Alexei Volkov

: Still she responded to the kiss, as though he was still her handsome prince. He had never existed; Alexei had always been the beast. —Things are about to change
Alexei is the eldest child of the Russian pureblood Volkov family. He has been married twice, first to Ivana née Sleptova, and the second time to Nadia née Valenduris. He is extremely prejudiced, mysogynistic, and sadistic; however, his public face is that of a perfectly charming and respectable pureblooded gentleman. In November of 1883 Alexei's father, Mikhail Volkov, passed away; this caused Alexei to leave the Russian Ministry and his post as Russian Laison and spend five months in Russia seeing to his father's affairs. This occurred immediately after the birth of his daughter, Zoya. He returned to Hogsmeade on April 6, 1884.
==Biography==
Alexei was born into privilege and spoiled throughout his childhood. He has never had to work hard, and was pampered and given all he wanted in his pre-Durmstrang days. He was a terror to his tutors at first, until his father gave him the only punishment that he ever delivered and informed Alexei that he would learn, because learning was how they kept their position above the masses. With his father's words in mind, Alexei received top marks at Durmstrang.
After his schooling was complete, Alexei quickly got himself a position at the Russian Department of International Magical Cooperation. It was just a lower level job, but he began working his way up. He focused primarily on his work instead of on socializing, and was quickly promoted. The higher he got in the department, the more that he felt it might be time to find himself a wife.
When Alexei was twenty-eight, he met a young lady named Ivana Sleptov. Alexei immediately decided that such a desirable young lady had to be his wife, and he began courting her. On October 29, 1876 Alexei married Ivana and began attempting to settle into a life with her.
From the beginning, Ivana was difficult. First the more than generous (in his mind) allowance that he gave her for gowns and jewels and such was not enough and she railed about it. Her tantrums lead him to lock her down further, only allowing her to attend social functions that he chose or was required to attend. Her behavior continued to worsen, and he continued to remove privileges that he felt she did not deserve. The entire ordeal culminated in Ivana purposefully ending a pregnancy and throwing the fact in his face, at which point Alexei refused to let Ivana leave the house and made excuses for her absence as frequently as possible.
Once he felt things were settled, Alexei set about ignoring his disappointing and rebellious wife and threw himself once more into his career. Things were going reasonably well for him, although he was attempting to come up with a plan to produce an heir with an unwilling wife, when his darling younger sister Zoya announced her engagement. Alexei cared more for Zoya than he did any other person save their mother, and so there was no question that he would attend the wedding in early February. This was one event where he could not make excuses for Ivana, for fear of damaging Zoya's good mood. As such, Ivana accompanied him to the wedding and vanished when she took a moment to attend to the call of nature.
While Alexei was furious that something in his possession had been stolen, he also could not quite bring himself to care that she was gone. His plan had fully formed now; he would find himself a willing woman to bare his child, and then simply claim that Ivana was the mother and the child was legitimate. No one would dare to doubt his word, after all.
As such, Alexei began searching whorehouses when he was out of the country on business. Before the end of the month, he managed to find a nubile and clean young lady with some education. She had barely even begun her work, and so would not be much of a danger as far as the filth of whores went. Alexei quickly purchased her from the whorehouse and took her home with him. While he was careful with what he gave her at first, her willing and compliant nature quickly earned her more allowances than Ivana had ever had. He pampered his 'little girl' and even started to develop a certain fondness for her, such as one might have for a pet.
He kept his pet at home with him until he was offered a position as a liaison to the British Department of International Magical Cooperation. He quickly took up the position, knowing that his wife was likely in Hogsmeade. If he could catch her in undeniable unseemly behavior — something no one could claim to simply be speculation — then he could remove her from him without her gaining anything from the divorce and replace her completely. In late August he took his courtesan to Hogsmeade and set her up in her own home, then set about quietly watching his wife (who did not even have the decency to claim a dead husband, but rather that she had never wed) for her final downfall.
In February of 1882 Alexei got his wish when Ivana announced her engagement to Mr. Gabriel de Havilland. Alexei then denounced his wife in the Daily Prophet and they then engaged in a battle throught the paper culminating in their divorce. While Ivana was not as ruined as he would like, he was quite pleased when she died during a miscarriage later that year. At the end of the year he announced the opening of an Asylum which would be named after his late ex-wife. 
