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1[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/StreetFighterII https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zangief-end-sfa2-3_5976.gif]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:'''''[[PatrioticFervor Wrestlink bears for Mozzer Russia!!]]''''']]
3
4->''"Big Russian guy with big guns, all those American and their stereotypes!"''
5-->-- '''Molotov,''' ''Facebreakers''
6
7%% Only one quote per main page, please.
8
9Ah, MightyGlacier. [[GrimUpNorth Stronk]], brutish, beeg, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment stronk]], [[DumbMuscle not so bright]] [[GeniusBruiser (unless zat is point)]], [[RuleOfThree stronk]]... Because [[MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong Mozzer Russia Makes You Stronk]].
10
11And in VideoGames, he is beink almost invariably Russian. Ozzer countries are, in some rare cases, substituted, but video game's [[TheBigGuy large fellow]] often khas good chance of being from [[GloriousMotherRussia former Soviet Union]]. May also be replacink ze g in -ing works with k, for yexample; [[VodkaDrunkenski drinkink]], skiink, [[ThatRussianSquatDance dancink]], and so on.
12
13May have one of six possible names: Ivan, Vladimir, Yuri,[[note]]No, not ''[[{{YuriGenre}} zat]]'' one! Or ''[[VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub zat]]'' one! [[/note]] Viktor, Dmitri, or Boris.
14
15This actually is not beink limited to just games. Apparently it has been common stereotype in Western film for Russian men to be depicted as [[TheBigGuy large]], [[TheBrute boorish]] "bears" who are speakink in [[YouNoTakeCandle broken English]]. Khowever, is most visible in video games. ''Yespecially'' [[FightingGame fightink games]]. A small town may have only one huge Vladimir, because as the [[UsefulNotes/RussianProverbsAndExpressions Russian proverb]] says "Two bears don't live in one lair" (Два медведя в одной берлоге не живут (Dva medvedya v odnoy berloge ne zhivut.).
16
17Often tend to be eizzer TheBrute or BoisterousBruiser, often dependink on what side zey are beink on. Zey use size and fighting ability by working as {{Bouncer}} or enforcer for the BigBad from [[TheMafiya Soviet-bloc Bratvas]]. He may work the door at the boss' [[TotallyNotACriminalFront Totally Legitimate Russian Businessmens' Social Club]] in the WretchedHive, or perhaps loads [[BlackMarket heavy, mysterious crates]] that FellOffTheBackOfATruck. Maybe Dmitri [[DeadlyEuphemism "deals with"]] troublesome enemy gangsters.
18
19He has [[RuggedScar big scar]] from fighting in Spetznaz unit in Afghanistan/Chechnya back in the day. To block out painful memories of lost comrades-in-arms and [[DarkAndTroubledPast difficult past]], he drinks big glasses of [[GargleBlaster overproof Russian vodka]] that iz [[AlcoholIsGasoline so strong it can also be used as airplane fuel]]. If he gets in a fight, [[RussianGuySuffersMost he will take many punches to the head and stab wounds and not go down]].
20
21Owink to greater yemotional freedom yin Russian culture, may also be EmotionalBruiser. Often is beink [[RussianGuySuffersMost put through much abusing by writers]].
22
23Zis seems to be becomink eizzer [[EvolvingTrope Evolvink]] or DiscreditedTrope; khowever, more recent games such as ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' breazzink new life into trope for sheerest {{Camp}} value.
24
25If you went back to [[TheSeventies Seventies]] and asked someone what Husky Russkie was beink, would assume you were [[BrawnHilda referrink to woman]], but now Russian women beink SensualSlavs.
26
27Often timez, they're accompanied by their {{sled dogs|ThroughTheSnow}} (especially zhe Siberian Khaskies[[note]]Siberian Huskies, but pronounced in Russian[[/note]]).
28----
29!!Examples:
30
31[[foldercontrol]]
32
33[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
34* Boris from ''Manga/BlackLagoon''. He also subverts it by being under the orders of a somewhat shorter woman named Balalaika... who, on the other hand, is a {{Magnificent B|astard}}itch as well as a ''very'' powerful and completely ruthless DarkActionGirl.
35* ''Manga/Eyeshield21'': Rodchenko, the world record holder in the bench press at age 18. Didn't do him much good on the field, as he falls squarely into UnskilledButStrong territory.
36* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
37** ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'': Argo Gulskiiis TheBigGuy of the FiveManBand and relays heavily on brute force when fighting but outside the ring, he's a very calm and honorable BigBrotherMentor towards the group. In fact, Argo is so calm and strong in mind and heart that [[spoiler: he didn't show mental/emotional damage after being BrainwashedAndCrazy via DG Cells.]]
38** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam'': Commander Yuri Kerane although not he's not explicitly described as Russian and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure is a pretty competent commander]] [[AFatherTohisMen who cares about his men]] despite having all the social charm of [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Gaston]]. It's still obvious what the writers were getting at, though. Interestingly, Ginias Sakharin could be considered a complete inversion of this trope, because despite also having implied Russian heritage (his surname), [[{{Bishonen}} his]] [[SissyVillain design]] [[AmbiguouslyGay and mannerisms]] are anything but husky and brutish. [[spoiler: And for even more irony, Ginias actually causes Yuri's death towards the end of the series.]]
39** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'': Downplayed with Sergei Smirnov. He is one of the tallest characters, and he is a veteran who gained the name "Wild Bear of Russia" InUniverse before the events of the series. While he nearly succeeded in destroying two Gundams in separate occasions when the other troops were obliterated in a single hit, there’s nothing brutish about his fighting style nor his character, save for maybe the big scar on his face.
40* ''Manga/HajimeNoIppo'': Subverted. The Russian boxer Alexander Volg Zangief is a force to be reckoned with inside the ring... but in normal life he is soft-spoken, friendly, [[ShrinkingViolet humble to the point of borderline shyness]], a sort of MommasBoy and very gentle (and has quite the HoYay with Ippo, {{Yaoi Fangirl}}s say). He's not even ''that'' tall, either, compared with other boxers of the same cathegory.
41* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'': [[NationsAsPeople Russia]] (human name: Ivan Braginsky) is the tallest of the characters, and has a matching impressive thick and muscular build. He's MadeOfIron, able to stop a tank with his body, and his mass has been PlayedForLaughs, such as when he accidentally sits on Canada. But rather than being a straight example of a manly brute, he looks [[CuteGiant cute]] and seems [[GentleGiant friendly]]...then he turns out to be a PsychopathicManchild with [[CuteAndPsycho bad mood swings]]. (Though later in the series he's seen treating others better [[DarkAndTroubledPast and his reasons to be the way he is are explained]])
42%%* ''Manga/GunsmithCats'': Natasha Radinov is a female example.
43[[/folder]]
44
45[[folder:Asian Animation]]
46* ''Animation/GuardianFairyMichel'': Ian and his sister are Russians with heavily-built bodies and strong accents.
47* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatFunClass: Travel Around the World'' episode 2, the gang goes to Russia after they find one of Slowy's clues in a matryoshka doll. While there, they meet a strong bear man who helps them to retrieve another Russian doll that's frozen in the water; Sparky is impressed by his ability, and the bear explains that Russians like to exercise so they can adapt to all sorts of tough weather.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Comic Books]]
51%%* Russian Plexus Ranger Yuri Kholyakov in ''ComicBook/AmericanFlagg''.
52* ''Batman Incorporated'' is about having a ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' in every area possible. Most regional Batmen are CaptainEthnic heroes, and Russia's is no exception -- the Batman of Moscow is an extremely large and muscular man, significantly dwarfing every other member of the group.
53* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'': Vasily "Vas" Vorishkin, "The Love Sausage", is a big, bearded, broken English, loves a good drink, and a proud old commie.
54* ''ComicBook/DeadlyClass'' is about a secret school that trains teenagers into assassins, with students from all over the world. The most notable student from the Soviet Union (the series takes place in the 80s) is Viktor, who seems to be the tallest and strongest kid in the school. And, incidentally, it's also suggested that he has a large penis, to boot.
55* In the Marvel ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe]]'' comics, BoisterousBruiser Horror-show, the heavy weapons expert of the Oktober Guard, seems to fit this trope (his action figure was codenamed "Big Bear"), although he's technically Georgian. Subverted by the rest of the Guard, who have similar builds as other members of G.I. Joe and COBRA.
56* Grushko in ''ComicBook/GlobalFrequency'' isn't especially muscular, but he's probably the tallest of the Global Frequency's operatives. He describes himself as the large man from your nightmares who murdered your family and destroyed everything you loved.
57* ''ComicBook/KickAss'': The aptly-named Mother Russia from the second series is a seven-foot woman with an eyepatch, arms like utility poles, and a cold, murderous disposition.
58* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
59** ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'': Cosmo is a bit of an unusual example, being a talking Cosmonaut dog, but he's certainly got the personality for it.
60--> Come on then, ugly zombies, if you think you can bite harder than Russian dog!
61** ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': Mongu (Boris Monguski) subverted the stereotype by actually being a smaller man inside a set of PoweredArmor that ''looked'' like a barbaric giant, which was ultimately trashed by the Hulk. Years later an ''actual'' barbarian named Mongu would show up, though as he hailed from another dimension he had no ties to Russia.
62*** Emil Blonsky, The Abomination is also this. A gamma-radiated one at that.
63** ''ComicBook/IronMan'':
64*** The Titanium Man, Boris Bullski, is a pretty large commie under all that armor, measuring in at 7'1" without the suit (the armor itself is 8'9"), and he's strong enough to use the armor ''without powered controls''. The second Titanium Man, however, somewhat subverted the trope, as that armor was built and operated by Kondrati Topolov, the Gremlin. A DepravedDwarf, Topolov measured in at 4'8", while his armor was the same height as Bullski's.
65*** Like Titanium Man, most of the people inside the Crimson Dynamo armor have been slow-witted behemoths.
66** ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': The Russian, although the comic book version was a truly over-the-top version... even when he got huge breasts. He's a big, ''big'' man with inhuman physical might -- and a near-total invulnerability to harm.
67%%* ''ComicBook/TheRedStar'': Kyuzo, Maya's bodyguard.
68** ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
69*** Most versions of Kraven the Hunter; in the original comics, Sergei Kravinoff could wrestle a lion in his sleep even without the mystic potions and herbs he uses when officially on the hunt. His son Aloysha, on the other hand, once knocked out the Rhino with one blow. Again, though, Kraven and his sons all used what amounted to herbal steroids to achieve this level of power.
