Disguised as American serviceman "Jefferson", a Russian soldier served under Colonel Antonin Dovchenko and Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko, helping them to infiltrate Hangar 51 in Nevada in 1957.
Biography[]
In 1957, disguised with his comrades as US military soldiers, "Jefferson" aided Colonel Antonin Dovchenko and Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko in infiltrating Hangar 51 in Nevada, USA as part of a covert Soviet invasion of America to acquire the New Mexico specimen.[1]
Jefferson accompanied his superiors to Hangar 51 in the passenger seat of a small roofed jeep behind the staff car in the boot of which American archaeologist Indiana Jones and double agent George "Mac" McHale were held. On the way there, Jefferson watched as the driver of the staff car was goaded into a race with teenager Jimmy Keegan, and, along with Colonel Dovchenko, disguised as American Colonel Truman, and his passenger, Lincoln, looked on in disapproval. Once they arrived at Hangar 51, Sergeant Wycroft and his MPs approached them, informing them that the base they were entering was closed due to weapons testing. Jefferson was among the four soldiers who executed the guards with their machine guns as Dovchenko tied his shoelaces, and then they leapt into a roofless jeep and were led into the hangar itself.[1]
Jones and Mac were released under Dovchenko's orders, and were surrounded by the Soviets as Jones retrieved his fedora. It was Jefferson and another soldier who dragged Jones and Mac from the boot of the car and dumped them on the ground. After Jones was coerced into finding the crate holding the Roswell crash victim, he lead the group into the hangar, where they awaited further instructions from their captive. When Jones asked Colonel Dovchenko for bullets, the Colonel translated this to his subordinates and they all laughed at Indy. However, the archaeologist was able to convince Dovchenko to give him several bullets, which he then used to locate the highly magnetized crate in which the Roswell remains were kept.[1]
The Soviets looked on in awe as Spalko opened the crate, showing them all the corpse of a deceased being from another world. However, Jones used the distraction of the inhuman body to disable the Soviet guarding him and steal a machine gun from both the latter and Franklin for himself and Mac. The two threatened Spalko, but after Mac revealed his loyalty was to the Russians, Indy realized he was outnumbered. Dovchenko ordered him to drop his gun, but when Jones did the machine gun fired and the bullet hit a Soviet in the foot, allowing Jones time to climb a wall of crates and make his escape, despite the efforts of several soldiers to kill him. Grant and Jefferson took over a cargo truck and began to drive it alongside Spalko in a roofless jeep, but Indy leapt from the wall of crates and inadvertently swung away from his goal, Spalko, and straight into the truck's windscreen. The two Soviets looked at Jones, baffled, as he came crashing through the window, before first throwing Jefferson out of the vehicle followed by Grant.[1]
Mac barely escaped the blaze that consumed the Soviets.
After causing a large car crash Jones ended up being kicked by Dovchenko into an underground testing site. During the two's brawl, a prototype rocket sled was activated and began to slowly turn on. Just as Jefferson and four other Soviets arrived to back up their Colonel along with McHale, a flame came flying from the back of the rocket sled, incinerating all five soldiers, Jefferson included, with McHale barely avoiding his fate by quickly ducking for cover.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
"Jefferson" appeared in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.[1] Like many of the Soviet Special Forces who infiltrated Hangar 51, Jefferson shares his name with a US president, in his case Thomas Jefferson.
As seen in the film's two-set disc featurette Pre-Production, pre-visualization on the Hangar 51 escape scene shows that upon Indiana Jones landing into his truck's windscreen, Jefferson was to be shoved off the vehicle after Grant was thrown out first through Jones punching him with his arm, leading a dazed Jefferson to accidentally fall off the not properly closed door. Also, later on, upon being fatally burned by the propeller flames, Jefferson was to be knocked off his feet to the ground like the rest of his comrades, save for George McHale.[2]
In Dark Horse Comics' comic book adaptation, Jefferson and his comrades are not killed by the rocket sled as the pursuing Soviet soldiers are not depicted as being present during the sled's departure.[3]
According to the insignia on his shirt, Jefferson was pretending to be a Private First Class in the U.S. Army.[1]
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (First appearance)