Metro 2033

Hounds/Beasts are large, fast predators that chased Artyom on Novy Arbat. They move on all fours, but can stand on their hind legs. They have brown fur, a large head, and a mouth with several rows of teeth. They hunt in a pack, surrounding their prey. They are afraid of winged creatures. Origin unknown. The Creature in the Kremlin (Ant Lion) is a living biomass that lives under the Kremlin. It has a powerful telepathic or hypnotic effect, capable of suppressing the will of people, causing hallucinations and a feeling of euphoria, luring victims to itself. Reacts to external stimuli (singing, explosion).

The Blacks are mysterious creatures that attack VDNKh from the north. They are described as naked, with black, shiny skin, huge eyes without whites, and hollow mouths. They attack at full height, unafraid of bullets and spotlights. They make a chilling howl. They have the ability to affect the psyche of people, causing panic, which intensifies with repeated encounters. In Artyom's final vision, they appear as an intelligent race trying to establish contact with people. Their lair/hive is located in the Botanical Garden area and is destroyed by a missile strike. Librarians are dangerous mutants that live in the Lenin Library. They are large, hunched creatures resembling gorillas, with grey fur, long clawed hands and huge green eyes with vertical pupils. They move silently. They have enormous strength (they can break a person's kneecap). They cannot stand noise or direct eye contact. They are extremely aggressive. Worm worshipers are a tribe of people living at the abandoned Park Pobedy station, cut off from the metro. They have degenerated and practice cannibalism. They worship the Great Worm, whose cult was created by a priest. They are hostile to technology and "machine people". They use spitting tubes with poisoned needles. They kidnap children from neighboring stations for re-education. They have a strange appearance (shaved heads, a snake drawing on the forehead). Some individuals (Vartan) have hypnotic abilities. Winged creatures ("harpies", "pterodactyls") are large flying predators. They nest on tall buildings (the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Ostankino Tower, the VDNKh pavilion). They attack people and other creatures. Artyom encounters them at the Library and at VDNKh.

The Priest is an old, gray-bearded ideologist of the savages from Victory Park. He preaches the cult of the Great Worm and hatred of technology. He admits to Artyom that the cult of the Worm is his invention to control the savages and fight the remnants of civilization. He commits suicide with a poisonous needle so as not to go to the Kremlin. Drone is a savage from Victory Park, the priest's favorite student and guard. Naively believes in the Great Worm. After the priest's confession, he falls into hysterics and despair. Killed by Melnik. Vartan is a savage from Victory Park with hypnotic powers. He interrogates Artyom and later appears at the barricades in front of Melnik's squad. His gaze paralyzes the fighters' will until Artyom shoots him. Pavel is the driver of the red fire engine who takes part in the foray to the surface with Artyom and Ulman. He tells Artyom his theory about the drilling rig in the tunnels under the center of Moscow. Ivashov is the head of the guard at Borovitskaya. He is overweight, unshaven, and has a tattoo of a two-headed bird on his temple. He organizes Artyom's meeting with Melnik. Konstantin Alekseevich is a border guard at Kuznetsky Most. He is acquainted with Mikhail Porfiryevich, helps him and Artyom pass through the checkpoint for a bribe, but warns them about the strictness of the rules. Later, he helps them escape from the station from the pursuit of the "Reds". Leonid Petrovich, a resident of Belorusskaya-Radialnaya, tells Artyom about the structure of life at the station, its connections and status. Arkady Semenovich is the head of the Kyiv station. He knows Melnik. He gets tired of the problems at the station (disappearances of children, panic, superstitions), but he is afraid of losing control and does not dare to take radical measures. He likes to drink. Natasha is a girl who lives/works with Arkady, possibly his lover. She takes care of him.

Maxim ("Maximka", "Lumumba") - a fighter from Comrade Rusakov's brigade. A dark-skinned heavy machine gunner. Shows interest in ideology, asks the commissar about the Marxist view of mutants. Uncle Fyodor is a fighter from Comrade Rusakov's brigade. He has a beard and wears a fur hat with earflaps. He treats Artyom to moonshine. Mark is a lookout at the Paveletskaya-Radial station. A gambler, he persuades Artem to take part in a bet on the rat race against the chief of the Paveletskaya-Ring, putting his and Artem's freedom on the line, but he loses and spends a year cleaning outhouses at the Ganza. Danila is a young man from the Brahmin caste. He becomes Artyom's guide, telling him about the structure of Polis, the caste system, the Great Library, and the legend of the Book. He accompanies Artyom to the Library. He is killed by the librarian, but before his death he manages to give Artyom an envelope with information necessary for his mission. Tenth - a bearded stalker from Melnik's squad. Participates in the raid on the Library. In a fight with the librarians, he gets seriously injured and Melnik has to carry him to Polis. Ulman (Ed) - a fighter from Melnik's squad. Fair-haired, strong stalker. Accompanies Artyom to the surface to adjust the missile strike. Pragmatic, adheres to a simple life philosophy. Anton is the patrol commander on Kievskaya, Oleg's father. A former missileman (Strategic Missile Forces). He is skeptical about rumors about Victory Park. He goes with Artyom to explore the tunnels after his son disappears. He is captured by savages and paralyzed by a poisonous needle. His knowledge as a missileman turns out to be critically important for Melnik. After his son's death, he falls into apathy, but agrees to help. Oleg is Anton's little son. A curious and brave boy. Shows Artyom how to listen to the "singing" of pipes using a music box. Kidnapped by savages from Victory Park. Subjected to ideological processing by a priest, but was saved by the Spartans. At the station under the Kremlin, he jumps into the biomass, saving Melnik's squad from hypnotic influence.

