Letyaga (Ranger)

"We be one blood, thou and I."

- Letyaga to Artyom

Letyaga (Russian: Летяга, literally "flying squirrel") is a Ranger and a character appearing in the novel Metro 2035. He turns out to be one of Artyom's closest and most loyal friends from his former comrades at the Order.

Overview
Letyaga is a veteran ranger and friend of Artyom, described as fair-haired and missing an eye. He fought in the Battle of the Bunker alongside Artyom where he was seriously injured and was pronounced dead by blood loss. Both he and Artyom share the same blood type (A Rh Negative), to which Artyom gave him a 1.5 l of blood for; thanks to this Letyaga made a full recovery.

Metro 2035
Letyaga is one of the rangers accompanying Miller to the Lenin Library station to meet Artyom. In private Letyaga admits that he and the other rangers miss Artyom and hope the old man takes him back. He is one of four people picked, along with Artyom, Yurets, and Nigmatullin, to personally deliver a message to the Führer from Miller. At the Reich border, however, Dietmar only allows Artyom to pass, forcing Letyaga and the others to stay behind. Artyom is subsequently imprisoned by Dietmar, forcing Letyaga to return to Polis without him.

When Artyom, Lyokha, and Savelii capture the radio jammer station in Balashikha and use it to broadcast to the rest of the world, Letyaga comes to negotiate with them before the armored Hanza convoy storms the outpost. Artyom lets him in, but is horrified when Letyaga coldly executes three survivors from Murom. Letyaga claims that they were spies, which is confirmed over the radio by Miller, who explains that the War isn't over and the West will nuke the city again if they find out there are survivors. Artyom reluctantly accepts this explanation.

After Miller accepts him back into the order, he accompanies Letyaga on a mission to supposedly deliver cartridges to Hanza, who are battling the Red Line. Artyom flies into a frenzy when he discovers the cartridges are actually for the Red Line, forcing Letyaga to restrain him. Despite having orders from Miller to kill Artyom and the new recruits Lyokha and Savelii should they do anything to jeopardize the transaction, Letyaga changes his mind at the last second and helps them escape. The four make their way through Komsomol station and manage to escape to the surface, although Savelii is lost and trampled by the starving Red Line residents. On the surface, Artyom confronts Letyaga about the lies and the two get into an argument. Despite this, Letyaga carries Artyom to Tsvetnoy Bulvar, where Artyom plans to confront Bessolov. Shortly after Artyom is taken by the Invisible Watchers, Letyaga and Lyokha are captured, alongside Homer and Ilya Stepanovich.

When Artyom returns to Polis, he is arrested and placed in a cell with his companions. Letyaga reveals that they are to be tried for treason in public. Artyom tells them about the truth he learned from Bessolov and believes they can reveal it during the trial, and thus save their lives. Letyaga is reluctant to go along with this, but still offers his support. During the trial, Letyaga is the first to be brought forth and testify. Although it initially seems like Letyaga would betray Artyom, he eventually tells the truth, much to Miller's anger. An unknown assassin shoots Letyaga in the head, killing him and sparking a brawl between members of the Order, namely the original members and the new recruits from Hanza.

Летяга