Corporal Menshov (Russian: Капрал Меньшов; Japanese: メニショフ伍長 Menishofu gochō) was a former Soviet VDV corporal and a member of Hotel Moscow.
Appearance[]
Menshov was an adult Russian man with short brown hair, a skinny build, and pale skin. He wore a black suit over a light violet dress shirt. He used a SIG Sauer P220 pistol for a weapon.
History[]
Menshov was seen in a 1987 flashback during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan fighting alongside Balalaika, in one battle handing her a Dragunov rifle. In 1992 just after the fall of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Menshov still committed his loyalty to Balalaika and joined her in the Russian mafia group Hotel Moscow.[1] In due time, Balalaika successfully built her part of the Russian mafia in Thailand in the city of Roanapur, and Menshov followed her there.
Chase for ring-ding ships[]
Only seen in the anime adaptation of this arc, when Chen tried to flee Roanapur after his plan to kill the Lagoon Company pirates failed, Menshov joined Balalaika in confronting him at his place, then beating up and tying up Chen to a chair in his room with explosives.[2]
Rasta Blasta[]
Menshov reported to Balalaika about the status of the Yellow Flag after it was greatly damaged by Roberta in her gunfight with the Manisarera Cartel. Balalaika told him to stay at his current location and continue gathering information in real-time. When Menshov asked her what he should relay to Bao concerning the damage to his bar, Balalaika ordered him to inform Bao not to worry about compensation.[3]
Bloodsport Fairy tale[]
In Roanapur, there were two assassins who were killing members of Hotel Moscow, so Menshov and Sakharov had to be careful, traveling in groups of two per Balalaika's recommendation. One night, they visited the Caribbean Bar on Bulan Street to collect that night's protection money. While he was collecting the protection money from the bartender with Sakharov, they encountered Hänsel and Gretel, the former of which asked the men to play with them. Upon realizing the children were the assassins, Menshov immediately warned Sakharov, who tried to shoot them but was killed instantly by Hänsel. Terrified, Menshov ran out the front door to escape, but he was shot in the legs by Gretel, and the twins dragged him away to their motel room.[4]
Captured by Hänsel and Gretel, he was brutally tortured at the hands of the sadistic twins, primarily by sticking large nails into his head, even after death to see how his body twitched. The children's handlers, Moretti and Bikey of Cosa Nostra, were disgusted at the disfigured corpse and berated the twins for playing with the corpse instead of disposing it, as well as for wasting time and killing various Russian gangsters instead of targeting Balalaika.[5] As a result of Menshov and Sakharov's murders, Balalaika deployed the Vysotniki to hunt down the twins in the city, proclaiming to her men that Menshov was an irreplaceable brother in arms and that they would avenge him with their AK-47s.[6] In his confrontation with Balalaika, Hänsel described in grim detail how Menshov acted while he was being tortured, particularly calling for his "Kapitan." Balalaika also had flashbacks which further demonstrated that Menshov fought in Afghanistan with Sakharov. He was also sarcastically praised by Hänsel for being a strong man, as he believed that "a normal man would have died a lot sooner." Menshov's death was avenged when Balalaika's snipers shot Hänsel a moment later, and the boy bled to death as he cried.[7]
Trivia[]
- In the English dub of episode 9 of the anime, Balalaika mispronounces his name as "Menisof," most likely due to using the pronunciation in Japanese katakana instead of the Russian name.
References[]
- ↑ Episode 21: Two Father's Little Soldier Girls
- ↑ Episode 03: Ring-Ding Ship Chase
- ↑ Episode 09: Maid to Kill
- ↑ Episode 13: The Vampire Twins Comen
- ↑ Chapter 12: Bloodsport Fairy tale Part 2
- ↑ Episode 14: Bloodsport Fairytale
- ↑ Episode 15: Swan Song at Dawn