| Dragan Nikolaevich | |
|---|---|
 Dragan Nikolaevich in Episode 9. | |
| Nicknames | Baldra |
| Status | Alive |
| Origin | Republic T |
| Affiliations | Balkan Dragons |
| Occupation | Leader of the Balkan Dragons Criminal |
| Relatives | Unnamed father |
| Weapons | CZ 100 |
| Manga debut | Chapter 26 |
| Anime debut | Episode 9 |
| Japanese voice | Dai Matsumoto |
| English voice | Jason Douglas |
Dragan Nikolaevich (ドラガン・ニコラヴィッチ Doragan Nikoravuitchi?), also known as Baldra (バルドラ Barudora?), is the leader of the Balkan Dragons militia and an internationally wanted criminal. He is the antagonist of the Dragon Shooter Arc.
Appearance[]
A fair skinned man with close-cropped fair hair, changed to grey in the anime, Dragan wears the standard Balkan Dragons uniform. This consists of a dark green camouflage woodland pattern and a black beret with the unit patch. His right hand lost its middle finger and was bandaged after he was shot by Mao.
Personality[]
Dragan has an overbearing personality and is used to commanding unquestioned obedience without opposition. He is quickly and easily angered and will readily resort to violence, making him extremely dangerous despite his childishness. Nonetheless he is widely respected in Autonomous Region X as well as by his men.
History[]
Dragan's bounty in Episode 10.
The son of a Republic T general, as a young man Dragan gained notoriety as a criminal throughout Europe in his youth but was never brought to justice due to his father's political connections. He later founded the Balkan Dragons, which he runs like a criminal organisation and engaged in ethnic cleansing in Region X. Dragan carries a $5 million bounty under the Rewards for Justice Program.
Plot[]
Dragon Shooter Arc[]
Lehm stops Dragan from executing Leon in Episode 9.
Dragan's background was described by Leon Riviere on the flight into Region X. He himself arrived at Planina Airport after Koko's Squad had landed and offloaded their cargo, demanding that she hand over the members of Outspoken Doctors for Human Rights who had stowed away in their Antonov An-12. Not getting anywhere with Koko Hekmatyar, he took his anger out on the Republic T air force captain who had dealt with her by smashing his walkie-talkie into the man's face. A truck full of additional militamen then arrived and Dragan explained the situation to them, Dragan issued an ultimatum that he would not leave until he found the doctors after recording the entire event on video. Anxious to get Koko out of trouble and prevent things from spiraling out of control, Leon emerged from hiding and tried to talk to Dragan, who quickly drew his pistol and shot him in the shoulder. Telling him that people like him undo his work, making him his enemy, Dragan shot Leon again, this time in the cheek. Lehm stepped in by knocking Dragan’s pistol away and telling his subordinate to stop filming. When the man protested and tried to attack, Lehm grabbed his gun and smashed his jaw with with it. When he asked Koko what to do next, she told her squad to attack the Dragons.
Dragan threatens Leon after the latter comments about his personality in Episode 10.
During the ensuing shootout, Dragan was able to get to shelter behind his Mercedes-Benz while his men were wiped out. He picked up his pistol and tried to shoot Koko, but was shot in the hand by Mao. Dragan then noticed Leon on the ground and forced him at gunpoint with his uninjured hand into his car as a hostage. Jonah saw him about to escape and nearly shot him, but was stopped by Koko. He kept the Mercedes in his sights as Dragan finally managed to start it and escape, vowing revenge. After escaping, he ordered that the An-12 be shot down as soon as it took off, threatening dire consequences in the event of failure and throwing a temper tantrum. Leon wondered why anyone would follow someone so childish in temperament and Dragan threatened to torture him on camera.
Dragan is recovered by the Marines.
After successfully escaping, Koko tried to arrange a deal with Scarecrow whereby she would get the $5 million reward for Dragan in exchange for handing him over. Scarecrow refused to make a deal on principle but Schokolade readily agreed, forcing his hand. As HCLI had been tracking Dragan by satellite ever since he had left Planina Airport, Koko assigned Lehm to capture him and rescue Leon. Taking along Mao and Wiley, they successfully ambushed the convoy that Dragan was traveling with and accomplished their objective. Dragan was left bound on a hillside cursing Koko and after Scarecrow reluctantly agreed to her proposal, received the coordinates for Dragan's location. He was subsequently recovered by a Marine Special Operations Regiment.
Anime and manga differences[]
- The perspective of Dragan noticing the An-12's arrival is changed and moved to after Leon describes the Balkan Dragons.
- Jonah is not standing near Koko when she replies to Dragan.
- Dragan is shown explaining the situation to his newly arrived men.
- D-30s are in the background when Leon comes out to try and talk to Dragan. Dragan's reply after shooting Leon and his second shot are shown from the perspective of the camcorder.[1]
- Dragan is further away when he tries to shoot Koko.
- Dragan taking Leon hostage and Koko's order to Jonah not to shoot him are moved up to occur chronologically.
- Scarecrow's visualiation of Dragan's bounty is a modified version of the image of him that appeared in Chapter 26 when Leon described him with the details of the bounty surrounding it.
Trivia[]
- Dragan placed 46th in a character poll conducted by Sunday GX which ran from June through September 2012.[2]
- He appears to be based on Željko Ražnatović, also known as Arkan. Ražnatović was a career criminal before founding the Serb Volunteer Guard, which was also known as Arkan's Tigers. He was later indicted by the United Nations for crimes against humanity.