70*** It rarely gets acknowledged, but the Rhino himself (real name Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich) is a Russian immigrant, and also an example.
71%%* ''ComicBook/TheTick'': Red Scare.
72** ''ComicBook/XMen''
73*** Piotr "Peter" Rasputin aka ComicBook/{{Colossus}}. He's Russian, and ''very'' big and muscular even when he's not transformed. However, unlike most examples, he's an art student and fairly intelligent. Also, aside from the spattering of Russian words that some writers (notably Creator/ChrisClaremont) liked to spatter into his dialogue, Colossus speaks English with an American accent, thanks to being taught the language telepathically (this detail is easy to miss, which is why he speaks with a Russian accent in the cartoons).
74*** Piotr's younger sister, Illyana (aka ComicBook/{{Magik}}), is a [[SensualSlavs Sensual Slav]]: a beautiful, svelte, and dangerous blonde demon-sorceress in a midriff-baring black outfit.
75*** Piotr's older brother, Mikhail, is also a Huksy Ruskie: a few inches shorter than Piotr, but almost as wide, and just as heavily muscled. Mikhail is shown sometimes to either have SuperStrength or can approximate it with his incredible powers.
76** ''ComicBook/WinterGuard'':
77*** A mutant named Mikhail Uriokovitch Ursus, also known as Ursa Major. As if he wasn't already big, muscular and a great fighter, he can transform into a bear, with super strength and endurance. He's also actually pretty smart, too.
78*** Ursa Major has a teammate in Perun, after the Slavic god of thunder, who also possesses greatly intimidating size and strength.
79*** The Winter Guard's equivalent of ComicBook/IronMan is Power Surge. His suit ''is'' his body, and it's much larger than that of his American counterpart.
80
81
82[[/folder]]
83
84[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
85* ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'': Billy Boss, a Russian alleycat in Scat Cat's gang and easily the largest one in the group.
86%%* ''[[WesternAnimation/Cars2'': The Trunkovs and Ivan from despite the latter being sided with the ''Hugos''.
87* Boris from ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'', who is the largest of Lady's inmates while she is still in the [[PoundsAreAnimalPrisons dog pound.]]
88* ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'': [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Jumba fits this trope, despite being a purplish, four-eyed alien.]] Being a MadScientist, he's the GeniusBruiser variant.
89* ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'': One of the circus performers is a strong Russian tiger named Vitaly.
90* ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians'': SantaClaus is reimagined as a muscular, tattooed Russian who goes by North.
91[[/folder]]
92
93[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
94* ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'': Yuri is stated to be a boxer in his earlier days. He apparently can still run as if he were in his prime, however.
95%%* Ivan Checkov from ''Film/TheBoondockSaints''.
96* ''Film/{{Everest 2015}}'': Anatoli Boukreev, the Russian member of Scott Fischer's Mountain Madness team. In addition to being very tall, he ascended the mountain without oxygen (he felt it gave a false sense of security), and when the blizzard comes up, he makes several treks back up to bring stragglers back to the camp.
97* ''Film/FistOfFury'': Petrov, TheDragon, is a Russian wrestling champion. He is large and strong (he is able to bend metal bars). He seems to be the best fighter that the hero meets.
98* ''Film/IronMan2'': Ivan Vanko, who can take a car ''crushing him against a wall repeatedly''. The exoskeleton he's wearing barely gives him any protection either. He also nearly managed to beat Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit [[spoiler:twice, and the second time nearly beats War Machine too.]]
99%%* ''Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015:'' Kuryakin, KGB agent is bigger than Superman.
100* ''Film/MarchOrDie'': Ivan is a Russian member of the French Foreign Legion who's noticeably bigger than his fellow Legionnaires. He's played by heavyweight boxer Jack O'Halloran.
101* In ''Film/TheMountie'', Nikolai is the largest of the Cossacks and acts as enforcer for the gang. He almost kills Grayling in their first encounter.
102* ''Film/PacificRim'': The Russian Cherno Alpha is the biggest, bulkiest, and most heavily armored Jaeger, with a vague resemblance to a nuclear reactor cooling tower. This also applies to its pilots, the Kaidanovsky couple. Aleksis is portrayed by rather tall 5'10" Creator/HeatherDoerksen, and Sasha by humongous 6'11" professional wrestler [[Wrestling/{{Kurrgan}} Robert Maillet]].
103* ''{{Film/Predators}}'': Nikolai is a rare non-Ivan example. He's a beefy Spetznaz commando who's also one of the nicer dudes in the cast. Nikolai is also one of the (formerly) rare cases where such a character is played by an actually Russian actor (and to top it off, is former MMA fighter Oleg Taktarov).
104* ''Film/ThePunisher2004'': "The Russian" is a massive behemoth of a man who shrugs off punches, kicks, blunt force trauma, stab wounds, and walls as if they were minor nuisances.
105* ''Film/RedHeat'': Ivan Danko is a [[TheStoic stoic]] Soviet cop who starts the film with a ShirtlessScene to show off his HeroicBuild (bonus point with the brawl in the snow), handles {{Hand Cannon}}s without bothering about the recoil... You name it.
