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** She does seem turned on by Rock's capacity for manipulation during the Yakuza arc, as well as Revy mentioning she'd give up sex for more war, implying she does have some interest in sex, just not as much as she craves violence and domination. Not to mention she remarks her bell hop in the Tokyo hotel is 'adorable.'
** She also may have been bored to death editing the porno tapes because she's the head of her division and that's grunt work, and that editing video is incredibly tedious and desensitizing.
** She also may have been bored to death editing the porno tapes because she's the head of her division and that's grunt work, and that editing video is incredibly tedious and desensitizing.
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** She does seem turned on by Rock's capacity for manipulation during the Yakuza arc, as well as Revy mentioning she'd give up sex for more war, implying she does have some interest in sex, just not as much as she craves violence and domination. Not to mention she remarks her bell hop in the Tokyo hotel is 'adorable.'
** She also may have been bored to death editing the porno tapes because she's the head of her division and that's grunt work, and that editing video is incredibly tedious and desensitizing."adorable."
** She also may have been bored to death editing the porno tapes because she's the head of her division and that's grunt work, and that editing video is incredibly tedious and desensitizing.
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[[folder:Meshov]]
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[[folder:Sofiyia "Balalaika" Pavlovna]]
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[[folder:Sofiyia "Balalaika" Pavlovena]]
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[[folder:Sofiyia "Balalaika" Pavlovena]]Pavlovna]]
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A former Soviet [=VDV=] special forces commander turned mafia queen; member (along with Mr. Chang and two others) of the four-person commission that regulates crime in Roanapur. Her real name is Sofiya Irininskaya Pavlovena.
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A former Soviet [=VDV=] special forces commander turned mafia queen; member (along with Mr. Chang and two others) of the four-person commission that regulates crime in Roanapur. Her real name is Sofiya Irininskaya Pavlovena.Pavlovna.
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* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Her real name is Sofiyia Pavlovena. She is rarely addressed by that.
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* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Her real name is Sofiyia Pavlovena.Sofiya Pavlovna. She is rarely addressed by that.
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* {{Lzherusskie}}: The name "Sofiya Irininskaya Pavlovena" is a typical case of ''klukva''[[note]] (nonsense that foreigners commonly think is accurate about Russia)[[/note]]. The [[NameOrderConfusion order of names is totally wrong]] (it should be "Sofiya Pavlovna Irininskaya"), and the last name sounds really fake to real Russians.
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* {{Lzherusskie}}: The name "Sofiya Irininskaya Pavlovena" Pavlovna" is a typical case of ''klukva''[[note]] (nonsense that foreigners commonly think is accurate about Russia)[[/note]]. The [[NameOrderConfusion order of names is totally wrong]] (it should be "Sofiya Pavlovna Irininskaya"), and the last name sounds really fake to real Russians.
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Don’t state YMMV on the pages.
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** A little YMMV, but she does seem turned on by Rock's capacity for manipulation during the Yakuza arc, as well as Revy mentioning she'd give up sex for more war, implying she does have some interest in sex, just not as much as she craves violence and domination. Not to mention she remarks her bell hop in the Tokyo hotel is 'adorable.'
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** A little YMMV, but she She does seem turned on by Rock's capacity for manipulation during the Yakuza arc, as well as Revy mentioning she'd give up sex for more war, implying she does have some interest in sex, just not as much as she craves violence and domination. Not to mention she remarks her bell hop in the Tokyo hotel is 'adorable.'
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** A little YMMV, but she does seem turned on by Rock's capacity for manipulation during the Yakuza arc, as well as Revy mentioning she'd give up sex for more war, implying she does have some interest in sex, just not as much as she craves violence and domination. Not to mention she remarks her bell hop in the Tokyo hotel is 'adorable.'
** She also may have been bored to death editing the porno tapes because she's the head of her division and that's grunt work, and that editing video is incredibly tedious and desensitizing.
** She also may have been bored to death editing the porno tapes because she's the head of her division and that's grunt work, and that editing video is incredibly tedious and desensitizing.
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* {{Asexuality}}: Even though she can get flirtatious with guys like Rock or Mr. Chang, she finds sex boring and uninteresting, and has no real sex life to speak of. There's also her completely bored-to-death look when she edits porn videos[[note]] although anyone who edits for a living can tell ya that after the first 30 minutes even porn gets boring when you're editing them[[/note]].
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* {{Asexuality}}: Even though she can get flirtatious with guys like Rock or Mr. Chang, she finds sex boring and uninteresting, and has no real sex life to speak of. There's also her completely bored-to-death look when she edits porn videos[[note]] although videos[[note]]Although anyone who edits videos for a living can tell ya you that after the first 30 minutes even porn gets boring when you're editing them[[/note]].
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* BaitTheDog: She ''is'' a mob boss, but throughout most of the first two seasons she's so [[MagnificentBastard stylish]] and badass that it's [[EvilIsCool hard not]] [[EvilIsSexy to like her.]] Then the Yakuza Arc comes, [[spoiler: and she ruthlessly destroys not only the entire Washimine clan but the relatively fresh-faced young woman, Yukio Washimine, who found herself their unwilling heir, just because [[ForTheEvulz they were weak and she could]], before sending Rock [[KickTheDog a picture of Yukio's face with a giant red X over it]]]], and we realize that no, Balalaika is ''not'' a good person or a hero, not by any stretch of the imagination.
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* ShesGotLegs: Wears black tights with her business suit, and there's several shots that emphasize them.
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* RenegadeRussian: Ex-Soviet military, just like his boss.
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* DarkActionGirl: Before she graduated to The Baroness she was a sinister soldier sniper.
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* DarkActionGirl: Before she graduated to The Baroness TheBaroness she was a sinister soldier sniper.
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* GoodHairEvilHair: Subverted. While she has the long, flowing hair you'd expect from a heroine, she's ''not'' a good person.
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* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler:During the Soviet-Afghan War, she went out of her way to save a child. However, she was photographed doing so, which caused an international incident since her unit wasn't where it should've been officially. As a result, she was discharged from the military]].
