b i o

He could be classified as yandere/yangire, but he's got some differences from the general archetype. He is mentally unstable, yes. He has a quick temper sometimes, yes. However, it’s important to note that this all comes from somewhere.

He loves making new friends, but they almost never stay long enough for him to get to know them as well as he would like to, so he's very lonely a lot of the time. Once one does gain his trust, however, he's behind you in mostly everything.

Russia has a playful disposition with his friends, often teasing or going along with what they want before stopping his act and revealing his true thoughts. Sometimes, he's even manipulative. He often speaks up or acts up when around other people, as he likes to be noticed. He’s also violent and hypocritical, often giving advice that he never follows, himself. He smokes and drinks the night away when he’s depressed (and sometimes will spend a lot of money in shady places that stink of debauchery).

He doesn't like it when one mentions they are a territory of a country he hates. He'll offer you a chance to become one with him if you do. And if you decline, then he'll want to force you into it (it doesn't mean he will). For the most part, he won't be bashing your face into the wall without good reason. /For the most part./ He has his buttons.

Now, have a warning: Russia has a nasty tendency to fall head-over-heels in lust with someone. Meaning he'll latch onto a lot of attractive people, human or personification, and appear as a gentleman (unless he happens to be going after an Alfred or other person he hates, in which he will not be so kind). In other words, he often falls hard while thinking with his nether-regions, and he'll treat you sweetly for the time that you have his attention; but when you're in a real relationship with him, you can expect things to be less smooth.

Concerning his sexuality: He's bisexual (leaning more toward women than men, however) and likely to cheat in a relationship. Despite that, those one-night stands he has ever so often are merely ways to relieve excess sexual tension and he won't force himself on people unless he a) knows the person very well and wants to piss them off or b) the person he loves is rejecting him and he needs to let his feelings out on someone else. This does not mean rape. It means excessive affection, but if you tell him to back off, it is completely likely that he will. He's afraid of forming permanent attachments because so many people left him and he doesn't want to be hurt again, but he hopes that there is the "one" - someone who appreciates him for who he is and loves him for that - somewhere out there. His hope has begun to dim, however, feeling that everyone sees him as a violent monster.

His father is General Winter (Nikolai Morozov). He's the only being Russia is scared of to the point of cringing and cowering, but he'll never admit it, so don't try forcing the truth out of him. General Winter is the reason he doesn’t make any friends. Despite that, they've got a very close father-son relationship when nobody is looking, and they'll often have snowball fights, make snowmen, or play with the weather when the time comes around. Their relationship is complicated and best described as "fearful son, intimidating father" - General Winter, who has never really cared about nations (he's been around longer than all of them), doesn't understand Ivan and how to treat children. He raised Ivan to be tough, ruthless, and fearless, and as an entity who could never understand the extent of human feelings, he never had to deal with Ivan's enemies fully. He just swept them out of the way for a fee if Ivan asked.

If you mention his and Yao's former relationship, he gets depressed. He'll refuse to speak of him or their time together, merely saying "he divorced me..." (Don't be fooled; I won't do RoChu unless I love you.)

Read to him. He loves books and will sit before you, rapt with attention, regardless of what book you’re reading (even if it’s something he’s read hundreds of times before). Extra points for Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, or Nabokov, but he'll listen to anything, including folklore from other countries. The more literature you have to offer him, the less likely he is to lose his head, even if you trip up in any way. This way, if you're ever in a sticky situation, all you have to do is tell him a story... but it can't be any random story about how you walked from Alabama to Georgia. It has to be a riveting one.

And an additional note: his voice is only as high as canon Russia's when he's being light/happy/carefree. Upon being faced with a serious situation, he will quickly adopt a deeper one. The lighter voice is meant to make him seem less intimidating; however, because it isn't the voice one would expect to come out of a tall Russian who looms over most people, it ends up creeping others out even more. (At times, he seems to like others' reactions.)