Balalaika

Balalaika, also known as Sofiya Pavlovna, Fry Face, Kapitan and Vladilena, is a character from the Black Lagoon series.
==Charactah Account==
A former Soviet VDV special forces commander turned mafia queen; member (along with Mr. Chang and two others) of the four-person commission that regulates crime in Roanapur.
Due to Balalaika's leadership during the hellish fighting in Afghanistan, her men look up to her as their superior and will do just about anything upon her orders. As a combat officer, she is a skilled strategist and well-rounded fighter, capable of taking care of herself despite the fact that all of her troopers, including Boris, often worry for her. Although she has shown herself to be rather cynical on occasion, she is also a pragmatic, opportunistic, and professional businesswoman. She is also downright ruthless, willing to go to whatever means to get what she wants. She frequently employs Dutch and The Lagoon Company, apparently because they share a mutual respect.
Balalaika regards herself and her men as soldiers who missed their chance to die in Afghanistan. While some of her actions can be interpreted as attempts to pursue an honorable death in combat for her men, Balalaika's status as a military figure is tempered by her role in the criminal underground. She agreed to a pact with Mister Chang's Hong Kong Triad in 1993 and backed away from engaging Caxton's American soldiers in combat after Chang reminded her of their un-concluded fight. Presumably, Balalaika opted for a future battle with Chang over a present opportunity to engage the American unit, which she regards as a foil to her own disgraced Soviet unit. It's also possible that Balalaika simply decided to work with Chang to preserve their joint interest, keeping the city of Roanapur standing.
==Appearance==
===Anime===
*Black Lagoon
*Black Lagoon Omake
*Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
*Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage
===Light Novels===
*Black Lagoon
===Manga===
*Black Lagoon
==Trivia==
*She has stated in the anime that she doesn't like cold blintzes (a type of pancake).
*In a popularity contest during the 10th collection manga release, Balalaika ranked 3rd with 1,354 votes
*Despite being a very powerful person and leader of one of the major crime syndicates in Roanapur, nobody besides Mr. Chang's Triads and Black Lagoon Company hold her in much respect. She seems to be used to that kind of behavior towards her most possibly because she and Hotel Moscow are considered to be outsiders to the city.
*Although her hatred of American soldiers is shown by her talk with Caxton, she is never seen once demonstrating the same hatred to Dutch who is supposedly an American Vietnam War veteran. However in the OVA Roberta's Blood Trail it is revealed that Dutch saved Balalaika's life after a shootout with Mister Chang on the boat docks. This explains her making an exception for Dutch out of respect.
*In the anime, she stated that she listens to, or at least is aware of, the American new wave band "Oingo Boingo" mentioning their song "No One Lives Forever".
*A Balalaika is a Russian traditional instrument with a wooden triangle-shaped body and three or rarely four or six strings. "Balalaika," is supposedly a slang term for the Dragunov sniper rifle, which is where Balalaika gets her name due to her utilizing her Olympic marksmanship skills with the rifle in Afghanistan, earning her copious amounts of respect from the men under her command.
*In the anime she is referred to as a Trotskyite, which may be related to both her grandfather (as he may have been a general of the Red Army under Trotsky himself) and her father's possible condemnation by the USSR (Trotskyites were anti-Stalinist communists who were often arrested or executed for their political stance) this is also suggested by this being linked to her hatred of the USSR's secret police agencies.
==Gallery==
File:Balalaika Render 01.png
File:Balalaika 01.png
File:Balalaika 02.png
File:Balalaika 03.png
File:Balalaika 04.png
File:Balalaika 05.png
File:Balalaika Fan Art 01.png
==External Links==
*Balalaika at Black Lagoon Wiki
Category:Characters
Category:Females
Category:Black Lagoon