Mikhail Porfiryevich is an elderly intellectual from Barrikada, whom Artyom meets in the tunnel after the bandits' attack on Kitai-gorod. He travels with his mentally retarded grandson Vanechka. He suffers from a heart condition. He tells Artyom about his life before the Holocaust, about the situation at the stations (fascists at Pushkinskaya, legends about the University, rumors about Polis). He is forced to flee from Kuznetsky Most due to persecution by the "Reds". He dies, unable to withstand interrogation/torture by the fascists. Vanechka is the underdeveloped grandson of Mikhail Porfiryevich. He does not speak, makes mooing sounds, and behaves unpredictably. He was killed by a fascist officer on the approach to Pushkinskaya. His death provokes Artyom to take retaliatory action. Brother Timofey is a member of the religious community "Jehovah's Witnesses", met by Artyom on Serpukhovskaya. He unsuccessfully tries to convert Artyom to his faith. Elder John is the leader of the religious community "Jehovah's Witnesses". A gray-bearded old man with oratorical talent. On the train of sectarians he conducts "lessons" every day, expounding the doctrine of his faith. Evgeniy Dmitrievich and Sergey Andreevich are two men Artyom meets at the abandoned Polyanka station. They have philosophical conversations and smoke hookah. They tell Artyom legends about Metro-2 and the Invisible Observers. It turns out that they are a figment of Artyom's imagination, caused by the release of hallucinogenic gas. Comrade Rusakov is the commissar of the "First International Red Fighting Brigade named after Comrade Ernesto Che Guevara". Saves Artyom from execution on Tverskaya. Ideologically positions himself as a Trotskyist/Guevarist, an opponent of Moskvin and the Red Line. Offers Artyom to join the brigade, but lets him go to fulfill his mission. Banzai is a fighter from Rusakov's brigade of Asian appearance. He drives a motorized railcar.

Pyotr Andreevich is an elderly watchman from VDNKh, who was on duty in the tunnel with Artyom at the beginning of the story. He strictly follows instructions, scolds Artyom for not shooting at the unknown creature right away. He is very afraid of the black ones. Andrey is an experienced scout from VDNKh, 15 years older than Artyom, a former marine. The commander of the patrol from the 150-meter post. Tames the puppy, because of which Artyom raised the alarm. Cynical towards the shuttles. Loves tunnels and feels uncomfortable at the station. Kirill is a fighter from Andrey's patrol. A skinny guy with tousled hair. Later, he takes part in the caravan's march to Rizhskaya together with Artyom and Zhenya. Zhenka is Artyom's best friend at VDNKh, his age, works with him at the tea factory. Participates in Artyom's childhood excursion to the Botanical Garden. Is interested in rumors and stories brought by shuttles from other stations, retells them to Artyom. Goes with Artyom in the caravan to Rizhskaya. Dies during the defense of VDNKh during Artyom's absence. Bourbon is a man (possibly a shuttle) met by Artyom on Rizhskaya. He asks to take him to Sukharevskaya, promising to pay him with bullets. He dies in a tunnel under the influence of abnormal noise/psychic attack, before his death he utters strange phrases in a sepulchral voice. Khan is a mysterious man met by Artyom at Sukharevskaya. He introduces himself as the latest incarnation of Genghis Khan. He has a philosophical mindset and unusual views on the nature of the metro, time, and death. He has the gift of persuasion or hypnosis, which he uses to organize a caravan through a dangerous tunnel to Kitay-gorod. Ace is a bearded, strong man from Sukharevskaya. Scared to go through the southern tunnel with the rest of the group, he joins Khan and Artyom. He has good intuition and is the first to sense danger in the tunnel. While fleeing from the anomaly, he injures his leg, but is saved by Khan and reaches Kitay-gorod.

