Niko Vasilyev



Nikolai Vasilyev is a 26-year-old architecture student and former member of the Russian mafia living in Washington D.C. While he grew up literally in the home of the Asimov crime family and considered Vladimir Asimov his best friend for most of his life, when recently arrested Niko came to the stark realization that he was not quite as important to Vlad as Vlad did to him--at least, not enough to get him out of jail. Three months later, he cut a deal with the local police and got himself out, and took a serious vendetta against the Asimov family with him.

He is portrayed by Garrett Hedlund.

Personality
Niko isn't a particularly violent or malicious person by nature--doesn't really enjoy it the way that some of the people he knows do, but he is very practical about it--he is not the guy that you want to push, because he's capable of a lot more than he seems like he'll be willing to do. He's not naturally violent, but he's also not some weepy, emotional bleeding heart constantly questioning morality and vast, universal issues of black and white. He grew up in an environment that very much held that kind of thing in contempt, and he learned to do what was necessary, and to make the connection to it before the people around him did. Niko did not complain about the work he used to do, didn't question other people's decisions--and now that he's on the other side of things, he doesn't feel bad about actively destroying the people he's got a problem with.

Niko is quick to develop relationships and connections with people, and good at maintaining them once they are established--he's affectionate and loyal to a fault, and part of the reason that he had such strong bonds to the mafia was because they were also some of his earliest bonds. On the other side of the coin, once someone has broken his trust or really made him angry, betrayed him in any way, he can be very unforgiving, stubborn, even vicious. Something bad enough to turn his opinion like that has only happened a few times--most notably, with his father, and with Vlad--but so far, it's been impossible to turn either of those opinions back.

With Vladimir Asimov
Niko first met Vlad when he was eight years old, quickly became friends with him, and after Niko's home life fell apart when he was a teenager, he moved in with the Asimovs and actually lived with them. Niko and Vlad were good friends for some time, with Niko often being the only person who could calm Vlad down and reign his temper in, but after Vlad left him in prison for three months and made no effort to contact or help him, Niko wants nothing to do with him anymore, except maybe to set him on fire.

With Aleksandrina Asimov
Niko also grew up with Aleksandrina, and has had a crush on her from when he was a teenager that slowly turned into an unhealthy, corrosive hate-lust sort of thing--entirely unrequited, as Sasha had no interest in him beyond manipulating him, which she was very, very good at. Niko is now intent on distancing himself from her as much as possible, and also killing her--how he will manage to do both of these things at the same time is the hard part.

With Evgeniya Asimova
Especially since Evgeniya's relationship with her two older siblings has always been rocky, Niko acted as a stand-in older brother for most of Eva's life, protective of her and completely unaware that Eva had developed a crush on him sometime in the process. Now that he's a police informant and in contant danger, he's tried to separate himself from Eva as much as possible, trying to avoid involving her for her own safety.