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* TheCaptain: "Kapitan."
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* TheCaptain: "Kapitan."
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* {{Asexuality}}: Even though she can get flirtatious with guys like Rock or, more seriously, Mr. Chang, she finds sex boring and uninteresting, and has no real sex life to speak of. There's also her completely bored-to-death look when she edits porn videos[[note]] although anyone who edits for a living can tell ya that after the first 30 minutes even porn gets boring when you're editing them[[/note]].
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* {{Asexuality}}: Even though she can get flirtatious with guys like Rock or, more seriously, or Mr. Chang, she finds sex boring and uninteresting, and has no real sex life to speak of. There's also her completely bored-to-death look when she edits porn videos[[note]] although anyone who edits for a living can tell ya that after the first 30 minutes even porn gets boring when you're editing them[[/note]].
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* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Averted. While [[spoiler:her famous scars]] are the result of being captured and tortured in Afghanistan, what really set the Kapitan down that road was her country's "[[UngratefulBastard thanks]]" for their [[TraumaCongaLine soldiers' service]].
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* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Averted. While [[spoiler:her her famous scars]] scars are the result of being captured and tortured in Afghanistan, what really set the Kapitan down that road was her country's "[[UngratefulBastard thanks]]" for their [[TraumaCongaLine soldiers' service]].
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Dead links.
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** The [[http://www.animepaper.net/gallery/scans/Black-Lagoon/item229980/ swimsuit special by the author/artist shows that it's actually most of her torso]] (assuming the doujin is canon).
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** The [[http://www.animepaper.net/gallery/scans/Black-Lagoon/item229980/ swimsuit special by the author/artist shows that it's actually most of her torso]] (assuming torso. (Assuming the doujin is canon).
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* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-23.html This]] is Balalaika at age 9. Quite a cutie isn't she?
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* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-23.html This]] is Balalaika at age 9. Quite a cutie isn't she?Heavy emphasis on the ''used to be'' part.
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* CigarChomper: She is frequently seen smoking cigars when attending meetings or just having a calm moment.
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* CigarChomper: She is frequently seen smoking cigars when whenever she is attending business meetings or just having a calm moment.
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* CigarChomper: She is frequently seen smoking cigars when attending meetings or just having a calm moment.
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* StuffedInTheFridge: His death was what [[spoiler:triggers Hotel Moscow's revenge on Hansel and Gretel]].
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* AndYourLittleDogToo: Balalaika reminds the leaders of the other criminal organisations that her [[TheMafiya organisation]] will destroy anyone gets in their way. And their families. And their pet dog, if necessary.
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* AndYourLittleDogToo: Balalaika reminds the leaders of the other criminal organisations that her [[TheMafiya organisation]] will destroy anyone who gets in their way. And way, and their families. And families, and even their pet dog, if necessary.
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* DeadpanSnarker: Moreso than anyone else in this series.
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* PowerHair: Averted. She is powerful, feared and a strategist but she has the long, flowing, slightly wavy tresses usually worn by weak and fragile [[DamselInDistress damsels in distress]]
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* PowerHair: Averted. She is powerful, feared and a strategist but she has the long, flowing, slightly wavy tresses usually worn by weak and fragile [[DamselInDistress damsels in distress]]distress]].
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* RenegadeRussian: It's TheNineties the nineties, she is a former Soviet [=VDV=] special forces commander and now a mafia queen.
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* RenegadeRussian: It's TheNineties the nineties, TheNineties, she is a former Soviet [=VDV=] special forces commander and now a mafia queen.
* NotSoStoic: [[spoiler: Hansel's slow death rattled him to his core]].
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** NotSoStoic: [[spoiler: Hansel's slow death rattled him to his core]].
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She's not behind seemingly unconnected problems, nor is she the biggest obstacle to the protagonists.
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* BigBad: Granted, it's a series where nearly every character is an outright villain, but if there's any one character that fits the bill, it's Balalaika, in both the literal meaning of the trope ''(Hotel Moscow is the most dangerous criminal faction in Roanapur)'' and the fact that she's a BigGood to the main cast ''(who are also criminals)''.
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** NotSoStoic: [[spoiler: Hansel's slow death rattled him to his core]].
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* {{Bishounen}}: According [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-24.html to one of the omakes]], he used to be a slim, and incredibly androgynous-looking boy in his teenage years (the ShoutOut to ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' was very obvious), so to fix this, he joined the Army and [[TookALevelInBadass took 20 levels in badass]]. Even more hilarious is that everyone, even Balalaika, told him he was an idiot for doing such a thing.
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* {{Bishounen}}: According [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-24.html to one of the omakes]], he used to be a slim, scrawny and incredibly androgynous-looking boy in his teenage years (the ShoutOut to ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' was very obvious), so to fix this, he joined the Army and [[TookALevelInBadass took 20 levels in badass]]. Even more hilarious is that everyone, even Balalaika, told him he was an idiot for doing such a thing.
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* {{Bishounen}}: According [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-24.html to one of the omakes]], [[spoiler:he used to be an incredibly scrawny, girlish-looking boy (the ShoutOut to ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' was very obvious), so to fix this, he joined the Army and [[TookALevelInBadass took 20 levels in badass]]. Even more hilarious is that everyone, even Balalaika, told him he was an idiot for doing such a thing.]]
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* {{Bishounen}}: According [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-24.html to one of the omakes]], [[spoiler:he he used to be an a slim, and incredibly scrawny, girlish-looking androgynous-looking boy in his teenage years (the ShoutOut to ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' was very obvious), so to fix this, he joined the Army and [[TookALevelInBadass took 20 levels in badass]]. Even more hilarious is that everyone, even Balalaika, told him he was an idiot for doing such a thing.]]
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* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Follows the crime lord tradition of smoking cigars.
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%%
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The key value is "chronic". One time is not chronic.
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* TheBaroness: Do NOT get on her bad side if you value your life. Trust us on this one.
