Russian Mafia

The Russian Mafia (Русская мафия, Russkaya Mafiya), Red Mafia (Красная мафия, Krasnaya Mafiya), Bratva (Братва, slang for 'brotherhood') is a Russian Organized Crime group, rising to prominence in the political, economic and social turmoil following the fall of the Soviet Union. Russian organized crime has existed well before the fall of the Soviet Union, but it has hit its stride in the years since. During its formation, many members were veterans of the Russian Armed Forces, including members of the state intelligence group and secret police force, the KGB, who were suddenly out of work and had the skills to excel in the world of crime. While primarily a Russian organization, the Russian Mafia operates across the globe in a wide variety of criminal activities such as prostitution, drugs, gambling and extortion, though reportedly specialize in smuggling black-market goods and money laundering.

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction[]

Inside mafia hq sergei — Inside the Mafia HQ. Sergei is seated at the desk, Josef is standing, Mattias is sitting in the chair.

The Russian Mafia are one of the five factions in Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. They are very different from all the other factions in the game, and not just because they are not an army representing a cause and nation. Unlike the Chinese, who want to annex North Korea, the South Koreans, who want to reunify North Korea with them under their government, the Allied Nations, who want to find North Korea's nuclear weapons and disable them and capture or kill Choi Song, and the North Koreans, who oppose the goals of everyone else, the Russian Mafia is in North Korea to work their way into NK society and engage in as much looting and war profiteering as possible while the fighting goes on. The Russian Mafia is in North Korea to make money, and they never pretend otherwise.

This selfish and materialistic goal makes the Russian Mafia an ideal potential friend, ally, and employer of the Executive Operations mercenary. Both the mercenary and the Mafia are not in North Korea for patriotism or any political cause, money is the primary motivation and concern for both of them. The Russian Mafia stands to make a truly spectacular profit if its operations in North Korea are successful, and they are more than willing to share that profit if the mercenary helps them along the way. However, the other factions all have strong disagreements with the Mafia, as they are unwilling to make room for organized crime in their goals for North Korea.

Though they wield immense financial and political power and influence, the Mafia is first and foremost a criminal organization and therefore has no major military presence in North Korea. However, its well-armed thugs and customized vehicles patrol the streets of many North Korean cities, including the capital, Pyongyang. The men working for the Russian Mafia go well-armed and even start fielding light attack helicopters during the game.

Most Mafia Thugs carry Type 85 Sub-Machine Guns and most Capos (officers) carry Shotguns. The Mafia Enforcers are equipped with RPD light machine guns, Dragunov SVD's, and RPGs. But the Mafia still have the lightest ground presence out of all the factions, with few men and no tanks or APCs, and very few helicopters. The Northern Province, however, has a vast presence of Mafia Technicals and SUVs, presumably since at this point, there is no Allied or NK navy blockade to stop their import.

Any land vehicle can be sold to the Mafia's chop shop. High-end vehicles (such as tanks) are naturally worth the most money. The less damaged the vehicle being delivered is, the more the Mafia will pay for it. They do not reduce payment if a vehicle has less ammunition than its full capacity, however. This is the only way outside of missions or challenges and killing NK soldiers to raise the player's standing with the Mafia.

The Russian Mafia also runs the Merchant of Menace shop, which can be accessed via your PDA. This shop allows you to purchase vehicles and supply drops, as well as air strikes unlocked throughout the game. If the Mafia becomes hostile to the player, the player will be locked out of the shop. The shop also increases prices the more unfriendly the Mafia is to the player, and lowers it if they become friendlier.

If the player works with the Russian Mafia steadily and assists them in making higher and higher profits as their operations become broader and more daring, the game can end with the Russian Mafia firmly in control in North Korea if they are the most friendly faction to the player. The Russian Mafia never meant to just come to North Korea, make a big profit during the war, and then leave; they fully intended to settle in for a long and very profitable stay. Whether it is China or South Korea who absorb defeated North Korea with the player's aid, the Russian Mafia (if the player has consistently aided them) has a strong grip on North Korea and will not give it up easily.

