Bratva

Bratva is a group of veteran vigilantes with a Russian-inspired structure and theme. Although they have a history of involvement throughout the city’s ever expanding drug trade, they primarily operate as a militia that fends off wrongdoers. With their morals of protecting others, they have been known to become prominent during times of gang abuse and cockiness. Many of the group’s members, in fact, are former victims of exploitation who have since stepped up to inspire newcomers. When they are prompted into coming out from hiding, they are one of the city’s most dangerous organizations to date, utilizing tactics such as manipulation and brute force to violently shred through enemies. It is said that they have never lost a firefight or gang war.

## **Humble Beginnings**

Bratva began as nothing more than a thought in the head of Misha Petrov, a Russian immigrant and known alcoholic. He and his friends, Vlad and Sergei, began pitching the idea of starting a mafia to several local criminals, many of which initially declined. Shai Goldenbergandystein, who was an employee for the Blizzo fishing company at the time, agreed to assist Bratva in matters of recruitment and knowledge. They decided to continue recruiting at an acid processing plant, during which they were confronted by the notoriously abusive Italian Mob. Following Bratva’s breakthrough in the methamphetamine industry, Misha promoted Shai to the position of underboss. They began to shift toward broader horizons, inspiring criminal subgroups and incentivizing people such as Devon Kingsford, Derrick Shiesty, Jay Maverick, and more. Of course, the brotherhood had wanted one thing all along - to make a name for themselves by completely eliminating both the Italian and Irish mafias.

## **Bratva v. Irish Mob**

After the Irish Mob had knowingly interfered with negotiations between Bratva and the Italians, Misha decided that it was finally time for Bratva to fight back. Dee Darthead, a new Bratva member, played an instrumental role in gaining intel on the Irish. Misha orchestrated the assassination of Sam Picard, the Irish crew’s leader. Then, in a massive firefight at an acid processing plant on October 19th, Bratva’s armed forces successfully eliminated over six Irish gangsters. They utilized mobile communications to ambush another group of Irishmen thereafter, ruthlessly killing even more of them at a money laundering facility. A few days later, several Irish mobsters organized an assault on Bratva officials at the same acid processing plant. During the three-hour standoff that followed, Misha phoned backup and countered the attack with no casualties. After suffering through numerous heavy losses and some minor assassinations, the Irish Mob vanished. At this point, Bratva had made a name for itself through means of complete domination, especially using cooperation with well-known criminal bigshots such as Jilly Rizzo and John Black. On October 20, Misha’s birthday, he visited the two at the Hen House to discuss future aggression against the Italian Mob.

## **Bratva v. Italian Mob**

Misha’s original plan had been to build a trusting relationship with Rezo Soprano and his goons, only to overcome and eventually dominate them. However, about two weeks after Bratva’s founding, Rezo lured underboss Shai Golden to Cafe Rizzo and shot him. For Bratva, this meant war. The rest of the day presented a constant manhunt for Italian gangsters, with shots flying back and forth between both crews. As nightfall approached, Misha finally had a checkmate play in mind - to lure Rezo into a meeting with Jilly and ambush him. With Jilly’s vibrant reputation, word about the plan eventually got out, with figures such as Enzo Magiano and John Black coming to help defeat the mob. Even though the initial plan of a setup failed, Bratva and several other city goers occupied numerous search vehicles and eventually located the Italians in East LS. What followed was likely the city’s largest firefight to date, resulting in the permanent death of every single Italian and only a few casualties otherwise. This was not just Bratva’s victory - it was the entire city’s. Everyone regrouped at a local bar to celebrate.

## **Bratva v. Yin & Yang**

In the following weeks, Bratva recruited even more members and Shai Golden was promoted to boss. It developed an associate program, for which anonymous criminals could be placed on Bratva’s reference list and be contacted during times of trouble. Trevor Hartfield began to play the role of accountant, calculating the profit of Bratva’s meth trade. Larry Carrington assisted in the actual circulation of drugs. Fredo, Dee, and Marf began to orchestrate daily robberies on behalf of the organization, once hitting a whopping 5 in a single day. Everything was calm for a while, but definitely not for long. A new crew that called themselves “Yin and Yang” had begun to generate street reputation for bullying Bratva members and spreading false information. Misha employed Lester Smith to spy on the group, then decided to host a setup at the Hen House. In a moment of absolute power and confrontation, Shai slit both leaders’ throats. As the days went on, the rest of Yin and Yang seemed oddly determined to overtake Bratva. On one occasion, Larry Carrington single-handedly killed four Yin and Yang members in South LS. On another occasion, Misha and Shiesty kidnapped the enemy underboss and made him strip naked and dance at Traid Records. Lastly, by utilizing its associate system for the first time, Bratva killed another five enemies throughout Rockford, mostly thanks to the help of Emilia Garcia and Don Lewis. Yin and Yang could not take the humiliation. They subsequently left the city for good amongst a string of internal conflicts.

## **Bratva v. “No Cap”**

After the war with Yin and Yang and some internal conflicts because of gang structure, Bratva briefly withdrew from the city, seeming to have disbanded for good. In reality, this is when they developed their “for the people” ideology. “No Cap” gang, which gained prevalence a month after, was the perfect example of Bratva’s condolences. Misha initially befriended Kevin Frost, the new gang’s leader, and even helped him out with some business. However, it eventually became apparent that they were completely reckless and unwilling to abide by Bratva’s rules of formality. Misha employed Markov Kuznetsov and Bob Thomas as spies, both of which were able to gain enough trust to obtain “No Cap” house keys. After Kevin Frost robbed Trevor Hartfield at a convenience store, Misha decided that enough was enough. With a massive meeting in Triad Records, Bratva made an immediate comeback and ambushed two “No Cap” higher-ups in their own home, with Yuri Sputnik shooting one in the head. Then, after retaliation toward peace talks, “No Cap” attempted to stage an assault on Misha and Shai at Triad Records. In reality, the whole situation was a setup, and Bratva’s armed forces shot and killed over five enemies, with only two higher-ups escaping. Throughout the entire conflict, Bratva suffered 0 casualties. The next day, Bratva hosted an all-out manhunt with the complete intent of driving their enemies out of the city. They killed several more members through various setups and eventually succeeded.

## **Recent News**

Nowadays, Bratva is dormant once again. Shai Golden stepped down from his position due to personal complications. They have yet to observe any abusive behavior, despite the recent upbringing of Grove Street Families and the Corleone Family. Their only real activity takes place on Fridays, where, in collaboration with QFC champion Caleb Daniels, they host massive underground fighting tournaments disguised as car meets.

To this day, they maintain positive relations with the city and love everyone in it, vowing to protect each other as brothers in arms. They keep aggression out of their professional affairs, preferring to remain civil. Even through a plethora of totally illegal conflict and action, Misha Petrov, the group’s sole founder and leader, has yet to be arrested or wounded. It is said that Bratva still recruits members to some extent, but only in preparation for the worst.