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"The moment you put on the mask... you got into cage with animals. Animals don't stop fighting. Not until one of them is dead. What Fisk did to me... he'll do to you. And he will do it... to everyone you care about. Will you feel the same way then? Or will you be man... and do what you know you must do?"
Vladimir Ranskahov (Russian: Владимир Ранскагов) was a leader of the Russian Mafia, together with his brother Anatoly. Although the Ranskahovs found success moving supplies of heroin for Madame Gao, when Anatoly was murdered by Wilson Fisk, Vladimir went on a one man war against him. After briefly teaming up with the man in the mask, Ranskahov accepted his fate and was gunned down in a final shootout.
Living in Russia, Ranskahov had done some work for the Ten Rings, gaining a tattoo on his wrist as a symbol of being a Ten Rings operative. Eventually, Ranskahov and his brother Anatoly were captured and imprisoned in Utkin Prison where they were tortured for many months. While his brother was being tortured, Ranskahov was left in their cell with the corpse of their cellmate Alexei, who had been left to rot by their captors.
Once Anatoly had returned to their cell, Ranskahov took the opportunity to rip out Alexei's ribs to be used as weapons against their guards, with Ranskahov promising they would survive. When Anatoly returned they killed their captors and escaped, although Anatoly wished to go to Moscow, Ranskahov convinced him to travel instead to New York City to begin a new criminal life in the United States of America.[1]
Eventually, the brothers arrived in Hell's Kitchen in New York City where they created a crime syndicate and were recruited by Wilson Fisk to transport the Steel Serpent heroin produced by Madame Gao.[1] Ranskahov joined his brother Anatoly for a meeting with Fisk on top of a building along with Fisk's other associates: Gao, Leland Owlsley and Nobu Yoshioka. The Ranskahov brothers were insulted when James Wesley came in Fisk's place, claiming he was too busy to attend; Ranskahov angrily called Wesley a "lapdog". When Wesley asked why the Ranskahovs' payment was short, they explained that a man in the mask had attacked their men and freed the girls they had kidnapped. Wesley dismissed Ranskahov's continued demands to speak with Fisk personally and ordered him to take care of the masked vigilante.
Ranskahov kidnaps a young boy
Several nights later, Ranskahov and Anatoly kidnapped a young boy with the intention of selling him. Ranskahov and his men beat up the boy's father before putting the child in their van and driving away, leaving the father too injured to move.[10] The Ranskahovs set up a false location of the boy for the masked vigilante to follow, allowing them to ambush and nearly stab him to death. The man escaped so the Ranskahovs sent Semyon to try and find him. Seymon was captured and questioned by the man, who threw him off the roof after getting the information he needed before tracking down and rescuing the boy.[11]
"Tell Mr. Fisk, that if he wants a pound of flesh, he can come here and carve it himself." "This is an offer, not an order. The choice of how we proceed is yours."
When Anatoly was attacked by the masked man in one of the brothers' factories, they reunited at the Veles Taxi Garage and were confronted by James Wesley, who came to ask the assets of the recently killed Prohaszka. Wesley mocked the pair for not being able to defeat the man in the mask. The brothers were offered a deal in which Wilson Fisk would take over control of their business.
While Anatoly did consider the offer, Vladimir considered the deal to be an insult to them and refused; he chose to break Wesley's number one rule not to mention Fisk's name when refusing his offer. Once Wesley had left the Garage, they discussed the deal and Anatoly expressed his concern about what a war with Fisk could lead to, although the still furious Vladimir insisted they should not be afraid of Fisk. The pair decided to focus their efforts on tracking down the masked man, starting by visiting Semyon, who was still recovering in the hospital.[1]
The Ranskahovs went to the Metro-General Hospital where Semyon was being treated. They gave him a shot of epinephrine; when he awoke, they asked him if he could give them any information to help them find the masked vigilante. They learned the address of Claire Temple who had been with the Masked Man. When they arrived they found her apartment empty, but they were able to beat up her neighbor until he revealed her location. The Russian Mafia members kidnapped Temple and tortured her to learn the masked man's location; however, they were attacked and Temple was rescued.[1]
Ranskahovs discovered that the Veles Taxi Garage had been attacked. Their position in Wilson Fisk's organization was now compromised due to the embarrassment of being defeated by the man in the mask yet again. As a result, Anatoly Ranskahov suggested to his brother that they should take Fisk's offer, which Vladimir aggressively protested. Anatoly told him that whether he agreed or not he would go to Fisk alone and bow for the pair of them. Although he was still unhappy about the idea, Vladimir chose to side with his brother and allowed him to go to Fisk alone.[1]
"All this time, Fisk has been playing us. Planning this... Сними наряд, пусть ожидают. Приготовьте всё, всё оружие, автоматы, гранаты, всё, что у нас есть.[15]" "Всё?[16]" "ВCЁ!"
