His uniform displays nine ribbon bars, including the Order of the Red Star; we know these awards were independent of Volgin’s bias, too, as even Volgin does not have the power to raise his rank – while Raikov is treated as a colonel in every way under Volgin’s command, he can do nothing to officially promote or reward Raikov. Despite his young age and attitude, Raikov was inarguably a competent soldier. It’s no secret, however, that Raikov was immature and even abusive in MGS3. As part of Raikov not being a serious character, he acted immature; when an alert was sounded, he would cower in the bathroom, and his cavalier attitude is apparent to the guards, who often react “Not again!” when he is found asleep or unconscious. However, so many characters grow and develop throughout the series that it would be far from the craziest thing in the series to see Raikov mature. Many protagonists throughout the series show emotional development and growth in maturity; it would seem almost a natural conclusion to see Raikov follow suit.
So far, you could conclude that Raikov was a very good soldier and if he survived, he could have easily been a significant character. But why “if” he survived? This is the crux of the issue; Kojima said in an interview that choices were the essence of Metal Gear Solid, and that players should be able to act depending on their views of Raiden. For this reason, he left Raikov’s fate ambiguous - players would not receive a Time Paradox for killing Raikov, allowing him to be killed without repercussion. He went further to guess that Raikov awaited a “swift death” for European players. This logic is reasonable, considering Raikov was a parody character. But in the process, he deprived the series of the opportunity to develop a serious player in the game world. Raikov is caught in canonical limbo; the absence of a Time Paradox, if killed, suggests he had no further role in the Metal Gear story, yet he was not confirmed dead - and Raikov, if alive, simply could not have disappeared completely.
In fact, the evidence suggests he survived. Eva’s codec call prior to meeting Raikov advises Snake to knock him unconscious stealthily with the cigarette gas gun, and the cutscene where Snake takes Raikov’s uniform shows that Raikov’s body has no visible injury. Furthermore, lethal attacks would have immediately compromised Snake’s disguise. The officially recognised BradyGames strategy guide also says that Raikov was not killed, but "knocked out" and left in the locker. In MGS: Portable Ops, he appears in a standard mission – while not officially confirmed as canon, the game's official strategy guide covers Raikov’s mission in the main walkthrough while disregarding EVA, Para-Medic and Sigint’s missions. Overall, the most likely canon conclusion is that Raikov survived the events of MGS3, and the Metal Gear Wiki corroborates this. Yet the extent of his appearance post-MGS3 was a cameo in MGS: Portable Ops. What happened?
There are two trains of thought, depending on whether the Portable Ops story is considered canon. If MPO is canon, then Raikov was punished by the Kremlin for his abusive behaviour once Volgin was presumed dead and exiled to San Hieronymo. He was then rescued by Snake’s team, whom he reluctantly helped to defeat Gene’s army and win back the Kremlin’s favour. If this is the case, then Raikov was restored to his high-ranking position as a decorated soldier. This begs the question; why did he disappear? Where did he go? If a decorated Major returns to the army, there is simply no way he would have “disappeared” so easily. The alternative explanation, if Portable Ops is no longer canon, is open to interpretation, because there is no other explanation. It is safe to assume that Raikov was punished for abusing his colleagues once Volgin could no longer protect him, but based on the severity of his actions, his punishment would not end his army career - as a decorated Major, the likely conclusion is that Raikov would have returned to prominence after a punishment. In which case, the same question protrudes; where did he go?
And in either case, how did one of the only elite Russian survivors of Snake Eater disappear?
