Pavel Kuragin

Pavel Kuragin is a Russian military intelligence officer who acts as a liaison between Moscow and Alpha Group units in the field. He is Zarkova's handler, although she largely keeps him in the dark about her activities. He is later revealed to be an agent of Kingfisher. Kuragin is responsible for the theft of a Russian nuclear weapon and deals through a complex network of cut-outs and shell companies to conceal his identity. He is disavowed by the Russian government following the failure of Project Kingfisher and turns rogue, stealing the keys to a chemical weapons facility in Azerbaijan. He forces Zarkova and Novin to kill him rather than tell them the override code. The name Pavel Kuragin is an alias, though he claims his birth name is unimportant. Zarkova identifies him as Denis Brusilov, who was recruited by the army as a young man after spending years in foster care. His superiors exploited his need for acceptance and his need to be made to feel special, turning him into Kuragin. It is implied that he was present when Section 20 raided a GRU server farm in Retribution.