Gorev's Family Name

[RadZakpak]

One of Mauer der Toten's radio transmissions from Gorev has piqued my interest, and I thought I'd share it and the possibly meaning behind it.

 

Gorev: I do not believe we have had formal introduction. I am Gorev. No first or last name. Just Gorev. Want to know secret? Gorev is code name. Family name is, well, I do not want the attention. Grandfather's brother, he was famous soldier in Stalingrad.

 

There are two reasons why he would not want the attention of his family name: 1. He wants to avoid the appearance of only being in his position due to the name, or more likely 2. It's a disgraced name despite fighting in Stalingrad.

 

So what characters do we know fought in Stalingrad who could be Gorev's great-uncle?
 

1. Viktor Reznov: This is the one I hear most often and would make sense considering Gorev is working with Kravchenko, one of the men who betrayed Reznov. Reznov's name is also likely disgraced in post-WW2 Russia despite his heroism in the war, considering he was thrown in Vorkuta after being captured. So Gorev not wanting to be associated with him is for political reasons.

 

2. Nikita Dragovich: This one is also definitely possible. We know for certain that Dragovich was in a command position during the battle, and he had promised Reznov's men reinforcements which never came, leading to a massacre in Red Square. It would not surprise me, however, if he took credit for Reznov and Petrenko's heroics. Why would Gorev not want to be associated with Dragovich however? In Black Ops he went rogue, nearly starting WW3 by activating sleeper agents across the US and releasing Nova 6 on the population before being thwarted in Cuba. It's a surprise Kravchenko is even in the command position he is in considering how close he was to this. But Dragovich's name is likely disgraced for his failures, and so Gorev obscuring the name would also be for political reasons.

 

3. Dimitri Petrenko: Similar to Reznov, Petrenko was betrayed by Kravchenko but he did not live to enter Vorkuta, so we don't know if his family name is disgraced as well. Petrenko seems about as likely as any other soldier in Stalingrad during WW2, however keep in mind that Petrenko was the one to raise the flag over the Reichstag in Berlin, and in Stalingrad in particular he killed General Amsel. Those may be reasons enough for him to be famous.

 

4. A Belinski: It might seem wrong, but while Nikolai should not be in this new timeline since his soul was tied to the Aether, I do not see why his family would not still exist. In Gorod Krovi we saw that the Belinski name was famous enough before the war to warrant Belinski Square being named as it is. We also know that Nikolai's brother was killed specifically in Stalingrad, possibly an event that warranted him fame. If Nikolai's brother still exists in this timeline, he is a possible candidate.

 

There are other soldiers from World at War and Black Ops we know fought in the war, but we don't know if they fought in Stalingrad specifically, like Commisar Markov and Chernov.