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* TheBaroness: Do NOT get She's a blend of both types with her statuesque build and her massively scarred body and face. She is described by the main characters as one of the scariest women on Earth...and they aren't exaggerating. Head of the Roanapur chapter of Hotel Moscow, ex-Soviet Afghanistan veteran, and Olympic-level marksman (if the Soviet Union hadn't boycotted the Olympics that she was planning to participate in). Only two people in the entire series has crossed her/gotten on her bad side if you value your life. Trust us on this one.and walked away with everything still intact.
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* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise. The head of Washimine clan attempted to do this at first because Balalaika was obviously going overboard, providing a very undesirable sort of help.
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* IcyBlueEyes
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* IcyBlueEyesIcyBlueEyes: It's like staring into a Siberian river in the winter; you'll get hypothermia and die.
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* PowerHair: Averted. She is powerful, {{badass}}, feared and a strategist but she has the long, flowing, slightly wavy tresses usually worn by weak and fragile [[DamselInDistress damsels in distress]]
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* PowerHair: Averted. She is powerful, {{badass}}, feared and a strategist but she has the long, flowing, slightly wavy tresses usually worn by weak and fragile [[DamselInDistress damsels in distress]]
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* ProperTightsWithASkirt: She wears black tights under her long business skirt.
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* ProperTightsWithASkirt: She "Professional" would be a better word but she wears black tights under her long business skirt.
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* RedOniBlueOni: Red to Mr. Chang's Blue.
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* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-23.html This]] is Balalaika at age 9.
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* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-23.html This]] is Balalaika at age 9. Quite a cutie isn't she?
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** TerseTalker: Speaks in short, clipped sentences.
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[foldercontrol]]
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[[Characters/BlackLagoon Back to the character page.]]
------
[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Sofiyia "Balalaika" Pavlovena]]
[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/balalaika.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:225:''"When things get stirred up, they're stirred up like a typhoon."'']]
->Voiced by: Creator/MamiKoyama (JP), Patricia Drake (EN)
--> ''"Hotel Moscow will show no mercy to anything in its way. We will reject it and annihilate it. Family, friends, even the pet dog if necessary."''
A former Soviet [=VDV=] special forces commander turned mafia queen; member (along with Mr. Chang and two others) of the four-person commission that regulates crime in Roanapur. Her real name is Sofiya Irininskaya Pavlovena.
------
* AffablyEvil: Balalaika is generally calm, collected, funny, will occasionally spare people's lives on the grounds that they amuse her, is usually willing to negotiate before resorting to violence, and has only lost her temper once in the entire series. However, if negotiations don't go her way, she won't even blink before [[DissonantSerenity casually gunning down everyone in the room.]]
* AloneWithThePsycho: Inverted when Balalaika finds herself alone with PsychoForHire Hansel. The inversion is that [[spoiler:Balalaika [[CurbstompBattle quite easily]] has him killed]].
* AndYourLittleDogToo: Balalaika reminds the leaders of the other criminal organisations that her [[TheMafiya organisation]] will destroy anyone gets in their way. And their families. And their pet dog, if necessary.
* {{Asexuality}}: Even though she can get flirtatious with guys like Rock or, more seriously, Mr. Chang, she finds sex boring and uninteresting, and has no real sex life to speak of. There's also her completely bored-to-death look when she edits porn videos[[note]] although anyone who edits for a living can tell ya that after the first 30 minutes even porn gets boring when you're editing them[[/note]].
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Is the head of Hotel Moscow, and is certainly in the upper echelons of the series lethality tier.
* BadassArmy: The Vysotoniki were all former Soviet commandos with the Spetsnaz and the [=VDV=] and they all had combat experience in Afghanistan against the Mujahideen.
* BadassInANiceSuit: Her normal wear is a red business top with a long skirt bottom.
* TheBaroness: Do NOT get on her bad side if you value your life. Trust us on this one.
* BeautyMark: To side of her left eye.
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Averted. While [[spoiler:her famous scars]] are the result of being captured and tortured in Afghanistan, what really set the Kapitan down that road was her country's "[[UngratefulBastard thanks]]" for their [[TraumaCongaLine soldiers' service]].
* BerserkButton: One of the surest ways to get on Balalaika's bad side is to torture or kill any of her men.
* BigBad: Granted, it's a series where nearly every character is an outright villain, but if there's any one character that fits the bill, it's Balalaika, in both the literal meaning of the trope ''(Hotel Moscow is the most dangerous criminal faction in Roanapur)'' and the fact that she's a BigGood to the main cast ''(who are also criminals)''.
* BigGood: To the [[VillainProtagonist main protagonists]] and anyone she looks after and/or gives jobs to. She treats them well and usually comes to lend a hand dealing with competing evils. Of course, this is only provided there's something in it for her and they don't get on her bad side; her true loyalty only lies with her war comrades. Case in point; though she's amused by Rock's {{Adorkable}} nature and takes a liking to him, the one time he pushes her too far with accusations and demands, she doesn't hesitate to flip him on the roof of a car and put a gun to his head.
* BloodKnight:
** According to Revy she'd rather give up sex than pass up a chance to wage war.
** In the light novel, she welcomed an old subordinate who'd found himself on the opposite side refusing the olive branch because it meant that he, like herself, meant to continue fighting to the bitter end.
* BreakTheCutie: In the anime, we see her as an innocent young girl who wanted to join the Olympic biathalon team. Then the Afghan War happened and she got completely trashed.
* BrokenBird: Thanks to the Afghan War and the subsequent collapse of her country, the cute teenager who wanted to become an Olympic marksman and make her family proud ended up as a cynical, scarred, and stylishly brutal [[TheBaroness Mafia queen]].
* TheChessmaster: In the old tradition of "game of kings", she crushes the opposition with superior tactics. [[spoiler:The Washimine family didn't know what hit them. Most of them were dead before they realized she was moving against them.]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise. The head of Washimine clan attempted to do this at first because Balalaika was obviously going overboard, providing a very undesirable sort of help.
* CoatCape: She wears her Soviet military coat like this.