With his divorce from Ivana, Alexei was freed from her and began seeking a new wife. He originally sought a mail-order bride from Russia throuh Tessa Van Patten, and then finally met and courted Miss Valenduris. They were wed in Febrary of 1883, then took their honeymoon at a country estate in Russia belonging to the Volkov family.
After his "failure" with Ivana, Alexei was far more abusive towards Nadia from the inception of their marriage than he ever had been towards his first wife. Nadia was regularly subjected to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and controlled in every way that Alexei could manage — including controling what she ate and when, whether or not she was allowed clothing, and when and where she slept.
In November of 1883 Nadia gave birth to a girl, and Alexei named his daughter Zoya after his sister. Immediately afterwards Alexei's father, Mikhail Volkov, died and Alexei then went to Russia for five months to see to his father's estate. He left the Ministry, but retained Ivana Memorial Asylum. He returned to Hogsmeade on April 6, 1884.
==Personality==
Alexei is, on the surface, incredibly intelligent and charming. Few people ever see anything beyond that, as he keeps himself quite carefully contained and controlled in public. Under the surface Alexei is sadistic, controlling, and entitled. He believes women are objects to be owned and used, good only for pleasure and bearing children. The only exceptions to this belief are his mother, sister, and daughter — those he treats as angels to be cherished.
==Notable Relationships==
Svetlana Volkova and Zoya Kozlova
Alexei's mother and sister are, in his mind, the ideals of femininity. He truely loves them and would do anything in his power to protect them. It was considered a grave insult by Alexei that Ivana disapparated from his sister's wedding.
===Ivana de Havilland===
Ivana was someone that Alexei thought would be an ideal wife; however, he considers her to be his greatest failure in judgement. He also believes that the reason she was so disappointing was that he was far too soft with her. Her two greatest sins in his mind were aborting their child and abandoning him at Zoya's wedding.
Anezka Gatchevska
Anezka was part of Alexei's plan. He intended to use her to bare him a child which he would claim to be Ivana's; however, that plan was not long lived as he was unable to re-secure Ivana within a reasonable amount of time. He found her in a whorehouse in Bulgarlia and bought her from the Madam. He kept her in his home at first and was strict with her, but her compliant nature earned her more freedom. She was pampered like a favored pet, and even placed in her own house when Alexei moved to Hogsmeade.
Then, in 1882, she tried to leave him. Alexei had always been good to her (as far as he was concerned) and was furious by her betrayl. He beat her nearly to death and, in fact, left her for dead; he is unaware that she survived the beating he delivered.
===Nadia Volkova===
With his second wife, Alexei strove for complete control from the moment of their marriage. While he was perfectly charming during their courtship, as soon as they arrived at his family's country home in Russia for their honeymoon he dropped his mask. Far more violent with her than he ever was eith Ivana, Alexei began their marriage with violence and has since continued to emotionally, physically, and sexually abuse Nadia. He has carefully worked to keep complete control over her, not even allowing her a wand unless absolutely necissary. She is only granted any sort of respite while pregnant or immediately following birthing.
===Galina Dragova===
The child of a friend of Alexei's, Galina is (unknown to Alexei) a half-vampire and covered in burn scars; she became his mistress in December of 1882 and he claimed her virginity the night before her sixteenth birthday. Alexei finds her exotic because of her scars, and they have highly compatible personalities. She allows him to have his way with her maids as well as being sexually adventurous herself, and he showers her with compliments and gifts.
===Zoya Volkova===
Alexei's first child, Zoya is the apple of her father's eye. He dotes on her and even at her young age he considers her destined to reach the same pedistal that he has placed his mother and sister on.
==OOC Notes==
: "I like Alexei as a character in the sense that he's got an awful realism about him, but he freaks me out." — Rosa
: "Alexei is the person my father doesn't want me to meet on the internet. Except Victorian." — Beanie
Alexei Volkov is easily one of the most dispicible characters on Charming. The fact that he is emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive towards his wife (and far worse towards his second wife than he was towards his first) is barely scratching the surface. He is also a rapist and nearly murdered his now ex-courtesan for leaving him; indeed, she is only still alive because Alexei believes he killed her.
There is an aspect of social commentary to Alexei, specifically about what the rich and powerful can get away with if they are smart about their crimes.
Category:Characters