"I think you will find, boy, that not everyone desires the folly of man to continue. Some of us want to see it go on to better pastures. But for that to happen, the people need a leader, a master... they need a god."
-Vladimir Radek
Vladimir Radek was a former citizen of Rapture and an Officer in the Soviet Armed Forces. He is the main antagonist of Bioshock: Awakening.
Biography
"Ryan and Stalin were both fools, but the difference was one wasn't overly concerned with dirtying his hands to get work done."
Radek was born in Rapture to a wealthy family. Not much is known about his early life, other than he slowly grew to hate Rapture because of its seclusion. He disagreed with having to live in isolation so that they could live how they chose, and challenged people to return to the surface and live in defiance of the world. He began to splice heavily, took to drinking and brawling and spreading socialistic ideals. Andrew Ryan soon grew tired of the young man's rhetoric, and had him expelled from Rapture.
Alone and abandoned, Radek wandered Europe, shunned by all due to his progressive devolution into a splicer. At the Berlin Wall, Radek attempted to cross, and to his astonishment, succeeded due to his mutated abilities. The Russian Commander was so impressed, that rather than kill Radek, he took him straight to Moscow.
At this point in his life, Radek dropped off the map, but it is revealed that he eventually became a Colonel in the Soviet Armed Forces, and collaborated with the Russians to attack America. When he saw the squalor of people in Russia, however, he came to theorize that Communism was worthless, and the only way to save the world was to rebuild it in his own image.
Bioshock: Awakening
"Kneel before your god..."
Colonel Radek oversaw the Russian operation in Rapture to collect the conditioning program. Radek utilizes his knowledge of the city to give his soldiers an edge over Nikolai Dronohov.
Radek himself is only seen three times in the course of the game, with most of his interactions being in recordings, over the PA or in other forms of dialogue. He is first seen upon Nikolai's initial return to Rapture, where he is marshalling the troops and giving them their orders.
Radek is then absent until contacting Nikolai directly on the train to Dionysus Park. He expresses his contempt for humanity, but also adds that he has hope for them, and that the destruction of America would bring the World to peace. Nikolai retorts that Russia was no better, to which Radek cryptically remarks he is right.
Near the end of the game, Radek reappears and steals Nikolai's pack of Plasmids, then attempts to drown the young man by flooding the Little Sister's vent system. Nikolai survives and pursues, but is unable to catch Radek, who moves noticeably much too fast for a human.
After destroying the Relay device in the Little Sister's orphanage, Nikolai is contacted by Radek again contacts Nikolai and offers a "trade." This proves to be a trap, as a baron Mk. 3 supersoldier is waiting for Nikolai, while Radek watches in a nearby Bathysphere. Upon wittnessing Nikolai defeat the supersoldier, however, Radek becomes enraged, and docks the Bathysphere to do battle with Nikolai himself.
Radek is revealed to Nikolai to be the Splicer the Russians found in Berlin in '62. On top of that, Radek has also set up his own agenda, to destroy both Capitalist America and Communist Russia and become the god he thinks the world needs.
During the fight, Radek gains the upper hand, and brutally starts beating down on Nikolai. Delta takes control of Nikolai's body. However, due to the bond shared with Eleanor, which allows them both to force Radek back into his bathysphere, which was recycling. The immense pressure in the pod crushes Radek to death, ending his mad reign.
Quotes
"I am always so amused by people... they die for such stupid reasons..."
"You and I are not so different, Nikolai. We both seek answers that cannot be found beneath the sea, asking questions that cannot be asked on the surface."
"Why? That is the greatest question asked by man. Why is God cruel? Why do people hate so readily? Why do we look up at the sun and find no hope? Perhaps, it is because we asked the right questions at the wrong time."