Basic Trope: The Russian character always gets hurt in the worst way.
- Straight: Boris is the token Russian of The Squad, and tends to get hurt in ways that seriously make other injuries look like nothing.
- Exaggerated:
- By the end of the story, Boris has lost his family, has been driven insane, lost many of his limbs and is trapped in an eternal coma to relive his painful memories. All the while, the squad comes off unharmed and extremely happy.
- The entire country of Russia experiences nation-wide disaster after nation-wide disaster until it turns into a post-apocalyptic wasteland while all the other countries were not afected at all.
- Downplayed:
- It's a child friendly story and while Boris does get picked on far more than others, he never gets seriously harmed.
- Boris suffers from heavy injuries, but stops at that and recovers peacefully.
- The other squad members suffer badly as well, but Boris's injuries are more severe.
- While Boris suffers the most the story also makes sure he gets a happy ending highlighted.
- Justified:
- Boris is a Vodka Drunkenski, so he's obviously going to make stupid decisions that get him hurt.
- Boris is the Designated Point Man that can take anything, so he takes on the most dangerous jobs that can result in injuries that would kill others.
- The Squad is up against an enemy with a serious nut against Russia, so Boris ends up as the prime target.
- Inverted: Everyone except Boris suffers horrible injuries.
- Subverted:
- Boris gets hurt badly, but the injuries of his squad mates are worse...
- It turns out Boris was actually born in Latvia.
- Double Subverted:
- ...And thus Boris is the only in true condition to pull off a Heroic Sacrifice that kills him.
- But this story takes place back when the Tsars still ruled, back when Latvia was part of the Russian empire. So therefore he's still technically Russian.
- Parodied: Every single bullet and piece of shrapnel swerves off their path to home in on Borris the moment he steps onto the battlefield. He ends up surviving due to the projectiles making shallow wounds due to all of the projectiles already embedded into him from last time stepped into the same country as a police shoot out.
- Zig Zagged: Boris gets hurt badly, but then recovers while everyone else's recoveries are much longer. His next mission involves everyone getting hurt, but Boris's injuries are the worst.
- Averted:
- Nothing bad happens to Boris the Token Russian.
- Bad things happen to Boris, but is has nothing to do with him being Russian.
- The rest of Boris' squad suffers just as much as he does.
- Enforced: This is a Cold War story, so of course the American writers want to make their enemy Russians suffer horrible fates.
- Lampshaded:
- "In America, you can fuck up life. In Soviet Russia, life fucks you up."
- "Сука блять, of course I'm getting targeted first. Fate truly has sick mind..."
- Invoked: "Nobody likes the Russians, so this guy is gonna be having a pretty bad time in the movie."
- Exploited:
- The team uses Boris as a meat shield to stave off most attacks since they know he'll suffer anyway.
- Boris is able to capitalize on his capacity to carry on through the crap the cosmos cane on him to win admiration from bystanders.
- Defied: Boris is an expert strategist and Genre Savvy, so he knows what to do to avoid this trope.
- Discussed: "Since we have a tendency to paint Russians as the bad guy, obviously the crowd will start cheering when they see them in painful situations."
- Conversed: "Seriously, it seems like these Russians are bad luck magnets"
- Implied: The team is at a hospital, and Boris is the only one in a full body cast even if we don't know the true extent of his injuries and whether they're as bad or worse than everyone else's.
- Deconstructed:
- Seeing Boris get hurt a lot alienates the Russian and possibly Slavic market from watching the movie. Not only does the movie bomb, but Russians around the world start protesting racism in Hollywood movies.
- After one slog through pain and misery too many, Boris quits and vanishes without a trace, figuring he doesn't owe anything to anyone.
- Reconstructed: Boris suffers most, but never gives up and can handle any damage because he's strong and hardy. His determination makes him somewhat of a good role model.
- Played for Laughs: Boris takes one step out his house, gets struck by lighting, trampled by a herd of elephants, drenched in mud and his hospital bill isn't covered by the government.
- Played for Drama: Boris is running through a battlefield, and gets shot in the arm, an explosion blows off his legs, and he witnesses his comrades all screaming for mercy.
Pretty nasty wound you got there - just take a shot of vodka before you head on back to Russian Guy Suffers Most.
