Post by Jo on Aug 10, 2006 2:22:59 GMT -5
Background
Mikhail is the commander of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (U.B.C.S.) Delta Platoon and holds the rank of Lieutenant. Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Mikhail was once the leader of an ethnic minority's guerrilla force that his wife belonged to. However, after being captured by the Russian army, he was convicted of numerous acts of terrorism and was tried as a war criminal. But instead of being sentenced, he was appointed as a member of the U.B.C.S. instead along with his guerrilla comrades.
During T-Virus outbreak in Raccoon City, Mikhail's Delta Platoon was deployed to the city to contain the outbreak. However, the zombies and various creatures in the city proved too much for the platoon to handle and most of his men lost their lives. Mikhail himself was wounded when his platoon and the people they had rescued made a stand against the zombies in the Raccoon City hall. Mikhail was saved by his subordinates, Nicholai Ginovaef and Carlos Oliveira, who were only known survivors in his platoon. The three of them met with S.T.A.R.S. operative Jill Valentine (the main character of Resident Evil 3) while seeking refugee within one of the city's cable car. Despite his injuries, Mikhail was a persistent fighter who at one point left the confines on the cable car to fight off the immediate threat of zombies (in an optional scene viewable by the player after Jill collects two of the three required items to activate the cable car).
When Jill and Carlos managed to get the cable car running, the Nemesis found its way into the car where Mikhail was resting in order to get to Jill. Mikhail decided to sacrifice his life to save Jill by fighting the Nemesis and detonating an incendiary grenade within the car, allowing Jill and Carlos to escape. It is suggested that Mikhail felt guilty for the death of his men, and that his sacrifice was an opportunity for redemption. On the other hand, it is possible that Mikhail sacrificed himself due to the fact that he was badly injured, and knew that he would probably turn into one of the zombies sooner or later, thus putting the other survivors in danger.