The next day, Ranskahov could not contact Anatoly on the phone. While waiting in his office for his brother to contact him, Ranskahov was visited by James Wesley. Wesley also showed confusion as to Anatoly's location, claiming that he had accepted Wilson Fisk's offer and left them in good spirits the night before to update Vladimir.
Before they could continue their conversation, one of Ranskahov's men informed him that they had located Anatoly. His men brought Anatoly's butchered corpse into the room; Ranskahov saw that his brother's head had been crushed to the point of complete removal. Ranskahov walked over to his beloved brother's body and expressed his regret that they did not return to Moscow. Inside his brother's jacket, they found the black mask, leading them to believe that the masked man was responsible for Anatoly's murder.
As Ranskahov cleaned his brother's body, Turk Barrett arrived and offered his condolences. Ranskahov asked Barrett what he knew about the man who killed Anatoly; Barrett revealed that a mechanic he knew from Ryker's Island, had had a black SUV come to his shop for cleaning covered in blood and brains. Barrett revealed that the car belonged to a large bald man who was most likely Fisk; he also claimed that Fisk was close to the man in the mask. With this information, Ranskahov was convinced that Fisk was working with the man in the mask and had organized the murder of Anatoly.[2]
Sitting down with his brother's corpse, Ranskahov contemplated with his betrayal and waited for any information with his Mafia. After Sergei was out to get all of his soldiers ready with all their weapons and prepare for war, Ranskahov was informed by him that Turk Barrett knew of Wilson Fisk's location and told Sergei that he needed all his soldiers armed and confront Fisk all to himself. When Sergei questioned if he really meant all of the men, Ranskahov screamed at him that he needed everyone.
Ranskahov is asked about the odd delivery
As Ranskahov's soldiers prepared for war by gathering together in a warehouse and stockpiling their weapons, Ranskahov put on his Bulletproof Vest and asked Sergei if the men were meeting at other locations, being noted that they waiting for the call. Noticing one of Madame Gao's blind workers had entered the facility, Ranskahov was asked by Sergei about whether or not they were expecting a delivery of heroin from Gao and quickly got their answer once the man held up a detonator. Ranskahov and Sergei took cover as the blind man detonated a bomb, destroying the factory and killing all of the soldiers.
After facing the explosion and surviving from the impact that it made, Ranskahov and Sergei barely recovered from the explosion and managed to make their way from the burning building. Walking down in a street, Ranskahov was told that he was hurt from Sergei's observation, but he noted that Fisk and the man in the mask will pay for what they did. Before they could escape, however, they were ambushed by the Mask Man; Ranskahov attempted to shoot his enemy but missed every shot. The man proceeded to beat him mercilessly until Ranskahov was too weak to move.
The Man in the Mask prepared to hit Ranskahov in the face again, claiming this punch was for Claire Temple, but before he could strike, the New York City Police Department had arrived and told the Man in the Mask to stop what he's doing.[2] However, they were shown to be corrupt, as they where there to execute them all. The Man in the Mask was able to defeat the incoming police, but during the fight, Ranskahov was shot in the side after he was trying to reach for his gun. Once the masked man defeated Corbin, Ranskahov was knocked out by him and taken along with him, while Sergei was shot in the head by Corbin.[19]
The masked man then took Ranskahov's unconscious body to the safety of a nearby Abandoned Building. When he regained consciousness, Ranskahov told the man in black that he would kill him for the murder of Anatoly Ranskahov. The man in black, however, assured him that he did not kill his brother and Ranskahov had been played by Wilson Fisk; he told him that all he wanted was to go after Fisk and make him pay for all he had done.
Ranskahov's wound is burned and sealed
Ranskahov crudely refused the offer before losing consciousness. He awoke when the man used a flare to seal his bullet would, causing him incredible pain which made him scream with agony until he lost consciousness again. When he awoke, Ranskahov found that the man in the mask had taken Sullivan hostage; he then pulled apart the officer's gun and threw it away, much to Ranskahov's annoyance. The vigilante then began questioning Ranskahov again but Ranskahov chose to ask him about his morality; why he was unwilling to kill but was willing to let him die.
When the man asked about Fisk, Ranskahov told him that they were not so different and would likely suffer the same fate. The man reminded Ranskahov that Fisk had taken down his operation and had enough New York City Police Department officers in his pocket to ensure that Ranskahov was killed before he could leak information. Ranskahov agreed and told the man about his first encounter with Fisk and how their operation first came about. He told him that he would tell him the name of Fisk's money man. When the man leaned in to hear it, Ranskahov attacked him, causing them to fall through the floorboards.[19]
Ranskahov and the masked man had survived the fall; as Ranskahov claimed that although it was not smart, it was fun. Ranskahov then lost consciousness again, this time stopping his heart. He was saved by the masked man who performed CPR, and they were then interrupted by Wilson Fisk, speaking on the radio, asking for the man in the mask. Fisk and the man engaged in a long and angry discussion about each other until Fisk offered the man a choice, to either kill Ranskahov and escape, or be portrayed as a terrorist to the world's media.