Neither explanation is satisfactory. This is exacerbated by the recurrence of other MGS3 characters, but not Raikov himself. Sigint, Para-Medic, Zero and Eva all return in subsequent entries, with some even playing significant roles in the story. Volgin, presumed dead for two decades, is revived for a significant role in MGSV, and Ocelot becomes a central character for much of the series. If all of Snake’s aides reappear, Volgin is revived and the only other surviving Major (Ocelot) becomes a core character, then it only further raises questions about Raikov’s fate. Since the evidence suggests that Raikov survived the events of Snake Eater, the fact that he disappears from the franchise is not just a missed opportunity but is practically a plot hole. The absence of a Time Paradox suggests that this prominent, decorated survivor of Snake Eater would have no impact on the plot. The only other GRU Major becomes a core character, his boss is revived from the brink of death, but Raikov vanishes.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as such a surprise. Raikov was a joke character from his inception, made to parody Raiden, and as such his story was not given much thought. The simplest explanation is that Raikov was forgotten, and as a non-serious character from the beginning it makes sense that Kojima spared little time for him. Furthermore, there were only a few subsequent Metal Gear games that Raikov could have appeared in without interfering in the canon; Portable Ops, Peace Walker and MGSV were his only opportunities to appear later in the canon, since we know from the games that he had no role in Solid Snake (or, indeed, Raiden)’s saga. However, it would have been nice to see some development of Raikov’s character. The end of MGS3 left him in a position that is so open-ended and full of writing potential that, parody or not, should have been explored by the series – and given his position, the absence of his development raises more questions than it answers.
Raikov survived, but he disappeared. We may never know where.
I first played Metal Gear Solid 3 when I was 13. The game was unlike anything else I’d played up to that point, and I loved it. Like everyone else, I was mesmerised by the jungle, the story and the music. And like everyone else, I found Raikov funny. Because he was funny. Raikov was a parody character based on Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2, and he was remembered by most fans for his flamboyant personality and his famous, er… close quarters combat technique. On top of that, his implicit but canon relationship with Volgin made the whole situation even funnier, since the relationship is so bizarre that even director Hideo Kojima must have felt that he had outdone himself. Kojima expected people who disliked Raiden to project their hatred onto Raikov, allowing players to kill Raikov without triggering a time paradox. What’s more, his fate has been left ambiguous – the lack of a time paradox rules out any important role in the later story, but there is no explicit canon confirmation and he is simply marked as “Neutralised” in the MGS4 database. In doing so, Kojima arguably made one of the biggest writing mistakes in the game, perhaps in the entire series – which says a lot, given the notoriously convoluted nature of the Metal Gear saga. And it’s a mistake that is not even apparent until considered at depth.
Consider, for a moment, how many Russian soldiers of status survived Operation Snake Eater. If Raikov canonically survived, he would be one of the only significant Russian soldiers to survive the incident. The only exceptions are Volgin himself - comatose for 20 years before reappearing as the “Man on Fire”, consumed and blinded by revenge – and Major Ocelot, a triple agent of the same rank but with no clear loyalty. Raikov was the highest ranking loyal Soviet official (that we know of) to survive. Not only would he effectively be the only high-ranking Russian survivor, but he was the closest person in the army to Colonel Volgin and would have been in the loop at an executive level. His uniform displays nine ribbon bars, including the Order of the Red Star; we know these awards were independent of Volgin’s bias, too, as even Volgin does not have the power to raise his rank – while Raikov is treated as a colonel in every way under Volgin’s command, he can do nothing to officially promote or reward Raikov. Despite his young age and attitude, Raikov was inarguably a competent soldier. It’s no secret, however, that Raikov was immature and even abusive in MGS3. As part of Raikov not being a serious character, he acted immature; when an alert was sounded, he would cower in the bathroom, and his cavalier attitude is apparent to the guards, who often react “Not again!” when he is found asleep or unconscious. However, so many characters grow and develop throughout the series that it would be far from the craziest thing in the series to see Raikov mature. Many protagonists throughout the series show emotional development and growth in maturity; it would seem almost a natural conclusion to see Raikov follow suit.