Artyom is the protagonist, a young man (24 years old) living at the VDNKh station. He was born on the surface, but has spent almost his entire adult life in the metro. As a child, he was saved by Sukhoi during a rat invasion at Timiryazevskaya, after which he became his stepfather. He is curious, strives for adventure, and is burdened by the routine of life at the station. In his youth, he made a foray to the surface at the Botanical Garden station. He receives an important and dangerous task from Hunter - to get to Polis and find a man named Melnik if Hunter does not return from his mission. During his wanderings, he encounters various dangers, factions, and metro anomalies, shows courage, resourcefulness, and a special sensitivity to the mystical or psychotropic effects of the tunnels. He was chosen by the blacks in childhood as a liaison between them and people. Sukhoi (Uncle Sasha) is Artyom's stepfather, who saved him from rats as a child. A respected person at VDNKh, connected to the administration, carries out reconnaissance and diplomatic missions at other stations. In a conversation with Hunter, he displays deep pessimism about the future of humanity and the threat from the blacks, considering them the next stage of evolution ("homo novus"), to which people are doomed to succumb. He loves and cares for Artyom, but does not take him on dangerous expeditions, perhaps wishing him a calmer life. Hunter (Okhotnik) is a stern and determined man, an old acquaintance of Sukhoi. He introduces himself as "Okhotnik", considering it his profession - to eliminate dangers threatening the entire metro, comparing himself to a macrophage of the immune system. He defends the need to fight for the survival of humanity at any cost. He sees in Artyom a man who is not yet subject to the "wormhole" of fear and doubt, and instructs him to get to Polis to Melnik, if Hunter himself does not return from reconnaissance of the black lair in the Botanical Garden. Melnik (Colonel Melnikov) is an experienced stalker and Spartan commander based in Polis. When meeting Artyom, he confirms the difficult situation at VDNKh. He leads an expedition to the Library.

The entire world lies in ruins. Humanity has been almost completely destroyed. Due to the high level of radiation, the half-destroyed cities have become uninhabitable. Beyond their borders, according to rumors, endless scorched deserts and thickets of mutated forests begin.

But the remnants of civilization gradually become just memories, become overgrown with fables and turn into legends.

More than twenty years have passed since the last plane took off. Rusty railroads lead to nowhere. The airwaves are empty, and radio operators hear only a dismal howl as they tune in for the millionth time to frequencies that once broadcast from New York, Paris, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires.

Only twenty years have passed since this happened. But man has already ceded dominion over the Earth to new species. The creatures, crippled by radiation and other consequences of what happened, are better adapted to the changed world than people.

The era of man is over.

But they don't want to believe it. There are only a few tens of thousands of them, and they don't know if anyone else survived, or if they are the last people in this world.

They live in the Moscow metro - the largest nuclear bomb shelter ever built by man. The last refuge of humanity.

Almost all of them ended up in the subway that day, and it saved their lives. Hermetic seals protect them from radiation and monstrous creatures from the surface, worn-out filters purify water and air. Dynamos assembled by craftsmen generate electricity, mushrooms and pigs are grown on underground farms, but those who are poorer do not disdain rat meat.

The central control system has long since disintegrated, and the stations have become dwarf states, where people are united around ideas, religions, water filters, or simply the need to repel enemy attacks.

This is a world without tomorrow. There is no place for dreams, plans, hopes. Feelings give way to instincts, the main one of which is to survive. To survive at any cost.

Twenty years before the events of the Metro 2033 plot, a nuclear war occurs on Earth. The vast majority of the Earth's population dies, but a small part of the population survives: some people hide from the atomic bombing in shelters, such as the Moscow Metro; others are simply lucky - they do not fall under the bombing and its consequences, being in regions almost untouched by the nuclear war. A constant level of radiation is established over vast territories, which prevents people hiding in shelters from coming to the surface. Over time, the Earth is filled with mutated plants and animals that are hostile to humans and dangerous to them.

In 2033, in the former megalopolises, people still live in shelters, saving themselves from the deadly radiation above. They are divided into clans that, as in previous times, constantly fight and make peace with each other, trying to establish an economy and law. At the same time, they all have to fight mutated living organisms and the consequences of the use of biological weapons, pressing on them from the outside.

According to the plot of the books in the series, on July 6, 2013, the Third World War began, during which, due to the large-scale use of weapons of mass destruction (primarily nuclear and biological), most of humanity perished. Even twenty years after the nuclear war, high levels of radiation are observed on the surface, which do not allow a person to be there without protective equipment. The surviving people took refuge in underground shelters (subway systems and bunkers) and in places with low levels of radioactivity, later uniting into communities along geographical or ideological lines.