Artyom

Lore & Background

Artyom was born after the nuclear war and moved into the Moscow Metro as a child. His father was killed by a horde of carnivorous rats (his mother had died earlier from illness), and he was saved by Sukhoi, a former military engineer or technician who raised him as his son at VDNKh station. About five years before the novel's events, Artyom and his friend went to the surface at the neighbouring station, Botanical Gardens. They were unable to seal the exit after their visit, and the Dark Ones have been using this entrance to the metro ever since.

Feeling a sense of responsibility for the Dark Ones' attacks and seeking adventure, Artyom accepts a mission from Hunter to carry a message to a man named Miller at Polis with news of the threat. His journey takes him through hostile stations, encounters with the Fourth Reich, criminal gangs, and cannibals, and ultimately to the surface at Ostankino Tower, where he uses a laser designator to guide a missile (launched from a missile silo near the Kremlin) onto the Dark Ones' hive.

Reader's Guide

He is a 24-year-old man born before the nuclear war, raised by Sukhoi at VDNKh station. His journey begins when he accepts a mission from Hunter to deliver a message to Melnik at Polis about the threat of the Dark Ones. Along the way, he faces psychic forces, the Fourth Reich, criminal gangs, cannibals, and mutated creatures. He travels through Metro-2, a secret set of tunnels, and ultimately reaches Ostankino Tower to provide targeting co-ordinates for a missile strike. In the end, he realizes the Dark Ones were trying to make contact, and the missiles kill them senselessly.