* CombatPragmatist: On a large scale, as she fights her mob wars like military operations. [[spoiler:Her men smashed the Washimine Group special forces-style, complete with snipers, frag grenades, flash-bangs, explosives and whatnot and suffered no casualties; the only loss from Hotel Moscow is the ex-KGB and his men, who are not part of Balalaika's ex-airborne troops [[InterserviceRivalry and who she never liked anyway]].]]
* CoolBigSis: To Revy, anyway, who even refers to her as "Anego" which means "Sister". Though Revy isn't above calling Balalaika a bitch when she pulls a gun on Rock [[spoiler:or has her men shoot Revy and Shenhua in the arms.]]
* CoveredWithScars: She has burn scars all over her body, ending at her thighs.
* DarkActionGirl: Before she graduated to The Baroness she was a sinister soldier sniper.
* DeadpanSnarker: Moreso than anyone else in this series.
* DeathSeeker: Balalaika confesses to Chang that her driving motivation is to "meet that one fated person in that one fated battle" and die remembering who she once was.
* DissonantSerenity: Nothing says "I love my job" like grinning while snapping a Yakuza leader's neck, stopping to engage in a philosophic debate about the nature of the human condition with [[spoiler:a would-be assassin whom she has just had shot]] or politely apologizing to Lagoon Company for any inconvenience they may have experienced during their last mission which ends with some unlucky bastard's apartment exploding.
* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Given what she saw in Afghanistan, it's not a shock she has this.
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: Balalaika (and a large portion of her men) served as Spetznaz during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; their tactics and training are used with brutal efficiency in their criminal operations.
* EmbarrassingNickname: The only one who "gets" to call Chang "Babe" to his face. Naturally, he (and everyone else who dares) responds with "Fry Face".
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Her real name is Sofiyia Pavlovena. She is rarely addressed by that.
* EvilLaugh: Her reaction to Rock trying to talk her down near the end of the Yakuza arc is sinister amusement.
* EvilerThanThou:
** Her confrontation with Hansel she proves that she is both more ruthless and more cruel.
** The {{yakuza}}, especially Yukio, learn that they are not nearly pragmatic enough to match her in mob warfare.
** In the light novel, she out-eviled ''Mr. Chang'' of all people, laughing in his face when he offered to take out her rebellious subordinate so she wouldn't have to kill one of her own.
* FemmeFatalons: She has long pink talons.
* FormerRegimePersonnel: She's ex-Soviet military. She also came from a rather high-ranking family.
* FriendlySniper: She was considered a better shot than any of her men in Afghanistan, not to mention much more approachable before things went to shit for them.
* GirlishPigtails: Her StartOfDarkness episode "Little Soldier Girls" reveals that she wore her hair like this prior to enlisting in the Soviet Special Forces. This serves to highlight the contrast between the innocent girl that she was, and the nihilistic BloodKnight that she becomes.
* GoodScarsEvilScars:
** Balalaika has a large part of one side of her face scarred as a result of the war. She's sometimes called "Fry Face" because of it. She still manages to look attractive regardless.
** The first time you see her arms in Chapter 64.
** The [[http://www.animepaper.net/gallery/scans/Black-Lagoon/item229980/ swimsuit special by the author/artist shows that it's actually most of her torso]] (assuming the doujin is canon).
%%According to the timeline, Balalaika can't be older than mid-thirties; please stop including the GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave trope here
* IcyBlueEyes
* InSeriesNickname: Besides her pseudonym Balalaika, some of the other crime syndicates in Roanapur have been known to call her "Fry Face" because of her burn scars.
* IronLady: The no-nonsense leader of a gang of Russian commandos-turned-hitmen and the scariest member of their outfit by far.
* ItsRainingMen: Former VDV Airborne Troops captain.
* KickTheDog: Sending Rock a picture of [[spoiler:Yukio]], whom he inadvertently drove to suicide, with a big red "x" over it after the ordeal in Japan. Considering her general attitude towards him, it could be considered more of a morbid joke, but she did kick several other dogs in that arc, such as slaughtering an already weakened Washimine clan just because she could.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:Killing Chen by tying him up in his own apartment and blowing him up for attempting to kill the Lagoon company.]]
* LadyOfWar: She was the captain of a Russian army squadron with enough manpower to potentially fight and hold on their own should World War III occur, and she hardly ever swears or raises her voice, maintaining a distinct air of grace and respect when speaking or being spoken to, and would probably shoot you without hesitation.
* {{Lzherusskie}}: The name "Sofiya Irininskaya Pavlovena" is a typical case of ''klukva''[[note]] (nonsense that foreigners commonly think is accurate about Russia)[[/note]]. The [[NameOrderConfusion order of names is totally wrong]] (it should be "Sofiya Pavlovna Irininskaya"), and the last name sounds really fake to real Russians.
* TheMafiya: Unlike most other women pertaining to a Mafia-like organization, she's in charge instead of being just a regular MafiaPrincess. If anything, she's more of a Mafia ''Queen''. She's too experienced and too powerful to be a mere "princess".
* MamaBear: You hurt her subordinates, you will be dead soon. And. VERY. Messily. [[spoiler:Hansel and Gretel didn't pay attention to this.]]
* AMotherToHerMen: Balalaika's concern for her subordinates are her a large source of her PetTheDog moments. If you attack ''any'' of her men, [[MamaBear you will be DEAD]]. Note this extends to her part-time employees as well, most notably the Lagoon Company. She might be utterly ruthless, but her recurring trait is her unswerving loyalty to her comrades, regardless of duration.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: A balalaika is a type of stringed instrument, but it's also Russian military slang for a Dragunov sniper rifle (which Balalaika used during the Soviet-Afghan War).
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: In the English Dub version of episode 3, when she is threatening Chen, she briefly slips into a thick Russian accent. Granted, she ''is'' Russian, but this is the only time she ever does it in the series. Maybe Patricia Drake just [[ThrowItIn threw it in]] and nobody bothered to change it.
* PetTheDog: Many, mostly concerning her relation with both her henchmen and Lagoon Company.
