OSKOM

OSKOM Rapid Response Group (Russian: Группа быстрого реагирования ОСКОМ) was a Russian military unit responsible for the defense of Novosibirsk that subsequently came to be in charge of the survivors in the metro system in Novosibirsk.

The name OSKOM is an acronym, meaning OSobiy KOMitet (Russian: ОСобый КОМитет), that can be translated as The Special Committee or The Emergency Committee, which is a fairly typical Russian name for a civil or military defence organisation. By the events of Metro Exodus, the entire group has been wiped out, except for the young boy Kirill.

Overview
OSKOM was presumably one of the units responsible for the defense and evacuation of Novosibirsk as World War III began. It appears they were supported by a sizable armored unit, that would eventually be wiped out by the cobalt bomb employed against Novosibirsk. Unlike the Central Metro Command, OSKOM was able to visibly remain in control of their Metro and was able to retain the cooperation of the civilian population for at least 20 years. In the immediate aftermath of the war, OSKOM set themselves up as a Committee with Lieutenant General Vinogradov as its leader. OSKOM was able to keep the Metro's population alive thanks to a large supply of anti-radiation medicine known as "Green Stuff" and tight control of its scarce food resources.

Beyond the ruling committee, OSKOM was divided into a number of smaller departments that specialized in various activities. The Maintenance department was responsible for maintenance activities within the metro, as well as repairing transportation for the eventual evacuation. The Special Department acted as OSKOM's secret police, interrogating and eliminating those hostile to the Committee's rule at a special facility just beyond Sibirskaya. They also were responsible for clearing the tracks on the surface for the evacuation. The last known department was the Medical Department, responsible for medical affairs within OSKOM.

At some point before 2035, the civilian population became suspicious of OSKOM who had divided the Metro between "Clean" and "Dirty" stations. Based on Artyom's notes, while the Clean stations lived in relative comfort it appears that OSKOM was using workers from the "Dirty" stations to do manual labor. Much of this labor was being done on the surface to clear the city's railway tracks to allow the evacuation of the metro, which often resulted in 90% casualties, which OSKOM considered sustainable losses. To make matters worse for the inhabitants of the "Dirty" stations, their ration of the "Green Stuff" was slowly being halved. The civilian population became increasingly paranoid that OSKOM was attempting to leave the city without them, prompting a number of riots.

Although initially able to put down the riots, they quickly grew in size and began to overwhelm OSKOM and the "Clean" stations. Rioters that were captured by OSKOM were delivered to their Special Department, where they were executed en-masse. The Rioters were right that OSKOM was fleeing the city without them, as the unit's commanders thought that what little radioprotector was left would be insufficient for the entire metro, and decided to leave the rest of the population behind in the evacuation, including their own men.

Eventually, OSKOM was forced to conscript what remained of the civilian population in the "Clean" stations, which included the children, to fight off the rioters. With the Metro now in a full-scale war, OSKOM anchored its defenses at Sibirskaya Station. Despite the use of armored railcars and machine guns, Sibirskaya station was overwhelmed, and in desperation OSKOM sealed the blast doors to the station and filled it with chlorine gas, ultimately wiping out both OSKOM and the rioters. By the time the war ended, only two known survivors remained, Lieutenant-Colonel Khlebnikov and his son Kirill.

Technology
Being formed from a pre-War Russian military unit, most of OSKOM's technology and equipment was military grade, including uniforms, body armor, and a large number of DShK 12.7mm Machineguns, Kalash's, as well as ammunition and modifications for them. OSKOM also manufactured weapons to better meet the challenges they faced in the metro, with shotguns, revolvers, and flamethrowers being made in large numbers, along with a small number of gatlings. Flamethrowers especially were in demand to combat the slime with its accompanying worms that routinely overran pump stations throughout the metro.

In addition to gas masks, OSKOM used fire retardant sealed suits with a self contained oxygen supply. Compared to gas masks which proved themselves relatively fragile in the face of most mutants, the visors on these suits could withstand attacks from even a blind one without cracking, and the oxygen supply could keep the user supplied with air for several hours rather than the mere minutes of a metro-made filter.

OSKOM also had access to a large stockpile of radioprotector, which became a de facto currency within the metro. As the Novosibirsk Riots reached their peak, OSKOM command made several canisters of chlorine gas, and used them during the fight for Sibirskaya.

Trivia

 * OSKOM and the rioters were presumably wiped out around the same time the Aurora crew left Burabay.
 * The unit appears to have built several rail tanks similar to the Fourth Reich's Panzers.
 * In the OSKOM station you can find Soldiers with the Hanza logo on their shoulders, this is a mistake by the developers due to lack of time.

Gallery
ОСКОМ