106* ''Film/RockNRolla'': Uri's two [[PsychoForHire psychos for hire]] who guard his money. One of them is stocky, while the other is tall and ripped. They compare scars they've received in Chechnya and prove to be quite [[ImplacableMan implacable]].
107* Ivan Drago from ''Film/RockyIV''. Drago's pretty lean compared to Rocky, but he's ''much'' taller and has a ''much'' longer reach.
108** The title also applies to his son Viktor, as seen in ''Film/CreedII''.
109* ''Film/{{Snatch}}'': Boris the Blade. Granted, he's Uzbek, not Russian, and he's not a muscular powerhouse, but he's MadeOfIron, and unbelievably hard to kill.
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Literature]]
113%%* Ivan, better known as the Fabinator, in the young adult novel ''Bad Kitty''. (And he's definitely a {{fetish}} for Roxy.)
114* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Sanya is a holy knight whose muscles cause instant feelings of masculine inadequacy in Harry Dresden. He's also a TwoferTokenMinority, being a rare Russian ScaryBlackMan. In his first appearance, he speaks decent if not perfect English but in later appearances, he speaks quite fluently. He actually invokes this trope in ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', when he interrogates a captured hitman by picking up the board he's been taped to with no particular effort, and in a thick Russian accent, threatens to break the man in half and chuck him in the incinerator. In the audiobook of the scene, Creator/JamesMarsters puts a hilariously-thick accent to Sanya's voice.
115* ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'': Simon Brezhnev is a giant, [[ScaryBlackMan black]], Russian sushi chef. But he's a sweet guy, really. And too modest to admit that he's the only one who can go toe to toe with an enraged Shizuo. The actual chef and owner of the shop is a smaller example, but burly compared to the rest of the cast. It's implied that both of them have seen enough violence in their lives, and [[RetiredBadass don't welcome anymore of it]].
116* ''{{Literature/Solstice}}'': Mikael is described by Io as "a Russian native, 6'5'', 280lbs of pure muscle" with thickly-accented English.
117* ''Literature/VampireAcademy'': Dimitri Belikov is tall, incredibly strong, and from Siberia.
118%%* Creator/JohnCWright's ''Literature/WarOfTheDreaming'': Var Varovitch (Raven) %%is what?
119[[/folder]]
120
121[[folder:Pinball]]
122* As with the source, Zangief in Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''Pinball/StreetFighterII'' pinball is one.
123[[/folder]]
124
125[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
126* Many of pro wrestling's ForeignWrestlingHeel Russians are big bruisers to boot; Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s Wrestling/VladimirKozlov was one of the latest iterations of the model.
127** In a subversion, only a handful of them were actually Russian. Kozlov is at least close in being Ukrainian. (That is, close in that "ViewersAreMorons that can't tell the difference" sense.)
128** [[Wrestling/RusevAndLana Rusev]], who is somewhere between 280 and 300 lbs of thick muscle st any given time, spent about a year being billed as a Bulgarian who had ''moved to'' Russia. He exemplified the Russian ForeignWrestlingHeel in every other sense, but (oddly) it was never denied or ignored that he's Bulgarian by birth and upbringing.
129* There were literally dozens of "Russian" heel wrestlers in the '70s and '80s, most of them giant swollen weightlifters. For some reason, they were also always [[BaldOfEvil bald]]. The largest Russian heels included: Nikita Koloff, Krusher Khrushchev (whose character was that of an American defector, possibly to cover for his NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent), Vladimir Petrov, and Soldat Ustinov.
130[[/folder]]
131
132[[folder:Sports]]
133* Russia traditionally does well in weightlifting, judo, and gymnastics. Oddly enough, they're also good at fencing and tennis, although these people are more often female.
134** They are also very good at chess.
135** And figure skating, both men and women. Subverted in this performance by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1T61vX4wm4 Olympic gold and silver medalist Evgeni Plushenko]] (who is pretty tall, but goes more for the DeadpanSnarker and possibly SadClown ways).
136* Russian boxer Nikolai Valuev, former holder of the WBA heavyweight title, is seven feet tall and weighs 325 pounds.
137** He suffers from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acromegaly acromegaly]], which is rather evident from his face structure. And one of the symptoms of this endocrine disorder is gigantism -- famous French wrestler Andre The Giant (who also had acromegaly) even got his nickname from this condition!
138*** [[CulturedBadass He also writes his own poetry.]]
139** Also, Ukrainians Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, who stand at about 6'6" and 6'8" respectively, and go into the ring at 240 and 250 pounds. At one point they hold all four heavyweight titles between them. [[http://x17.xanga.com/a86f513064730257045933/w204517171.jpg A Klitschko fist may be the size of your head]].
140* This trope is so prevalent in international sporting events that several past victories over Russian juggernauts are considered a [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for the victors.
141** The 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team is the most famous example... but it doesn't really match: the Soviet team was precise, not big and nasty (in hockey, the big and mean stereotype goes to the Canadians).
142** Rulon Gardener over Alexander Karelin in Greco-Roman Wrestling.
143* Alexander Ovechkin.
144** Subverted: Alexander Semin.
145* Vitaly Petrov, Russia's first UsefulNotes/FormulaOne driver, is the tallest driver on the grid at 1.85 meters (about 6') and one of the heaviest during his stint in Formula One.