** The [[http://www.absoluteanime.com/black_lagoon/balalaika%5B2%5D.jpg smile]] she gives to Rock at the end of the Yakuza arc, which is one of the few times she gives an honest smile instead of TechnicallyASmile.
** The revelation of why she was discharged, [[spoiler:mainly, due to an international incident when she was photographed by media somewhere her unit shouldn't have officially been]], is a pet the dog moment for her since the reason she got photographed was because [[spoiler:she went out of her way to save a child.]]
* PopCulturedBadass: Quotes an 80's song while delivering one of her most brutal {{The Reason You Suck Speech}}es.
* PowerHair: Averted. She is powerful, {{badass}}, feared and a strategist but she has the long, flowing, slightly wavy tresses usually worn by weak and fragile [[DamselInDistress damsels in distress]]
* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Nice commie ones like "Comrades, raise your fists!" or "Cock your hammers!"
* ProperTightsWithASkirt: She wears black tights under her long business skirt.
* PsychoticSmirk: A common expression of her's as she's about to kill someone.
* RedOniBlueOni: Red to Mr. Chang's Blue.
* RenegadeRussian: It's TheNineties the nineties, she is a former Soviet [=VDV=] special forces commander and now a mafia queen.
* RousingSpeech: Gives one of these to her ''Vysotniki'' before leading them to avenge their comrades' deaths.
* ScarsAreForever: Justified, given their severity. Her face and body were badly burned during the Afghan War.
* ShutUpHannibal: Done to [[spoiler:Hansel]], with [[spoiler:a sniper rifle]]. She gives three words and a sound effect to deal with one of the creepiest little psychos you'll ever meet.
--> '''Balalaika:''' "I said KNEEL!" *BANG*
* SlasherSmile: When she's enjoying herself she sports a wide and scary grin.
* SmokingIsCool: Usually has a nice big cigar on hand. She also smokes Parliaments from time to time.
* StatuesqueStunner: She is on the taller side of the character spectrum, and has a very toned physique underneath her business suit.
* StillWearingTheOldColors: Continues to wear a Soviet military coat over her shoulders even after joining the mafia. She and her men also wear their old uniforms, as well.
* TheCaptain: "Kapitan."
* TheStoic: Keeps her cool even as Hansel tells her [[spoiler:how one of her men died an agonizing death, screaming out to her.]]
* TheStrategist: She's the brains of her personal army.
* StrawNihilist:
-->'''Balalaika:''' In the grand scheme of things, our lives are meaningless. They're light as air… like a candy wrapper.
* TechnicallyASmile: If Balalaika ever smiles at you, it's recommended that you make sure your last will and testament is up to date. She even used to provide the page image.
* {{Touche}}: She admitted that Yukio's van trick was an "effective counter-measure" which means Yukio had to be crushed absolutely.
* TranquilFury: Even when she's in the depths of teeth-gnashing, blood-boiling rage, Balalaika tends to speak like a patient mother scolding her children. She raises her voice in anger exactly twice. Both times are among the tensest points in the series.
%%* {{Ubermensch}}
* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-23.html This]] is Balalaika at age 9.
* WarriorPoet: Sometimes lapses into how WarIsGlorious.
* WellDoneDaughterGirl: As a young girl she takes on the challenge of becoming an Olympic shooter as her success would restore her father's honor, though it's not said what he did wrong (given the Communist-era setting, it's possible he was disgraced for political unreliability).
* WouldHurtAChild: Zig-zagged. Like Mr. Chang, under certain circumstances she has no compunctions about hurting children ''physically'' and ''very'' violently. [[spoiler:Even though she did not do it directly, Hansel and Gretel got no special treatment for being children, and the fact that they killed some of her men no doubt helped, and it's heavily implied that she would have done it herself if given a chance.]] And in the anime, a flashback to the Afghan War shows her shifting her sniper fire away from a child running towards its mother, but presumably she'd have no qualms about killing a ChildSoldier, and does mention that her men had to fight some in Afghanistan.
* WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell: She is a disillusioned former Soviet Special Forces commander who turned to a life of crime after being screwed over by the government in the wake of the war.
* YoungAndInCharge: During the series she is around her mid-thirties, which implies she became a lieutenant and later kapitan in her twenties during the Afghan War.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: It says a lot about what life's done to her that people keep trying to add the "GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave" trope to a character canonically in her late thirties.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Boris]]
[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/_boris_6317.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/TaitenKusunoki (JP), Mark Acheson (EN)
Balalaika's former platoon sergeant during the Soviet-Afghan war, Boris is utterly loyal and devoted to her and is almost always at his ''Kapitan'''s side.
----
* {{Bishounen}}: According [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-24.html to one of the omakes]], [[spoiler:he used to be an incredibly scrawny, girlish-looking boy (the ShoutOut to ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' was very obvious), so to fix this, he joined the Army and [[TookALevelInBadass took 20 levels in badass]]. Even more hilarious is that everyone, even Balalaika, told him he was an idiot for doing such a thing.]]
* BigBeautifulMan: Inverted, as he is very muscular with wide set shoulders.
* TheDragon: We can safely assume he is this to Balalaika, despite not having seen him do much so far. It's implied he was her platoon sergeant make in the formal military and he is always at her side speaking with her or delivering orders to the rank-and-file.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Admits to Balalaika that [[spoiler:taking out Hansel's leg and hand with a sniper rifle and letting him slowly bleed to death]] gave him the chills. Though he may have been talking about how he was letting one of the only people to kill a member of the Vysotniki in-series within twenty feet of her.
* FormerRegimePersonnel: The Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore.
%%* MauveShirt
* RuggedScar: The large scar across his face is his most distinguishing feature. Like Balalaika he presumably acquired it during the Soviet-Afghan War. Presumably a knife wound.
* SergeantRock: The fact that she addresses him as "sergeant" rather than by name suggests that he's her former platoon sergeant.
* TheStoic: One of the least emotive characters in the series.
