Zholdin Gregorovich

Zholdin Gregorovich is the heir of Gregor Petrovich, the Russian vodka kingpin. Zholdin’s childhood was a relentless lesson in control, calculation, and cruelty. In his father’s world, loyalty was earned through affection but forged in blood—an expectation Zholdin learned early and learned well.

When Zholdin was just eight, Gregor led him into the basement where a man sat bound to a chair, trembling under a single swinging bulb. The air reeked of fear and sweat, the damp chill biting into young Zholdin’s skin. Gregor’s lesson that night was twofold: a demonstration of retribution and an education in control. Torture, Gregor said, should be efficient, precise, and always serve a purpose. His voice was calm, almost detached, as he explained each cut, each deliberate act. Zholdin listened, his wide eyes absorbing the scene with unsettling composure. When his father handed him the knife, he didn’t hesitate. It was as if cruelty had been waiting patiently in his blood, ready to be called upon.

Power, Gregor believed, came from mastery of one’s environment, and his family reflected that belief. Zholdin’s mother was a elegant but unyielding symbol of Gregor’s dominance, her presence commanding respect, poise, and strength. His sister, sharp and ruthless, mirrored their father’s cunning, her brutality almost rivaling Zholdin’s. But Zholdin was the chosen heir, the one Gregor molded into his successor. While his sister schemed, Zholdin grew into his father’s shadow, his skills honed alongside his body as strength and intelligence coalesced into a terrifying weapon. The empire Gregor built would one day be his, sprawling and untouchable—provided Zholdin could prove himself worthy of it. And Gregor had ensured that worthiness was tested, one brutal lesson at a time.

But Zholdin isn’t a carbon copy of his father. Where Gregor’s dominance is cold and calculated, Zholdin’s approach is unpredictable and theatrical. His presence is arrogance, his charm intoxicating, and his laughter sharp as a dagger. He carries the confidence of a man who knows how to bend those around him to his will, yet his edges hint at something raw and untamed.

There are rumors, as well. Suggestions that something darker churns beneath the surface. The stories vary—a sadist, a masochist, or a sociopathic monster who thrives on destruction. Regardless, Zholdin himself pays these tales no mind, but he’s not above stoking them for his advantage. After all, fear and mystery are as valuable as loyalty in his world.

His most audacious move—caging wild animals—adds fuel to the fire. It is his symbol of power, a warning to rivals, and a spectacle to those he wishes to impress. The predator kings fill his cages: a Siberian tiger prowling in echo to his heritage, the black panther stalking its prey from the shadows, a wolf circling its cage absent a pack. It’s been said that he once fed those who wronged his father to his menagerie—alive.

Clubs

As Moscow’s criminal families cling to an uneasy truce, new players—the Japanese Yakuza and the Singaporean Syndicate—hold a fragile balance with their plans for pending Japanese-style clubs. Zholdin is tasked with ensuring the Petrovich vodka empire flows seamlessly into these ventures and maintain their dominance over the city’s alcohol trade. But logistics are only part of his vision. For Zholdin, these clubs are stages for spectacle, places where entertainment and indulgence fuel loyalty and control. His recruitment of Alistair Bishop, an American wrestler and entertainer, as a headline act in the ring is part of a plan. Bishop isn’t just an attraction; he’s a weapon, a display… a dancing monkey to entertain.

Personality

Zholdin thrives in the blurred space between menace and charm, indulgence and command, chaos and dominance. His presence commands attention with a confidence that feels both deliberate and effortless. He arms with a smile, unsettles with a glance, and ends conversations with blood. His charisma, while natural, is sharpened to a fine edge, wielded as much for domination as for seduction.

Indulgence defines much of Zholdin’s life. Fine vodka, exquisite food, and the visceral thrill of nature’s circle of life—they’re statements of control. His appetite for extremes isn’t merely hedonistic; it’s a way of asserting dominance, over himself and those who watch him revel. Yet, behind this façade of excess lies a darker current.

Zholdin’s cruelty is deliberate, his strategies finely tuned to maximize suffering. A quiet humiliation, a carefully timed insult, or a well-placed threat—these are the tools of a man who knows power isn’t about brute force but about manipulation and fear. These are the traits crushed into him since infancy, the only inheritance Gregor Petrovich would allow.

There is a restlessness within Zholdin, a yearning for something he does not know he wants, but assumes more will sate it.

Previous Lives

5th/6th Age: Shuten-dōji