Captain Tarasov is a minor character in Call of Pripyat. He leads Col. Kowalski's strike force in Pripyat.
Previous History
Tarasov appears to be a jaded veteran of the zone, compared to most of the others who took part in Operation Fairway. He might be a veteran of other failed attempts to take the Zone, but up until now always managed to survive.
Appearances
Call of Pripyat
Tarasov appears in Pripyat, and is the first soldier Major Degtyarov and his party encounter, leading an ambush that nearly guns them down before Degtyarov reveals his identity as a military man. Unlike Zulu he doesn't seem to mind the presence of Rogue amongst the party, and he doesn't hesitate to threaten Zulus when he protests Degtyarov's actions.
Tarasov appears next in the first Military mission in Pripyat, leading a small strike-team of four to ambush a Monolith squad carrying an unknown weapon. With the Major's help, they ambush the squad, but while Degtyarov inspects the corpses, the Preacher appears, announcing his arrival by immediately killing the strike team's sniper with a single gauss round. The Monolith counter-attack pins the unit down in the building, and it's up to the player to take down the numerous snipers, as well as the Preacher in order to prevent them from being wiped out.
If Captain Tarasov survives, he and anyone else from his squad will remain alive and take part in the final evacuation - their presence makes the mission far easier, thus the player is recommended to save as many of them as possible.
Notes
- The Preacher will always kill the sniper with his first bullet - at most you can only save three of the four soldiers by killing him while he's preaching immediately afterwards. He will always kill Tarasov last, if the other snipers don't get him first. However, the Preacher will prioritize the player if he's carrying a sniper rifle - the best and only real chance to take the Preacher down is to snipe him before he starts shooting again.
- It's rather odd that Tarasov's squad consists of a Captain, a Lieutenant, an Ensign... and an Artillery Sergeant. However, with the steady stream of casualties, they may have been the only ones still capable of fighting, hence the unusual squad make up.