** TerseTalker: Speaks in short, clipped sentences.
%%* TheMafiya
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Meshov]]
->Voiced by: Creator/KentaMiyake (JP), Richard Newman (EN)
Member of the [[BadassArmy Vysotniki]]
----
* FriendlyTarget: The reason he was introduced. Although his death doesn't seem like it was intended to make the audience sad, just horrified.
* HumanPincushion: Remember that mention of horrifying? The other reason he was introduced was part of being a demonstration on how [[CreepyTwins insane Hansel and Gretel]] are.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Sakharov]]
He is a corporal and member of the [[BadassArmy Vysotniki]].
----
* FriendlyTarget: The reason he was introduced. [[spoiler:Seriously, he didn't even survive the episode he was introduced in.]] Although his death doesn't seem like it was intended to make the audience sad.
* SacrificialLamb: His introduction to the show is brutally cut short to show that Hansel and Gretel are DeadSerious.
[[/folder]]
------
[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Sofiyia "Balalaika" Pavlovena]]
[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/balalaika.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:225:''"When things get stirred up, they're stirred up like a typhoon."'']]
->Voiced by: Creator/MamiKoyama (JP), Patricia Drake (EN)
--> ''"Hotel Moscow will show no mercy to anything in its way. We will reject it and annihilate it. Family, friends, even the pet dog if necessary."''
A former Soviet [=VDV=] special forces commander turned mafia queen; member (along with Mr. Chang and two others) of the four-person commission that regulates crime in Roanapur. Her real name is Sofiya Irininskaya Pavlovena.
------
* AffablyEvil: Balalaika is generally calm, collected, funny, will occasionally spare people's lives on the grounds that they amuse her, is usually willing to negotiate before resorting to violence, and has only lost her temper once in the entire series. However, if negotiations don't go her way, she won't even blink before [[DissonantSerenity casually gunning down everyone in the room.]]
* AloneWithThePsycho: Inverted when Balalaika finds herself alone with PsychoForHire Hansel. The inversion is that [[spoiler:Balalaika [[CurbstompBattle quite easily]] has him killed]].
* AndYourLittleDogToo: Balalaika reminds the leaders of the other criminal organisations that her [[TheMafiya organisation]] will destroy anyone gets in their way. And their families. And their pet dog, if necessary.
* {{Asexuality}}: Even though she can get flirtatious with guys like Rock or, more seriously, Mr. Chang, she finds sex boring and uninteresting, and has no real sex life to speak of. There's also her completely bored-to-death look when she edits porn videos[[note]] although anyone who edits for a living can tell ya that after the first 30 minutes even porn gets boring when you're editing them[[/note]].
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Is the head of Hotel Moscow, and is certainly in the upper echelons of the series lethality tier.
* BadassArmy: The Vysotoniki were all former Soviet commandos with the Spetsnaz and the [=VDV=] and they all had combat experience in Afghanistan against the Mujahideen.
* BadassInANiceSuit: Her normal wear is a red business top with a long skirt bottom.
* TheBaroness: Do NOT get on her bad side if you value your life. Trust us on this one.
* BeautyMark: To side of her left eye.
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Averted. While [[spoiler:her famous scars]] are the result of being captured and tortured in Afghanistan, what really set the Kapitan down that road was her country's "[[UngratefulBastard thanks]]" for their [[TraumaCongaLine soldiers' service]].
* BerserkButton: One of the surest ways to get on Balalaika's bad side is to torture or kill any of her men.
* BigBad: Granted, it's a series where nearly every character is an outright villain, but if there's any one character that fits the bill, it's Balalaika, in both the literal meaning of the trope ''(Hotel Moscow is the most dangerous criminal faction in Roanapur)'' and the fact that she's a BigGood to the main cast ''(who are also criminals)''.
* BigGood: To the [[VillainProtagonist main protagonists]] and anyone she looks after and/or gives jobs to. She treats them well and usually comes to lend a hand dealing with competing evils. Of course, this is only provided there's something in it for her and they don't get on her bad side; her true loyalty only lies with her war comrades. Case in point; though she's amused by Rock's {{Adorkable}} nature and takes a liking to him, the one time he pushes her too far with accusations and demands, she doesn't hesitate to flip him on the roof of a car and put a gun to his head.
* BloodKnight:
** According to Revy she'd rather give up sex than pass up a chance to wage war.
** In the light novel, she welcomed an old subordinate who'd found himself on the opposite side refusing the olive branch because it meant that he, like herself, meant to continue fighting to the bitter end.
* BreakTheCutie: In the anime, we see her as an innocent young girl who wanted to join the Olympic biathalon team. Then the Afghan War happened and she got completely trashed.
* BrokenBird: Thanks to the Afghan War and the subsequent collapse of her country, the cute teenager who wanted to become an Olympic marksman and make her family proud ended up as a cynical, scarred, and stylishly brutal [[TheBaroness Mafia queen]].
* TheChessmaster: In the old tradition of "game of kings", she crushes the opposition with superior tactics. [[spoiler:The Washimine family didn't know what hit them. Most of them were dead before they realized she was moving against them.]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise. The head of Washimine clan attempted to do this at first because Balalaika was obviously going overboard, providing a very undesirable sort of help.
* CoatCape: She wears her Soviet military coat like this.
* CombatPragmatist: On a large scale, as she fights her mob wars like military operations. [[spoiler:Her men smashed the Washimine Group special forces-style, complete with snipers, frag grenades, flash-bangs, explosives and whatnot and suffered no casualties; the only loss from Hotel Moscow is the ex-KGB and his men, who are not part of Balalaika's ex-airborne troops [[InterserviceRivalry and who she never liked anyway]].]]
* CoolBigSis: To Revy, anyway, who even refers to her as "Anego" which means "Sister". Though Revy isn't above calling Balalaika a bitch when she pulls a gun on Rock [[spoiler:or has her men shoot Revy and Shenhua in the arms.]]
* CoveredWithScars: She has burn scars all over her body, ending at her thighs.
* DarkActionGirl: Before she graduated to The Baroness she was a sinister soldier sniper.
* DeadpanSnarker: Moreso than anyone else in this series.