146* Fedor Emelianenko, a long-time sambo and [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts MMA]] champion, is also the definitive example of StoutStrength for both sports. His brother Aleksander, also an MMA fighter, counts as well.
147* Alexander "The Experiment" Karelin, a Greco-Roman wrestler who has won three Olympic, nine World Championship and twelve European Championship gold medals. This at-the-time 286-pound man routinely won matches with his "Karelin Lift," which involved him picking up similarly-sized men and slamming them down onto the mat like a rag doll often as they lay flat to avoid being thrown. Can best be summarized by [[https://www.badassoftheweek.com/karelin?rq=Karelin%20 this image]].
148** The Karelin Lift was so feared by other wrestlers that they'd actually not resist and let themselves be thrown when caught in it out of fear of getting hurt. Let that sink in: other wrestlers preferred to lose the match to losing their CAREER when Karelin did the Lift on them.
149* Russian female tennis players tend to be on the tall side, most notably Maria Sharapova who's 6'2''.
150[[/folder]]
151
152[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
153* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' sourcebook ''Red Doom'', the leader of the Soviet superteam is a hulking brick who embodies almost every Russian stereotype. His codename is 'Ivan'.
154[[/folder]]
155
156[[folder:Theatre]]
157* Boris Kolenkhov is described in the script of ''Theatre/YouCantTakeItWithYou'' as "enormous, hairy, loud, and very, very Russian." Though he's a dance tutor, he recommends wrestling as a hobby to Mr. Kirby, on whom he performs some wrestling moves to demonstrate.
158* [[ExploitedTrope Exploited]] in ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring''. Back when Music/IgorStravinsky and Sergei Diaghilev's previous ballets were being performed in Paris, it was noted that the prominent stereotype of Russians at the time, especially among the French, was that they were strong, brutish, primitive, and untamed. As a result, they wrote ''The Rite of Spring'', which is about pagan Russians sacrificing someone to the gods, with music and choreography designed to seem tough and primal.
159[[/folder]]
160
161[[folder:Video Games]]
162* Pictured above: Probably the TropeCodifier would be ''Franchise/StreetFighter''[='s=] Zangief. He's not the tallest World Warrior [[note]](the Mexican T. Hawk, the German Hugo, the Thai Sagat and '''especially'' the Canadian Abigail edge him out there)[[/note]], but barring [[TheGiant Abigail and Hugo]], he's easily the most muscular and probably the most physically powerful.
163** Invoked [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/arcade/b/xmvsfzan.htm rather epically]] in his ''VideoGame/XMenVsStreetFighter'' ending. [[spoiler: So Omega Red is on the loose in Siberia? Why, Zangief will team up with the also Russian Colossus to fight him off! This means there are '''three''' Husky Russkies in the same location!]]
164* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' has Championchik, an Olympic Champion boxer who serves as the bodyguard for Surkov. Mike has to eventually deal with him, but seeing as Championchik relies totally on his boxing skills, he could always just pull out a gun on him.
165%%* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'': [[MeaningfulName Minsc]]. More [[BoisterousBruiser cheerful]] than most examples. Named for Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
166%%* Mr. Hammer and Mr. Sickle, a.k.a. the Abramovici brothers, from ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity''.
167* ''VideoGame/BodyBlows'': Kossak is a Russian Kickboxer and quite a tall, strong muscular guy who fulfills this archetype for the Platform/{{Amiga}} exclusive series of fighting games that was made as an AlternateCompanyEquivalent to Capcom's ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' series.
168* ''VideoGame/BrutalPawsOfFury'': Ivan the Bear from isn't the tallest fighter, but he is the heaviest and hits the hardest (three fierce punches will knock out any opponent).
169* Sergei from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps''. Though in a less standard use of this trope, he's surrounded by a bunch of other Russians as well who are smaller than him, making his ethnicity more incidental to his size.
170* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'': Given their dialogue and [[EvilSoundsDeep terrifyingly deep voices]], the Apocalypse Tank drivers of would [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu4csNpMKrA seem to be of this type.]] Ditto the [[PsychopathicManchild Grinder Tank.]]
171** Flak troopers in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'' and 3 are described as "brutish." They have a deeper accent than most of their countrymen. So Husky Russkie to Russkies, then?
172** Yuri's Brutes in ''Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge'' are Russian soldiers genetically modified to fight tanks with their bare hands. They're essentially the purple-pink Russian version of the Incredible Hulk.
173* ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'': The Huntress is a [[BrawnHilda beefy, broad-shouldered female]] survivalist from the Red Forest near Chernobyl who [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame hunts men for sport]] as animals became boring to her.
174* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': Bayman is a muscular Russian assassin. His character is also touch more intelligent than usual examples.
175* ''VideoGame/DirtyBomb'': Although his actual Russian-ness is uncertain (the fact he can't speak the language lending credence to the possibility that he's faking the accent), Thunder is the closest the game has to this; a large-ish (second-largest character in the game, behind Rhino) man decked out in a full suit of tactical armour, often carrying either a shotgun or an LMG and tossing concussion grenades around.
176%%* Molotov from ''Facebreaker'', [[LampshadeHanging a stereotype he's]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsxMqJs4uT4 quite sick of.]]