So far, you could conclude that Raikov was a very good soldier and if he survived, he could have easily been a significant character. But why “if” he survived? This is the crux of the issue; Kojima said in an interview that choices were the essence of Metal Gear Solid, and that players should be able to act depending on their views of Raiden. For this reason, he left Raikov’s fate ambiguous - players would not receive a Time Paradox for killing Raikov, allowing him to be killed without repercussion. He went further to guess that Raikov awaited a “swift death” for European players. This logic is reasonable, considering Raikov was a parody character. But in the process, he deprived the series of the opportunity to develop a serious player in the game world. Raikov is caught in canonical limbo; the absence of a Time Paradox, if killed, suggests he had no further role in the Metal Gear story, yet he was not confirmed dead - and Raikov, if alive, simply could not have disappeared completely.
In fact, the evidence suggests he survived. Eva’s codec call prior to meeting Raikov advises Snake to knock him unconscious stealthily with the cigarette gas gun, and the cutscene where Snake takes Raikov’s uniform shows that Raikov’s body has no visible injury. Furthermore, lethal attacks would have immediately compromised Snake’s disguise. The officially recognised BradyGames strategy guide also says that Raikov was not killed, but "knocked out" and left in the locker. In MGS: Portable Ops, he appears in a standard mission – while not officially confirmed as canon, the game's official strategy guide covers Raikov’s mission in the main walkthrough while disregarding EVA, Para-Medic and Sigint’s missions. Overall, the most likely canon conclusion is that Raikov survived the events of MGS3, and the Metal Gear Wiki corroborates this. Yet the extent of his appearance post-MGS3 was a cameo in MGS: Portable Ops. What happened?
There are two trains of thought, depending on whether the Portable Ops story is considered canon. If MPO is canon, then Raikov was punished by the Kremlin for his abusive behaviour once Volgin was presumed dead and exiled to San Hieronymo. He was then rescued by Snake’s team, whom he reluctantly helped to defeat Gene’s army and win back the Kremlin’s favour. If this is the case, then Raikov was restored to his high-ranking position as a decorated soldier. This begs the question; why did he disappear? Where did he go? If a decorated Major returns to the army, there is simply no way he would have “disappeared” so easily. The alternative explanation, if Portable Ops is no longer canon, is open to interpretation, because there is no other explanation. It is safe to assume that Raikov was punished for abusing his colleagues once Volgin could no longer protect him, but based on the severity of his actions, his punishment would not end his army career - as a decorated Major, the likely conclusion is that Raikov would have returned to prominence after a punishment. In which case, the same question protrudes; where did he go?
And in either case, how did one of the only elite Russian survivors of Snake Eater disappear?
Neither explanation is satisfactory. This is exacerbated by the recurrence of other MGS3 characters, but not Raikov himself. Sigint, Para-Medic, Zero and Eva all return in subsequent entries, with some even playing significant roles in the story. Volgin, presumed dead for two decades, is revived for a significant role in MGSV, and Ocelot becomes a central character for much of the series. If all of Snake’s aides reappear, Volgin is revived and the only other surviving Major (Ocelot) becomes a core character, then it only further raises questions about Raikov’s fate. Since the evidence suggests that Raikov survived the events of Snake Eater, the fact that he disappears from the franchise is not just a missed opportunity but is practically a plot hole. The absence of a Time Paradox suggests that this prominent, decorated survivor of Snake Eater would have no impact on the plot. The only other GRU Major becomes a core character, his boss is revived from the brink of death, but Raikov vanishes.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as such a surprise. Raikov was a joke character from his inception, made to parody Raiden, and as such his story was not given much thought. The simplest explanation is that Raikov was forgotten, and as a non-serious character from the beginning it makes sense that Kojima spared little time for him. Furthermore, there were only a few subsequent Metal Gear games that Raikov could have appeared in without interfering in the canon; Portable Ops, Peace Walker and MGSV were his only opportunities to appear later in the canon, since we know from the games that he had no role in Solid Snake (or, indeed, Raiden)’s saga. However, it would have been nice to see some development of Raikov’s character. The end of MGS3 left him in a position that is so open-ended and full of writing potential that, parody or not, should have been explored by the series – and given his position, the absence of his development raises more questions than it answers.
Raikov survived, but he disappeared. We may never know where.
