Roman Dimitriovich Barkov (21 October 1961 - 3 November 2019) was a Russian general and war criminal who committed countless atrocities during the Syrian Civil War. Barkov was eventually killed by Farah Karim, an FSA leader, during an assault on his chlorine gas factory in Georgia.
Biography[]
Roman Dimitriovich Barkov was born on October 21, 1961, in the outskirts of Sochi, Russian SFSR along the coast of the Black Sea. As a teenager, he took care of his elderly mother, cooking and shopping for her. Possessing several reading disabilities, Barkov tried to go to trade school but failed to complete it. This resulted in an inferiority complex, becoming dependent on excitement and power.
He eventually joined the Soviet Army illegally at the age of 16 as a cook, due to it being the only marketable skill he had. He enjoyed destroying targets, logging more range hours than any other soldier in his unit; this was the first time in his life that he felt strong. Barkov continued in his career, joining the Russian Army during the transition from the Soviet Union. In the year 1999, as a Lieutenant, he was sent to Syria to assist the Ba'athist government in suppressing Islamist dissent. Barkov controversially deployed chlorine gas and various nerve agents widely during his time in Syria, killing hundreds of people: terrorist or otherwise. Barkov captured Farah and Hadir Karim in Riyzabbi: two children who had previously killed three of his best men. Though impressed, he held the siblings as prisoners for the next ten years in the prison in Tobrak.
Novoyy Korol[]
By 2009, Barkov had been promoted to General and came to wield much power in his own right in Syria, despite nominally being a mere military advisor. He knew that the West could not interfere and cause an international incident, which enabled him to freely commit atrocities on the Syrian people. Barkov called himself Novoyy Korol - "New King" in Russian - which fueled his narcissism.
Barkov deluded himself to believe that he was bringing peace and order to an unstable region, despite the fact that Barkov forced citizens in his jurisdiction to work as slave labor and had them listen to his propaganda about maintaining order. He ordered scientists in his unit to develop a more powerful chemical agent that penetrated protective gear, was 10x as lethal as the original agent, and was undetectable; this was to scare any resistance into submission.
During this time, the Syrian Opposition commander known as Karim had become a thorn in his side, and sought to eliminate them. Barkov, suspicious of the siblings, had Hadir moved to the prison warehouse and then proceeded to waterboard Farah in an attempt to find out if she was Karim. Farah remained defiant as she was tortured, refusing to reveal her identity as Karim. This resulted in a fellow prisoner, Azadeh al-Rasheed, being executed in front of her eyes.
Later, Barkov revealed to Farah that he knew she was Karim all along, rendering Azadeh's death to be in vain. Barkov began lecturing Farah, and then attempted to strangle Farah. He was interrupted by an attack on the base by the forces that Karim summoned, and proceeded to flee the base by helicopter.
Downfall[]
In 2019, Barkov unofficially separated his forces from the Russian Army, rendering in him being officially considered a rogue agent by Moscow. Unfortunately for the West, this still did not mean that he was no longer a Russian general, and thus was off limits for assassination in an attempt to prevent war with Russia. On 24 October 2019, one of his warehouses in the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine was raided by a joint Marine Raider-CIA task force for the purposes of damaging his supply line of chlorine gas. The operation was a failure, with most of the team, save for the operative known as "Alex", killed by Barkov's men or by a small al-Qatala force sent to capture the gas.
Later on, Alex assisted Farah Karim in Syria to provide a distraction in an assault on an air base in the city of Aqtabi, which were both a success for the FSA. Towards the end of the month, Barkov assaulted the FSA as they awaited the Wolf on the outskirts of Darus, and Hadir was forced to release the gas to save his men, killing the remainder of Barkov's men tasked for this assault.
Death[]
Hadir, having now officially joined al-Qatala, assaulted and captured Barkov's home in the outskirts of Baurci, Moldova. The terrorists tortured and killed many of the general's security and family members, seeking to know Barkov's safe room code. Two SAS operatives, John Price and Kyle Garrick, infiltrated the compound, saved the hostages, and captured Hadir as he took the plans for Barkov's chemical factory in Georgia. Barkov's men arrived to eliminate the remainder of the AQ forces and also the operatives in his home, though failed to perform the latter as they escaped through a tunnel.
Two days later, an unsanctioned joint force of the SAS, CIA, and FSA assaulted his factory in the outskirts of Borjomi and successfully captured it after a long, arduous fight. Alex planted the bombs in the factory's furnace as Farah infiltrated Barkov's helicopter, piloted by the Russian mercenary known as "Nikolai." Farah proceeded to stab Barkov to death, declaring that she was Karim, before he bled out on the helicopter. Farah proceeded to push Barkov's body off, solidifying his death.