177* ''VideoGame/FreedomFighters2003'': General Tatarin is technically a citizen of one of the satellite republics, but otherwise fits the bill. Especially with his mighty, bear-like "supersonic bitch-slap" (when he smacks Troy in the first cutscene, you don't hear the sound of it until his hand is way past Troy's face).
178* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'': Potemkin is a MightyGlacier and [[TheGrappler grappler]] from Zepp, which has many parallels with {{Ruritania}}.
179* ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance'': While not the absolute strongest, Ivan is a powerhouse. The absolute strongest character? A Polish ex-firefighter.
180* ''VideoGame/{{Karnov}}'': Jinborov "Karnov" Karnovski himself is a burly Russian strongman capable of breathing fire.
181* ''VideoGame/KatanaZero'' has V, who acts as TheHeavy for much of the game. A Russian thug who acts as one of the unseen villain's CoDragons, he's the most physically powerful character shown and has killed several people with powers similar to the protagonist's despite [[BadassNormal having no special abilities himself]].
182* Antonov, the organizer of the tournament for ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' XIV. He's big, [[BoisterousBruiser loves fighting]], [[CarpetOfVirility covered in hair]], and [[EmotionalBruiser surprisingly sensitive]]. Unlike pretty much every other King of Fighters boss, he's also actually quite a NiceGuy who organized the tournament simply because he loves spirited competitions so much and has no hidden nefarious agenda. [[spoiler: The attack by [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Verse]] is just as much a surprise to him.]]
183* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has Braum. Although he lives in [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Runeterra's Scandinavia]], he has a strong, vaguely Slavic accent and is a ''huge'' muscular man.
184* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'': The beefy, muscle-obsessed tour guides Big Massif and Lil' Massif, though only in the English version, where it came about as a result of {{Woolseyism}}. The translator saw that their mustaches and outfits made them resemble stereotypical circus strongmen, so he decided to make them speak in the appropriate fashion.
185* ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'': Although the bulky Duo is actually some type of Alien/Robot/Police Officer, according to an interview with Keiji Inafune, he was originally supposed to be the Russian Dr. Cossack's newest robot. Some of the Russian influences are left in his [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091112072042/megaman/images/2/24/MM8Duo.png design]], like his huge buttons and his hat, so he sort of qualifies as a Husky Russkie.
186* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': Colonel Volgin fits the stereotype to a T. He is a tall, large, muscular and very brutal Russian man. Averted with the rest of the cast, who range from scrawny (Sokolov) to average (numerous [=NPCs=])
187* While the beat'em up ''VideoGame/MotherRussiaBleeds'' is set in Russia and has an exclusively Russian cast, the only playable character fitting this trope is Ivan, who is the tallest (he has the longest reach) and most muscular protagonist, as well as the MightyGlacier of the game. The three other player characters are smaller and leaner. The bosses been taller and stronger than the surrounding mooks, they also arguably fit the trope.
188* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'''s Zarya, a prospective champion weightlifter who dropped out of a competition to join the military when her Siberian village was threatened. In gameplay, she serves as a Tank-class hero who hauls around a massive particle cannon and can shield herself or teammates.
189* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' Mikhali is a kid version of this. He wants to fight bears, thinks that American girls aren't any good for wrestling, and eventually becomes Maloof's bodyguard. It doesn't hurt that he's telekinetic. Also physically huskiest amongst the kids.
190* ''[[VideoGame/PunchOut Punch-Out!!]]'' has VodkaDrunkenski, who became the [[FrothyMugsOfWater non-alcoholic]] Soda Popinski. The UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} game makes him 6'6", the tallest character in the game, even taller than FinalBoss [[ScaryBlackMan Mr. Sandman]] [[spoiler:although he might be shorter than the OptionalBoss VideoGame/DonkeyKong]] and he does the cossack dance when he wins. Also, in a possible ShoutOut to ''Film/RockyIV'', after losing to Mac, scientists create a chemical formula to make him faster and stronger. The funny thing being that the contender mode montage (instead of the tougher Title Defense mode) features him performing rustic workouts like Rocky did in that movie.
191* Sergei Vladimir, the BigBad and DragonInChief of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles'' is this. It turns out he was the key figure to the development of a [[TheVirus T-virus]] variant which transforms an infected person into the monstrous bioweapon known as "tyrant" instead of zombies, thanks to him having a one-in-a-million genetic makeup for perfect adaptation to the virus.
192* Strobaya, the [[WarmUpBoss first boss]] in ''VideoGame/StriderArcade'', is a hulk of muscles that can only grunt and shout, and his official bio describes him as "single-minded". In the [[AdaptationExpansion expanded]] PC-engine port apparently turns him into a BloodKnight.
193* ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'': Oleg Kirrlov, a magnificently stocky Russian gangster and one of the most durable Saints.
194** A female Boss herself can count as one with the Russian voice set selected and muscle maxed out.
195* Inverted in the ''VideoGame/SaturdayNightSlamMasters'' games, where Russian Biff Slamkovich, a former sparring partner of Zangief's, is the JackOfAllStats; the British-born [[TheGiant Giant]] Titanic Tim stands over two feet taller than him.