* DeathSeeker: Balalaika confesses to Chang that her driving motivation is to "meet that one fated person in that one fated battle" and die remembering who she once was.
* DissonantSerenity: Nothing says "I love my job" like grinning while snapping a Yakuza leader's neck, stopping to engage in a philosophic debate about the nature of the human condition with [[spoiler:a would-be assassin whom she has just had shot]] or politely apologizing to Lagoon Company for any inconvenience they may have experienced during their last mission which ends with some unlucky bastard's apartment exploding.
* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Given what she saw in Afghanistan, it's not a shock she has this.
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: Balalaika (and a large portion of her men) served as Spetznaz during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; their tactics and training are used with brutal efficiency in their criminal operations.
* EmbarrassingNickname: The only one who "gets" to call Chang "Babe" to his face. Naturally, he (and everyone else who dares) responds with "Fry Face".
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Her real name is Sofiyia Pavlovena. She is rarely addressed by that.
* EvilLaugh: Her reaction to Rock trying to talk her down near the end of the Yakuza arc is sinister amusement.
* EvilerThanThou:
** Her confrontation with Hansel she proves that she is both more ruthless and more cruel.
** The {{yakuza}}, especially Yukio, learn that they are not nearly pragmatic enough to match her in mob warfare.
** In the light novel, she out-eviled ''Mr. Chang'' of all people, laughing in his face when he offered to take out her rebellious subordinate so she wouldn't have to kill one of her own.
* FemmeFatalons: She has long pink talons.
* FormerRegimePersonnel: She's ex-Soviet military. She also came from a rather high-ranking family.
* FriendlySniper: She was considered a better shot than any of her men in Afghanistan, not to mention much more approachable before things went to shit for them.
* GirlishPigtails: Her StartOfDarkness episode "Little Soldier Girls" reveals that she wore her hair like this prior to enlisting in the Soviet Special Forces. This serves to highlight the contrast between the innocent girl that she was, and the nihilistic BloodKnight that she becomes.
* GoodScarsEvilScars:
** Balalaika has a large part of one side of her face scarred as a result of the war. She's sometimes called "Fry Face" because of it. She still manages to look attractive regardless.
** The first time you see her arms in Chapter 64.
** The [[http://www.animepaper.net/gallery/scans/Black-Lagoon/item229980/ swimsuit special by the author/artist shows that it's actually most of her torso]] (assuming the doujin is canon).
%%According to the timeline, Balalaika can't be older than mid-thirties; please stop including the GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave trope here
* IcyBlueEyes
* InSeriesNickname: Besides her pseudonym Balalaika, some of the other crime syndicates in Roanapur have been known to call her "Fry Face" because of her burn scars.
* IronLady: The no-nonsense leader of a gang of Russian commandos-turned-hitmen and the scariest member of their outfit by far.
* ItsRainingMen: Former VDV Airborne Troops captain.
* KickTheDog: Sending Rock a picture of [[spoiler:Yukio]], whom he inadvertently drove to suicide, with a big red "x" over it after the ordeal in Japan. Considering her general attitude towards him, it could be considered more of a morbid joke, but she did kick several other dogs in that arc, such as slaughtering an already weakened Washimine clan just because she could.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:Killing Chen by tying him up in his own apartment and blowing him up for attempting to kill the Lagoon company.]]
* LadyOfWar: She was the captain of a Russian army squadron with enough manpower to potentially fight and hold on their own should World War III occur, and she hardly ever swears or raises her voice, maintaining a distinct air of grace and respect when speaking or being spoken to, and would probably shoot you without hesitation.
* {{Lzherusskie}}: The name "Sofiya Irininskaya Pavlovena" is a typical case of ''klukva''[[note]] (nonsense that foreigners commonly think is accurate about Russia)[[/note]]. The [[NameOrderConfusion order of names is totally wrong]] (it should be "Sofiya Pavlovna Irininskaya"), and the last name sounds really fake to real Russians.
* TheMafiya: Unlike most other women pertaining to a Mafia-like organization, she's in charge instead of being just a regular MafiaPrincess. If anything, she's more of a Mafia ''Queen''. She's too experienced and too powerful to be a mere "princess".
* MamaBear: You hurt her subordinates, you will be dead soon. And. VERY. Messily. [[spoiler:Hansel and Gretel didn't pay attention to this.]]
* AMotherToHerMen: Balalaika's concern for her subordinates are her a large source of her PetTheDog moments. If you attack ''any'' of her men, [[MamaBear you will be DEAD]]. Note this extends to her part-time employees as well, most notably the Lagoon Company. She might be utterly ruthless, but her recurring trait is her unswerving loyalty to her comrades, regardless of duration.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: A balalaika is a type of stringed instrument, but it's also Russian military slang for a Dragunov sniper rifle (which Balalaika used during the Soviet-Afghan War).
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: In the English Dub version of episode 3, when she is threatening Chen, she briefly slips into a thick Russian accent. Granted, she ''is'' Russian, but this is the only time she ever does it in the series. Maybe Patricia Drake just [[ThrowItIn threw it in]] and nobody bothered to change it.
* PetTheDog: Many, mostly concerning her relation with both her henchmen and Lagoon Company.
** The [[http://www.absoluteanime.com/black_lagoon/balalaika%5B2%5D.jpg smile]] she gives to Rock at the end of the Yakuza arc, which is one of the few times she gives an honest smile instead of TechnicallyASmile.
** The revelation of why she was discharged, [[spoiler:mainly, due to an international incident when she was photographed by media somewhere her unit shouldn't have officially been]], is a pet the dog moment for her since the reason she got photographed was because [[spoiler:she went out of her way to save a child.]]
* PopCulturedBadass: Quotes an 80's song while delivering one of her most brutal {{The Reason You Suck Speech}}es.
* PowerHair: Averted. She is powerful, {{badass}}, feared and a strategist but she has the long, flowing, slightly wavy tresses usually worn by weak and fragile [[DamselInDistress damsels in distress]]
* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Nice commie ones like "Comrades, raise your fists!" or "Cock your hammers!"
* ProperTightsWithASkirt: She wears black tights under her long business skirt.
