- "Zloda, Belarus? A dream come true? Really?"
- ―Leo Fitz to Jemma Simmons[src]
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a country in Eastern Europe. Formerly known as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, commonly referred to as Byelorussia, it was part of the Soviet Union from 1922 until its dissolution in December 1991.
History[]
Training Child Assassins[]
Dottie Underwood sharing food with Anya
In 1930s, the KGB and the Leviathan established the Red Room Academy in Belarus, where young girls would be trained as elite spies and assassins. Being handcuffed to their beds during sleep time, the girls would undergo various indoctrination techniques and participated in ruthless training, as even the sparring fights could end in the death of the one who loses.[1]
SSR Mission[]
The team at the Red Room Academy
Discovering the Leviathan's plan to strike a deal with Howard Stark, the SSR authorized a mission at the Soviet Union territory, which would be led by Jack Thompson and Peggy Carter. Carter enlisted the Howling Commandos to help them and Dum Dum Dugan suggested to head to Lithuania and cross the border through the city of Ashmyany. Eventually, the SSR agents and the Commandos reached their destination, which turned out to be the Red Room Academy, where the exchange was supposed to take place. The team split in groups to investigate the facility, however, after discovering the Red Room training grounds, they met Eva, who stabbed Dugan and killed Junior Juniper.
Walking further into the facility, the team found two prisoners, Nikola and Viktor Ivchenko, as the latter explained that Leviathan kidnapped Nikola to reproduce Stark's designs, and Stark himself was not here. As the team liberated the prisoners, they were attacked by the Soviet Armed Forces soldiers and in the gunfight, Eva managed to kill Mike Li and wound Happy Sam Sawyer. Nikola took Sawyer hostage and tried to negotiate his safety with the soldiers, however, he was then killed by Invchenko after he failed to pacity Nikola. With the help of Dugan, Carter and the remaining team successfully evacuated Invchenko and returned to the United States.[1]
Black Widow Program[]
Natasha Romanoff is selected by Dreykov
Decades later, the Soviet Union dissolved, and the Red Room continued operating, training a new generation of female spies and assassins at the Red Room Academy in Belarus. Trained by Dreykov and Madame B. a new generation of future Black Widows, which included Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova, would undergo the harsh training to turn them into cold-blooded assassins.[2] Once students finish their training, they would go through the graduation ceremony, which consisted of sterilization so the new Black Widow would be unable to bear a child.[3]
Proximity Card Purchase[]
Akela Amador hides in Zloda
- "She flew to Belarus, brought a train ticket to a town called Zloda."
- ―Grant Ward[src]
Akela Amador flew into Belarus and bought a train ticket to Zloda following her theft of a shipment of diamonds in Stockholm. In a hotel, Amador met with Kropsky, in order to hand him the diamonds she stole in Milan, Monte Carlo and Stockholm. After a brief confrontation regarding the bodyguards Kropsky brought with him, he received the diamonds and handed her a proximity card to enter the Todorov Building, surprised that someone accepted his price of 30 million dollars. Amador threatened Kropsky that she would find him if the card failed, but Kropsky assured her it would access all levels as promised, before asking if she had a plan to proceed inside the building.[4]
Search for Akela Amador[]
Phil Coulson and Grant Ward look for Akela Amador
- "Contact Belarus authorities. Find us a place to park the Bus."
- ―Phil Coulson to Melinda May[src]
Searching for Akela Amador, Phil Coulson and his team arrived in Zloda, using a rented van to conceal themselves. Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons stayed in the van with Skye, discussing Simmons' excitement to be in Belarus, birthplace of Zhores Alferov, while Coulson and Grant Ward headed into town to search for Amador. After talking to an Innkeeper, Coulson and Ward found the hotel where Amador was hiding, however, she was aware that S.H.I.E.L.D. was onto her. Amador found the van with Skye, Fitz and Simmons, and rammed it with the truck, before leaving the city.
Melinda May confronts Akela Amador
Amador moved to a hotel in Minsk, while Coulson's team was able to hijack the broadcast from her Backscatter X-Ray Eye Implant, realizing that she was being controlled using the eye implant. At night, Melinda May confronted Amador at the hotel, offering her to surrender and get a fair trial. However, Amador replied that since her handler knew that she was seen by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, only one of them could surive. The two fought briefly, with Amador destroying the lamps in the room and use her eye implant. However, before she could shoot and kill May, Coulson arrived and shot Amador with a Night-Night Gun, rendering her unconscious.[4]
Infiltration into Todorov Building[]
- "First saw that when we were in Belarus."
- ―Grant Ward to Skye[src]
While Akela Amador was detained at the Bus, Grant Ward was tasked with carrying out her mission, using a pair of Backscatter Glasses designed by Leo Fitz, which mimicked Amador's Backscatter X-Ray Eye Implant. With Skye's assistance, Ward proceeded with the mission in order to discover the handler's intentions and to buy enough time to disable the fail-safe in Amador's eye. Ward managed to pass all the security scans until approaching his target, the Delta 5 section inside the building, and the Englishman sent an order to seduce a security guard. Ward tried to be friendly to the guard, but seeing no other option to pass that security control, he was forced to knock the guard out.
Grant Ward escapes from Todorov Building
Ward entered a room where a group of men were studying a series of symbols of seemingly alien origin, that were the true target of the mission. Ward was wished good luck to abandon the building, as the guard had to put a password into the security system at regular intervals to avoid setting the alarm of the building. Ward ordered Skye to meet him at the south side of the building, and he fled from the security guards. He was contacted by Leo Fitz, who needed advice to deactivate Amador's kill switch, and Ward's expertise with bombs could prove handy. However, as Ward inadvertently looked into a mirror, he prompted Fitz to cut the eye before the kill switch could be activated. Ward escaped the building under gunfire, and met with Skye to return to the Bus.
Meanwhile, Phil Coulson took it upon himself to track down Amador's handler, as Melinda May managed to determine that he was in Minsk. Using the messages he sent to Amador, May was able to pinpoint his location, until the handler triggered the kill switch when he saw Ward in the reflection. Afterwards, the handler rushed to leave his hideout, however, he was confronted by Coulson. When he identified himself as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, the Englishman was terminated via his own implant, once his superiors found out that he was exposed.[4]
Flag Smashers' Political Ultimatum[]
In 2023, following the Blip, Belarus joined the Global Repatriation Council. In 2024, the Flag Smashers targeted a camp in Minsk on their campaign.[5]
Appearances[]
- Agent Carter
- Black Widow (flashback)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (flashback)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Season One
- Season Two
- A Hen in the Wolf House (mentioned)
- The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
- Season One
- Truth (screen)
- Season One
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