Ranskahov grabbed a nearby pole to defend himself as he believed that the man would not refuse such a chance, but the man disarmed him before he could use it. In the end, the man turned down Fisk's offer, falling victim to Fisk's threats of exposure. Seeing that he was really trying to help him, Ranskahov helped the man escape into a sewer. Once in the sewer, they were attacked by a team of Emergency Services Unit officers; while the man tried to break down a nearby door, Ranskahov picked up one of the officer's guns and aimed it at him.
Ranskahov decides to fight to the death
The man tried to convince him to join him but Ranskahov told him he planned to stay and fight to his death, knowing that he would never be able to give testimony against Fisk without being assassinated. He told the man that the only way to stop Fisk would be to kill him. Ranskahov then told the man Leland Owlsley was who he needed to track down. The man then escaped and Ranskahov engaged with the ESU team, singing an old Russian song until he was shot and killed in the ensuing firefight.[19]
Personality[]
"Мы отдадим тебе почет, брат мой... кровью войны.[20]"
A ruthless criminal by trade, Vladimir appeared to be the more hot-headed and aggressive of the Ranskahov brothers, and was one of the few criminals shown to not be afraid of Wilson Fisk. Vladimir loved his brother very much and was devastated by Anatoly's death, quickly embarking on a vengeful crusade against the man in the mask, whom he believed killed his brother, and later Fisk. Unfortunately, his grief and brash nature left him open to manipulation from Fisk, which ultimately resulted in the destruction of his criminal organisation. When he was shot by corrupt police officers, Ranskahov briefly allied himself with the Man in Black, but ultimately resigned himself to his fate, and elected to die fighting rather than be assassinated by Fisk later down the line.
Abilities[]
Expert Tactician: Ranskahov an excellent strategist due to his many years of criminal activity. Ranskahov managed to successfully orchestrate the prison escape from Utkin Prison which freed himself and his brother Anatoly. During his conflict with the masked man, Ranskahov ordered his men to kidnap a young child in order to draw out the Masked Man and later ambush him which nearly succeeded. Ranskahov injected his comatose subordinate Semyon with epinephrine in order to wake him up and see if he had any information on the Masked Man. This led Ranskahov to Claire Temple and almost to the masked man but it ended in failure. When he discovered it was Wilson Fisk who murdered his brother, Vladimir gathered all his men on short notice to prepare for war and had them arm themselves though this ended in vain. Before his death, Ranskahov told the Masked Man to look for Leland Owlsley knowing this would help him take down Fisk.
Marksman: Ranskahov could handle a police rifle commandeered from an ESU officer, he used it to go out shooting against the enemies who were hunting him and Devil of Hell's Kitchen.
Combatant: Ranskahov was a moderately skilled fighter, using Alexei's rib as an improvised weapon against the guards at Utkin Prison. He could also defend himself against the much more experienced masked man, although he was greatly outclassed and swiftly defeated.
Bilingualism: Ranskahov was fluent in his native Russian, as well as English.
An assault rifle used by the Emergency Service Unit of the New York City Police Department. Fatally injured, Ranskahov tried to escape from the Abandoned Building with the man in the black mask through a series of tunnels, but knowing that he was going to die soon, he chose to stay behind and confront the men that Wilson Fisk sent him, armed with a M4A1 Carbine taken from one of them. He engaged in a brief shootout while humming a Russian war song, "We will be raised from the ashes", and was ultimately killed.
Other Equipment[]
Bulletproof Vest: Ranskahov wore a Bulletproof Vest in preparation for a war against Wilson Fisk to avenge the death of his brother. The vest allowed him to survive an explosion that destroyed the Russian Hideout where his men were preparing for killing Fisk, and also allowed him to survive a shot by Corbin longer than he would have without the vest.
Epinephrine: Ranskahov and his brother visited Semyon who was in the hospital after being dropped off a roof by the masked man looking for possible information on where to find the masked man. Ranskahov injected Semyon with a shot of epinephrine and he awoke. Semyon was questioned and he gave them the address of Claire Temple who had been with the masked man. Semyon then died from the injection.
Vladimir had a tattoo of the Ten Rings, seemingly indicating membership in the organization. This is only very briefly seen in the opening minutes of In the Blood, while presenting a dead cellmate's rib to his brother. This Easter-Egg was mentioned by Nikolai Nikolaeff during an interview in 2017.[21]
