Stepan (Metro 2033)

"Great deeds? Somehow I'm not too enthusiastic about leaving my mark in history..."

- Stepan

Stepan (Russian: Степан) is one of the Rangers who accompanies Artyom to D6. Along with his friend Boris, he is killed in action shortly before entering D6 while Artyom is fighting through the level Caves.

Overview
Stepan is a veteran of the Russian military, having served as a radio operator when the bombs fell. Boris still operated his radio after the bombs fell and remembers getting messages from submarine commanders telling him that they were going to fire their nuclear payloads in retaliation, and others who simply gave up. Some even openly cried over the radio for their country and their families. It is unknown exactly how he made it safe into the metro.

Stepan is first formally introduced in Sparta, and he accompanies the group to D6, although, he never makes it inside D6. It is unknown how he died, because he is killed during a period in which Artyom is separated from the group. Boris and Stepan appeared to be best friends, as they are always fighting side by side, and when Boris is killed he is the most hurt of the group, Stepan runs to his side and vows revenge on the mutants. Although he doesn't joke a lot, whilst travelling to D6, He asks Miller for a shot of moonshine for every nosalis killed, in which Miller responds "Oh great, another comedian".

Appearances
Stepan appears on the following levels:
 * Driving to Sparta
 * Dark Star
 * Dungeon
 * Caves

Trivia

 * His former occupation places him at least the age of thirty-eight, with the possibility of being even older. This makes Stepan one of the older named characters in the game.
 * Stepan is one of three confirmed veterans in the game, the others being Miller and Alex.
 * Stepan's story about the 2013 apocalypse can be heard word for word with the same voice actor in Market station.
 * He seems to be familiar with pre-war technology since he opens several doors enroute to D6, this might be because of his military training.
 * Stepan switches voice actors between his story about the submarines at Sparta Base and his dialogue in the D6 missions.
 * Because Stepan died while Artyom is seperated with the rest of the Rangers, it's not known how he died. Gunshots and Nosalis roars can be heard from nearby while Artyom is alone, so it's likely he died the same way as Boris.
 * What Stepan says about getting signal from submarines and being a radio man is said in the Metro 2033 Novel by Melnik a little after the beginning of the 13th chapter.