Ishmael Valeska

Ishamel Valeska is the leader of the Sobaka Bratva, a criminal organization in Asia, Europe, and North America.

## Appearance

Ishmael is a tall, handsome, Caucasian man in his late forties with graying hair. His attire consists mainly of expensive suits that were most likely imported from Russia, and is always very professional-looking.

## Personality

Ishmael is a lethally dangerous yet sophisticated man with a calm demeanor. He is one of the leaders of the Sobaka Bratva, and is respected and feared among his subordinates. Despite his status as one of their highest-ranking officials, Ishmael  has no qualms about getting his own hands dirty, and will usually opt to perform a murder himself rather than having one of his men do it. An example of this is when he murdered Jeffrey Chase by stabbing him in the eye with a screwdriver, despite being accompanied by bodyguard Ace.

Unlike most *Dexter* antagonists, who are portrayed as entirely self-centered, Ishmael possesses a strong sense of personal honor, and appears to hold at least some regard for those who work under him.

However, Ishmael can also be cruel to his men, as shown when he forced Alex Dubrozny to confess to Mike Anderson's murder and then kill himself, so that the police would stop investigating corrupt Sergeant Carl Tenpenny's death. Ishmael does this by implicitly threatening that Dubrozny's family will be killed if he refuses. However, he also promises to send them a substantial amount of money if Dubrozny obeys. Ishmael does keep his word.

Ishmael can also be very romantic and can be very friendly unlike all mob leaders.

## Early life and family history

Ishmael was born on **May 25, 1964** in Moscow, Russia. In his childhood, he pushed his music teacher, **Mr. Chillich**, down a flight of stairs for giving him an F, remarking: “Ishmael , you think you’re strong, but you are not strong if you don’t feel.” Ishmael 's father then sent him to a disciplinary school in London, England,, which explains his British accent. As a result of his time at the school, Ishmael claims that his love of opera is all that remains of his softer side. Later on, he became the leader of the Sobaka Bratva and is known to many people in his pocket.

## Skills

* **Keen intellect/Master tactician/Expert Leader:** As the leader of the Sobaka Bratva, Ishmael is a capable tactician and leader.
* **Indomitable will/High pain tolerance:** Ishmael has an extremely high tolerance for pain, presumably due to his time in the KGB. He is shown to be quite resistant to tortures[3][4] and has proven to know how to broke his own fingers to freed himself from handcuff.[8]
* **Explosives expert:** Due to the fact that he once worked for the KGB, Ishmael is an expert in explosives. He knows how Russian and Japanese bombs work.
* **Expert marksman/Firearms:** As a former member of the Russian navy and KGB, Ishmael is skilled in the use of firearms.
* **Multilingualism:** He speaks Russian and British English.
* **Network:** As a leader of Sobaka Bratva and a former agent of KGB, Ishmael has established many connections who provides him aid for various natures. Ishmael is known to have Russian government officials in his pocket.

## Family

* Dimitri Valeska (nephew)
* Lana West (niece in law)
* Anatoly Valeska (nephew)
* Unnamed grandnephew
* Tanya Valeska (sister)