Soldier Classes[]

Thugs - The most basic Mafia soldier, thugs wear brown/orange shirts under a black jacket. They are typically armed with SMGs and, occasionally, shotguns and assault rifles. They are also the ones who commandeer the MD-530 Scout helicopters and Mafia Technicals, along with the helicopters that drop off vehicles for the player.
Enforcers - The Enforcers are the Mafia's equivalent of the other faction's heavy soldiers. They wear orange-brown leather jackets with bandoliers of ammo across their torso, and are usually armed with Light Machine Guns or RPGs.
Capos - The Capos act as the officers of the Mafia. They wear long overcoats, beanies and shades, and are usually armed with shotguns. Capi drop stacks of cash worth $5,000 whenever they are killed. The best places to spot these men are the Mafia chop-shops next to their HQs.
Renegade Officers - Only seen in the mission 'Housekeeping', these officers have the same model as a regular capo. These are targets for the player to eliminate in said mission. You can identify renegade officers by keeping a distance and using your binoculars to identify them.
Renegade Thugs - Only seen in the mission 'Housekeeping', these thugs share the same model as a regular thug. The player will not be penalized for shooting them as they are only loyal to Sergei Voronov for the mission's bonus. You can identify renegade thugs by keeping a distance and using your binoculars to identify them.

Characters[]

Named Characters[]

Sergei Voronov - The Mafia's young, eccentric, and paranoid leader. He aims to make a name for himself as a respectable godfather, and will do anything to get what he wants. He is not afraid to betray and kill people he does not trust, and often risks the Mafia's secrecy by giving the mercenary increasingly bold contracts.
Josef Yurinov - Sergei's lieutenant and ex-KGB killer. As an experienced soldier who has fought in theatres such as Kosovo and now North Korea, he is very intelligent and knows how to work things out before taking action. He prefers a more silent and discreet approach than Sergei does.
Misha - A mafia thug who is promoted to the faction's lieutenant during the last quarter of the game.
Mikhail - One of the thugs sitting on the couch watching TV inside the HQ. If the player chooses to 'pester' him when prompted, Sergei will state that if agitated he will "bite your ear off".
Pavel - The bartender inside the Mafia's HQ. At certain times the mercenary can interact with the bar and order a drink for free.

Unnamed Characters[]

The Mafia HQ nightclub bouncer.
A Capo stationed near the Mafia's chop shop in East Pyongyang.
A non-officer Capo stationed near the Yongbyon chop shop.
Three Mafia Capos supervising the Mafia's activities in Haeju.
A group of thugs sent to help the mercenary verify the Jack of Clubs, along with securing a FROG-7 Missile Truck.

Arsenal[]

Infantry Weapons[]

SMG - Close range weapon of choice
Shotgun - Close range weapon
Assault Rifle - Standard medium range weapon
Light MG - Used by Enforcers and rarely by Thugs
Sniper Rifle - Long range and covert weapon
RPG - Anti-personnel and anti-armor weapon

Aircraft[]

MD-530 Scout (Also delivers supply crates to the mercenary) - Light scout and attack helicopter
Mi-26 (Only delivers vehicles to the mercenary, cannot be flown) - Heavy transport helicopter
Ka-50 Attack (Only seen during 'Housekeeping') - Heavy attack gunship

Ground Vehicles[]

MG Technical - Primary ground vehicle
GL Technical
TOW Technical
SUV - Heavier ground vehicle
VIP Sedan - Luxury ground transport

Diplomacy[]

Allies: N/A

Enemies: All factions. However, no faction besides the North Koreans actually open fire on them, and the Mafia do not open fire on any faction besides North Korea.

Trivia[]

Throughout the game's development, the Mafia had several other symbols including a Red Star symbolizing the Soviet Union, and a large M. The red star may have been scrapped for being too similar to China's symbol, also a red star, while the M may have been too simplistic or a placeholder. Their final symbol is a combination of the Hammer and Sickle and Jolly Roger, this likely symbolizing the birth of the Russian Mafia in the waning years of the Soviet Union and the faction's reputation as a ruthless criminal organization.
It is possible to order free vehicles, weapon drops, and artillery from the mafia. The player must select the support item, throw down the smoke grenade, and select a support option (it does not have to be a different support item) before the smoke billows and the supplies will be free. This makes it easy to earn fast money and mafia friendliness, as the player can continuously call in expensive vehicles for free and then sell them back for money.