196* ''VideoGame/SkeletonKrew'' is an old-timey arcade shooter where you control one of three soldiers - the American Marlon, the British Barbella and the Russian Ygor - to battle an entire prison cell of mutant enemies. Among the trio, Ygor is TheBigGuy larger in size than the other two heroes combined, and the MightyGlacier who wields a {{BFG}} and specializes in using explosive projectiles as well as being capable of taking more damage than the two others.
197* ''VideoGame/SuperDodgeBall Brawlers'': While the team with the highest average Power stat is Saudi Arabia, Russian team captain Moldof is tied for most powerful single player (with series headliner Kunio).
198* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': The Heavy. He's very tall, very hefty, and ''very'' strong. He's also extremely proud of his size and strength, often calling enemies little and comparing them to babies. Though he acts the part of the [[NoIndoorVoice Exceptionally Loud]] MightyGlacier on the battlefield, he [[HiddenDepths displays traces of intelligence]] in his Meet the Heavy video and the supplementary comics, and ''VideoGame/PokerNightAtTheInventory'' reveals that he has a [=PhD=] [[EloquentInMyNativeTongue in Russian Literature]]. Also, [[BerserkButton don't get between him]] [[ICallItVera and Sasha.]]
199** In the comics we meet his family. His mother and two of his sister are pretty regular-sized, but his oldest sister is nearly as big as Heavy himself. [[AmazonianBeauty And she's still]] [[SensualSlavs pretty hot.]] They also casually mention brutalizing a couple KGB soldiers when they came looking for them, so it's not just size that runs in the family.
200* The Draenei of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' could arguably be classified as an ''entire race'' of Husky Russkies, due to their vaguely Eastern European accents.
201* Downplayed with Ivan Istochnikov aka Wonder Yellow from ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101''. He's a MightyGlacier with his preferred weapon being the [[CarryABigStick hammer]] and he has the strong accent, but he doesn't quite have the personality because he's a dorky ShrinkingViolet. His profile lists his hobby as "bodybuilding", appropriately enough.
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204[[folder:Webcomics]]
205* In ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'' the bartender/rum runner/former hitman Viktor embodies this trope. He's not actually Russian, he's Slovakian (Strapping Slav?) but the accent is similar enough when rendered in text and there's even a comedic side comic that depicts him [[https://www.lackadaisycats.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=487 punching a bear.]]
206* ''Webcomic/DeadWinter'' brings us Yuri, one of the members of the BloodSport assassin hunting 'game' that provides part of the subplot, though he is mostly seen during the intermission strips.
207* Pasha Moskowitz, of ''Webcomic/{{Academia}}'', although he's more portly than muscular.
208* Alek of ''WebComic/NerfNow'' is the tallest, strongest, and most well-endowed of the five girls, to the point that some of the uniforms they wear don't fit her. It's understandable she's this trope, considering she started out as a GenderFlip of Heavy from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''.
209[[/folder]]
210
211[[folder:Web Original]]
212* From ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'', Piotr Kozlov is a hulking Siberian [[FunnyAnimal grizzly]] {{bear|sAreBadNews}} with muscles to match his [[GeniusBruiser brains]].
213* ''WebVideo/DoorMonster'' have the recurring characters of the KGB agents Yegor (played by Kyle, the one without beard) and Jegor (played by Ian, the one with beard). Jegor apparently wanted to be a doctor, but became KGB agent because his accent was so obvious that everyone would assume he was a poorly concealed hitman anyway. Yegor prides himself on following the KGB rules, while Jegor is more GenreSavvy (KGB apparently has a whole course on how to handle loose cannon American action heroes. He took notes).
214* From ''Roleplay/OpenBlue'' v4, [[FourStarBadass Admiral Flota]] Vladimir Ilyavich Tokarev, '''[[ShoutOut HERO OF]] [[Literature/CiaphasCain THE TRIBES]]''', is like this only when fighting hand to hand or pissed off. Otherwise, he's a cunning strategist who would rather blow you up with his ultra-long-ranged rocket launcher than [[LeeroyJenkins charge straight at you without thought]] if he thinks it more efficient. [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Of course, he's just as likely to be firing off said rocket launcher while charging straight at you without thought...]]
215* [[http://www.tastefullyoffensive.com/2011/04/english-grammar-for-dummies.html This]] prank Amazon.com review for the book "English Grammar For Dummies" is written (in broken English) from the point of view of Russian man Nikolai Krestinsky, who comes to America to seek his fortune, "take many woman as lover, kill many bear." Although it seems more like the man is from the 1800s, every other stereotype is in effect, up to and including buying the book in the first place after [[GrievousHarmWithABody smashing a table with the man giving him a job interview]] after he was told that his English is "poor like child." [[CrossesTheLineTwice Also]], [[spoiler: "your wife is killed by bear."]]
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218[[folder:Western Animation]]
219%%* Moosk from ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor''. (Called "the coolest adult I've ever known" by Numbuh One.)
220%%* Agent Grizzlikof of ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck''.
221* The ''WesternAnimation/EvilConCarne'' episode "Boskov's Day Out" reveals that Boskov, the bear that Hector Con Carne uses has his new body, used to be a Russian circus bear who was trained by a burly and intimidating Russian named Vladimir, who spends the episode trying to get Boskov back.
222* Molotov from ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Lucius' top henchman and captain of his armies. Yes, he's named after ''that'' Molotov.
223* ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots'': The short ''"The Secret War"'' is about the Red Army versus Siberian ghouls. Naturally, all of the characters count, but the big bearded machine-gunner qualifies for this trope the most.
224* Exile on ''WesternAnimation/RoadRovers'' is a literal version, being a Siberian husky in a group of superpowered dog men. He's not as big as the massive sheepdog Shag, but he's definitely the strongest of the group.
225* The ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode "Jack and the Bounty Hunters" centers around a group of, well, bounty hunters gunning for Jack's head. The largest of them by far is Boris, a massive Russian whose plan for killing Jack involves Jack breaking his sword against his body.
226* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "W.T.F.", where the boys start their own professional wrestling league, FatBastard Cartman's ring persona is "the Rad Russian."
227* Buff Frog from ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', Ludo's top henchman in the early part of the series and speaks in a Russian accent.
228* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': The Russian Red Star is the same height as [[TheBigGuy Cyborg]].
229* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'': The series' incarnation of Rocksteady, the rhino mutant, began life as Ivan Steranko, a tall, broad Russian mobster, who had a long history with the [[BigBad Shredder]].
230* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'':
231** A rare female version of this is Strika, a burly female bot who turns into a tank. She's not ''technically'' Russian, but she's got the accent.
232** The Russian-accented Jetfire and Jetstorm are skinny and acrobatic, but their combined form Safeguard (who has the same accent) is a lot bigger and burlier.
233* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' featured Vlad, a Russian boy who dwarfs even Clay in size, as a mole in the Xiaolin working for Jack Spicer.
234[[/folder]]
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236[[folder:Real Life]]
237* UsefulNotes/PeterTheGreat is generally remembered as being a giant as well as a [[LifeOfTheParty hard partier]]. While extremely tall, especially for his time period, he was actually very skinny.
238* Tsar Alexander III was a man inevitably described as "bear-like" who used to do things like bend metal eating utensils and rip packs of playing cards in half, for fun, and once notably kept a collapsing train roof off his family to allow them to escape[[note]] Although that may have been a factor in the kidney failure responsible for his early death in 1894[[/note]].
239* P.J. O'Rourke, in his book "Eat the Rich," records his visit to Russia, writing "Russians are a people of largeness: large bodies, large gestures, large voices. In fact, Russians are enormous. Being an average-size American in St. Petersburg is like being a girl gymnast at a Teamsters convention. And these are Russians who were raised on potatoes and suet with bread that you could use for a boat anchor. Envision them after twenty years of good nutrition. Twenty years from now, Americans may ask themselves if winning the Cold War was worth losing the Super Bowl." This didn't actually become a problem for the Americans since the Russians are more interested in UsefulNotes/IceHockey or UsefulNotes/TheBeautifulGame, but the food situation improved massively.
240* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] as of WWII: the vast majority of [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets Red Army]] recruits, coming of age as of 1941, had grown up throughout constant misfortunes, including the Holodomor, and were rather small, thin and poorly fed.
241* General Vasiliy Kostenetsky, the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812 and a venerable giant, who could personally drag a stuck cannon out of a bog.
242* The Siberian domestic cat breed. National cat of Russia, it's stockier, stronger and slightly larger than most other cat breeds.
243* Likewise, the [[PantheraAwesome Siberian tiger]]. Tigers are big anyway, but the Siberian is generally larger and heavier than other subspecies, and has a thicker coat that makes it look ''larger still''.
244* ''Series/CandidCamera'' pulled this stunt several times: a frail blonde damsel in distress would be deposited on some street corner with two large suitcases. The suitcases looked identical, but one was empty and the other would be filled with concrete, weighing at least 200 pounds. When some big strong man approached, she would ask him to help with her suitcases ... then she would pick up the empty suitcase and walk away, while the hidden camera recorded the reaction of the poor schmo as he tried to pick up the other suitcase. On one occasion, the "Candid Camera" gang tried this in Moscow. The blonde pulled the routine on a burly Russian pedestrian ... who picked up the 200-pound suitcase and followed her effortlessly.
245* Vasili Alexeyev, the famous champion Olympic weightlifter, is an almost embarrassingly stereotypical example of this trope.
246* Most statistics show that there is no significant difference in height between Russians and Americans. Considering that Americans are stereotyped as being tall in Russia, this is an interesting case of two peoples having the same stereotypes about each other. One possible explanation is that wealthy, white, and young people get disproportionate exposure in foreign countries, and they are generally some of the tallest.
247* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitriy_Muserskiy Dmitry Muserskiy]], a Russian volleyball player who is ''2.18 m tall''. In American, that's 7 feet, two inches.
248* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Valuev Nikolai Valuev]] is both the tallest ''and'' heaviest heavy weight boxer in history.
249* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryana_Naumova Maryana Naumova]] is a female example who specializes in bench press. She has won multiple world championships, has set over 15 world records in her age category and holds the title of Master of Sport of Russia, International Class. She even met the famous ex-bodybuilder Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger.
250* Soviet born Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman is well known for being TheBigGuy and not taking crap from anyone. While at Hebrew University in Jerusalem he worked as a bouncer for a nightclub. Later he was infamously arrested for slapping a 12 year old who had beaten up [[PapaWolf his son]].
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