He subsequently traveled the world, inserting himself into various conflicts for fun and profit; locations he is said to have fought in include Lebanon, Iraq, Rwanda, East Timor, Chechnya, the Balkans, and Belfast (where he consumed a man on a bet).

The Russian's activities led to him being wanted dead or alive by numerous law enforcement agencies, as well as criminal organizations such as the yakuza.

[4] The Russian is contacted at his home in Kazakhstan by American crime lord Ma Gnucci, who offers him ten million dollars to kill the Punisher.

[13] When Kreigkopf improvises his attack plan by ordering that a French airplane carrying a nuclear warhead be hijacked, the Punisher boards the aircraft, followed by the Russian.

The Punisher blows out the back of the Russian's head by shoving a gun into his mouth, then chains him to the atomic bomb and drops it on Grand Nixon.

[8][14] In his first storyline, the Russian possessed tremendous strength and durability; he singlehandedly wipes out a Bravo Force team, unintentionally crushes a man with a friendly gesture, smacks the Punisher with a toilet he had ripped out of its foundation, and tears apart a revolver, while also being unfazed by being kicked in the crotch, stabbed in the stomach, and bludgeoned with a chair.

When General Kreigkopf resurrected the Russian, he had his body augmented with plastics and adamantium, replaced most of his organs with ones taken from animals, and gave him olfactory sensors that increased his sense of smell to the level of a bloodhound.

Years later, the Russian, now identifying as female, assists Jigsaw and Barracuda in murdering Frank on mob boss Dutch Schultz's behalf.

He works with General Kreigkopf to combat the eponymous character until the Russian is killed by a nuclear device that was smuggled into Grand Nixon Island.