* PsychoticSmirk: A common expression of her's as she's about to kill someone.
* RedOniBlueOni: Red to Mr. Chang's Blue.
* RenegadeRussian: It's TheNineties the nineties, she is a former Soviet [=VDV=] special forces commander and now a mafia queen.
* RousingSpeech: Gives one of these to her ''Vysotniki'' before leading them to avenge their comrades' deaths.
* ScarsAreForever: Justified, given their severity. Her face and body were badly burned during the Afghan War.
* ShutUpHannibal: Done to [[spoiler:Hansel]], with [[spoiler:a sniper rifle]]. She gives three words and a sound effect to deal with one of the creepiest little psychos you'll ever meet.
--> '''Balalaika:''' "I said KNEEL!" *BANG*
* SlasherSmile: When she's enjoying herself she sports a wide and scary grin.
* SmokingIsCool: Usually has a nice big cigar on hand. She also smokes Parliaments from time to time.
* StatuesqueStunner: She is on the taller side of the character spectrum, and has a very toned physique underneath her business suit.
* StillWearingTheOldColors: Continues to wear a Soviet military coat over her shoulders even after joining the mafia. She and her men also wear their old uniforms, as well.
* TheCaptain: "Kapitan."
* TheStoic: Keeps her cool even as Hansel tells her [[spoiler:how one of her men died an agonizing death, screaming out to her.]]
* TheStrategist: She's the brains of her personal army.
* StrawNihilist:
-->'''Balalaika:''' In the grand scheme of things, our lives are meaningless. They're light as air… like a candy wrapper.
* TechnicallyASmile: If Balalaika ever smiles at you, it's recommended that you make sure your last will and testament is up to date. She even used to provide the page image.
* {{Touche}}: She admitted that Yukio's van trick was an "effective counter-measure" which means Yukio had to be crushed absolutely.
* TranquilFury: Even when she's in the depths of teeth-gnashing, blood-boiling rage, Balalaika tends to speak like a patient mother scolding her children. She raises her voice in anger exactly twice. Both times are among the tensest points in the series.
%%* {{Ubermensch}}
* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-23.html This]] is Balalaika at age 9.
* WarriorPoet: Sometimes lapses into how WarIsGlorious.
* WellDoneDaughterGirl: As a young girl she takes on the challenge of becoming an Olympic shooter as her success would restore her father's honor, though it's not said what he did wrong (given the Communist-era setting, it's possible he was disgraced for political unreliability).
* WouldHurtAChild: Zig-zagged. Like Mr. Chang, under certain circumstances she has no compunctions about hurting children ''physically'' and ''very'' violently. [[spoiler:Even though she did not do it directly, Hansel and Gretel got no special treatment for being children, and the fact that they killed some of her men no doubt helped, and it's heavily implied that she would have done it herself if given a chance.]] And in the anime, a flashback to the Afghan War shows her shifting her sniper fire away from a child running towards its mother, but presumably she'd have no qualms about killing a ChildSoldier, and does mention that her men had to fight some in Afghanistan.
* WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell: She is a disillusioned former Soviet Special Forces commander who turned to a life of crime after being screwed over by the government in the wake of the war.
* YoungAndInCharge: During the series she is around her mid-thirties, which implies she became a lieutenant and later kapitan in her twenties during the Afghan War.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: It says a lot about what life's done to her that people keep trying to add the "GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave" trope to a character canonically in her late thirties.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Boris]]
[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/_boris_6317.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/TaitenKusunoki (JP), Mark Acheson (EN)
Balalaika's former platoon sergeant during the Soviet-Afghan war, Boris is utterly loyal and devoted to her and is almost always at his ''Kapitan'''s side.
----
* {{Bishounen}}: According [[http://manga.animea.net/black-lagoon-chapter-55-page-24.html to one of the omakes]], [[spoiler:he used to be an incredibly scrawny, girlish-looking boy (the ShoutOut to ''Manga/RoseOfVersailles'' was very obvious), so to fix this, he joined the Army and [[TookALevelInBadass took 20 levels in badass]]. Even more hilarious is that everyone, even Balalaika, told him he was an idiot for doing such a thing.]]
* BigBeautifulMan: Inverted, as he is very muscular with wide set shoulders.
* TheDragon: We can safely assume he is this to Balalaika, despite not having seen him do much so far. It's implied he was her platoon sergeant make in the formal military and he is always at her side speaking with her or delivering orders to the rank-and-file.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Admits to Balalaika that [[spoiler:taking out Hansel's leg and hand with a sniper rifle and letting him slowly bleed to death]] gave him the chills. Though he may have been talking about how he was letting one of the only people to kill a member of the Vysotniki in-series within twenty feet of her.
* FormerRegimePersonnel: The Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore.
%%* MauveShirt
* RuggedScar: The large scar across his face is his most distinguishing feature. Like Balalaika he presumably acquired it during the Soviet-Afghan War. Presumably a knife wound.
* SergeantRock: The fact that she addresses him as "sergeant" rather than by name suggests that he's her former platoon sergeant.
* TheStoic: One of the least emotive characters in the series.
** TerseTalker: Speaks in short, clipped sentences.
%%* TheMafiya
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Meshov]]
->Voiced by: Creator/KentaMiyake (JP), Richard Newman (EN)
Member of the [[BadassArmy Vysotniki]]
----
* FriendlyTarget: The reason he was introduced. Although his death doesn't seem like it was intended to make the audience sad, just horrified.
* HumanPincushion: Remember that mention of horrifying? The other reason he was introduced was part of being a demonstration on how [[CreepyTwins insane Hansel and Gretel]] are.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Sakharov]]
He is a corporal and member of the [[BadassArmy Vysotniki]].
----
* FriendlyTarget: The reason he was introduced. [[spoiler:Seriously, he didn't even survive the episode he was introduced in.]] Although his death doesn't seem like it was intended to make the audience sad.
* SacrificialLamb: His introduction to the show is brutally cut short to show that Hansel and Gretel are DeadSerious.
[[/folder]]
