Khlebnikov

"Listen... I told you earlier who should be told the truth, and who should not... Forget it! It's not for us to decide! And if you're being fooled, it's never for your own good!"

- Khlebnikov to Kirill

Colonel Vyacheslav "Slava" Khlebnikov (Russian: Вячеслав "Слава" Хлебников) is a character mentioned in Metro Exodus and the playable protagonist in The Two Colonels DLC. He is the father of private Kirill Khlebnikov and one of the last survivors in Novosibirsk.

Background
Lieutenant Colonel Khlebnikov, later promoted to full Colonel (although this is never shown), was a soldier for the OSKOM Unit keeping order in the Novosibirsk Metro System.

In The Two Colonels DLC, we get to witness the final days and hours of the Novosibirsk Metro station throughout the perspective of Colonel Khlebnikov. We also get to witness his eventual demise.

In Metro Exodus
Khlebnikov is mentioned by his son Kirill and in diary entries found during Artyom's exploration of the Novosibirsk Metro. In them are orders from General Vinogradov to Khlebnikov about delivering rioters to the Special Department before joining the defence of Sibirskaya, an interrogation report he requested from the Special Department, and a list of Orders he left for Kirill.

In The Two Colonels
The full story of Colonel Khlebnikov is told by his son, Kirill, to Miller after they split up from Artyom. The story begins on New Year's Eve of 2034. Khlebnikov is at a flooded station burning away slime and slaying worms along the way. Once the task is complete, he returns to Krasny Prospekt, where the New Years celebrations are taking place. He goes to see General Tolya, who informs him that they are preparing to evacuate, but have so far been unable to find a clean place on the surface. Although Lake Baikal might be clean, they've not been able to locate any maps of it. Khlebnikov makes his excuses and goes to the upper floor of the station, where he is reunited with his son, Kirill. It is then when General Tolya makes a speech to those present at the celebration, and the countdown to the New Year begins. The celebration is short-lived, as the power fails one second into 2035.

Several months later, the situation grows ever more desperate, as the Green Stuff grows ever more scarce. OSKOM is, thus, forced to resort to confiscating excess reserves from citizens, which puts a further strain on morale. Khlebnikov is at a meeting with General Tolya, who tells him that the upper brass will be evacuated first. Khlebnikov is against this idea, as the agitators at the outer stations will conclude that the leadership plans to abandon the rest of the residents. Tolya agrees but says that it's out of his hands and that they have to take care of their families first. With that, Khlebnikov takes his leave. Some soldiers inform them that a citizen is refusing to let them inside his home, and invites the colonel to come to resolve it. This citizen turns out to be Petrovich, a friend of Khlebnikov. The soldiers search his home and find a hidden cache of Green Stuff, and ask Khlebnikov if they should search for more. Petrovich pleads with Khlebnikov that he needs the Green Stuff for his granddaughter. At this point, Khlebnikov can either choose to leave with the Green Stuff they already found or have the soldiers search for more. After this, Khlebnikov returns home to his son, who is upset since he saw OSKOM soldiers beating a defenseless man at Sibirskaya over Green Stuff. Khlebnikov promises that he will have the soldiers apologize, but explains to his son why they need to seize other people's Green Stuff.

A few months later, the citizenry is in full revolt, and are attacking Sibirskaya, which Khlebnikov, along with the rest of OSKOM, is forced to defend. Despite gunning down, blowing up, and burning waves of rioters, the OSKOM forces are ultimately overwhelmed. Khlebnikov is nearly executed but is saved by some OSKOM soldiers. Just then, poison gas is released, and Khlebnikov barely manages to retreat to safety with another soldier. The soldier reaches the top of the stairs first and inform General Tolya of the situation but is executed by the general. Khlebnikov, who was still climbing up the stairs, witnesses the soldier's body tumble down the stairs while the General informs OSKOM leadership that the "pawns" have been dealt with. Khlebnikov furiously attacks his old friend, realizing that he was behind the gas and never planned on evacuating everyone. Tolya explains that there was only enough Green Stuff for the leadership, before kicking Khlebnikov off and holding him at gunpoint. The general contacts his soldiers about the evacuation progress, but they tell him that the train has already left, and also inform him that his son is dead. Furious and grieving, General Tolya orders his soldiers to intercept the train and blow it up with an RPG, before saying goodbye to Khlebnikov and shooting himself in the head. The colonel passes out and is discovered by his son, the two being the last survivors in the Novosibirsk Metro.

A month before the arrival of the Aurora crew, Khlebnikov makes it to the Sat-Com center where he searches for a map with a clean place. Inside, he is forced to fight numerous nosalis and even a blind one. Khlebnikov manages to kill the blind one, but loses his flamethrower in the process. By this point, he has serious radiation poisoning. He considers taking a dose of Green Stuff, but notices a map in a Stalker's dead hands at the last moment and opens the canister. After examining which is the radiation map of Lake Baikal that he was searching for, he grabs it and makes his way towards the exit, but comes under pursuit from a blind one. After crawling under a door, he again tries to take the Green Stuff, but is grabbed by a blind one. Though he manages to free himself, the Green Stuff vial is broken in the scuffle. He then sits on a chair to rest, and dies. One month later, Miller manages to open the door to the chamber where Khlebnikov spent his final moments and discovers his fellow soldier's body. Taking a few moments to compare their lives, Miller admits to seeing much of himself in Khlebnikov, and promises his final mission was not in vain. Taking the satellite map and Khlebnikov's watch, he promises to return the timepiece to Kirill and see he reaches safety. Miller salutes his fellow soldier's body and turns to leave.

Trivia

 * Even though Khlebnikov's entire face is never shown, the achievement banner for Real Colonel on Xbox One depicts him with a bald head.
 * Khlebnikov is the only playable character in Metro Exodus to lack a flashlight, having to resort to the pilot light on his Flamethrower for illumination instead. He also does not have a backpack, meaning that workbenches are needed to clean and modify his guns, as well as to prepare new ammo and medkits. Lastly, he is the only character who does not need to replace filters for his gas mask, nor does he actually wear one, as his radiation suit already provided face protection and an oxygen supply, and as such his visor will never break from taking damage.

Gallery
Oberst Khlebnikov Вячеслав Хлебников