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The tallest of the Allies, as well as the tallest of all the nations together with Sweden, Ivan wears a long, heavy tan coat, brown pants, and a long tan scarf. He has a round, childish face, and tends to carry around a bottle of vodka or a faucet pipe. His hair is a light, beige-ish blond and his eyes are violet (purple), though they were initially colored blue in early color artwork by Hidekaz Himaruya.
A large young man who is seemingly bighearted and innocent, but is in reality childishly cruel. He comes off as intimidating without even saying a word, his gentle smile and disposition only intensifying the aura of dread which seems to constantly hang over him. Ivan ends many of his sentences with 'da', the Russian term for 'yes', although in Japanese it is often used to confirm the topic of the sentence, as an informal form of 'desu', the ubiquitous form of 'to be'.
He has been tormented since his childhood, having seen many tragedies and wars, which have cracked his mentality. He is, in other words, completely insane. General Winter haunts and attacks him every year, which has caused him to hate the cold. However, in the face of war, General Winter is his best ally. He dreams of one day living in a warm place surrounded by sunflowers.
Though he is capable of being incredibly cruel-minded, Ivan himself is unaware of it. Whenever he thinks of either of his sisters he becomes very depressed.
"Kolkolkol"
When Ivan is upset, he uses the chant "KolKolKol" to threaten and frighten others into submission. However, there has been speculation that there are other possible meanings for 'kol' than those involving kolkhozy:
Tsar Ivan The Terrible's favorite way to deal with disobedience was impaling. 'To impale', pronounced in Russian as сажать на кол ('sazhat' na kol'), or just на кол 'na kol' is easily understood. So, Ivan is possibly trying to intimidate people by the threat of impalement, although he is saying the noun 'kol' (which means 'stake', in this context being thrust towards a person).
There is also the possibility that Ivan could be issuing a warning to others. 'Kolokol' means 'bell' in Russian, and 'kol' is often used as an onomatopoeia in Russian for the tolling of a bell, a centuries-old designation of approaching danger.
Another interpretation offered by the Japanese fandom is that "kolkolkol" is "korukorukoru", which sounds similar to "korosu", the Japanese word referring to killing.
In Anime
Ivan appears at the meeting in Episode 01, stating that he only wants to see a troubled Toris come running back to him. His plan is quickly thwarted by Feliks, who threatens to make his capital Warsaw.
He later appears with the other Allies in Episode 06, as they roast marshmallows at a campfire. In Episode 09, he remains mostly quiet through the meeting, afterwards remarking in amusement to Francis that he can feel his heart pound whenever he thinks of how "those idiots" will beg for their lives.
In Episode 13, Arthur attempts to summon a demon to curse Ludwig, but winds up with Ivan, who carries some sort of grudge himself. Ivan later curses Kiku to have stomach pain by chanting "Jiii" over and over (the Japanese onomatopoeia for aggressively staring), in a reference to the Russian Orthodox Church's curse against Japan, which is thought to have caused the Great Kanto Earthquake in the 1920s, 18 years after the curse was first cast. At the end of the episode, he disturbs Francis once more, as he openly fantasizes of twisting someone's face.
Ivan's design is relatively the same in the anime adaptation, though the color of his scarf was changed from tan to pink. His hair is also colored more beige than blonde.
Volume 4 of the anime DVD includes his and China's "Marukaite Chikyuu". It was released on September 25, 2009.
Russia's character CD was released on the 20th of January 2010.
Trivia
**Due to his thick clothing and his tall, somewhat heavyset appearance in comparison to the other characters, a fan had asked Hidekaz Himaruya if Ivan was fat. The in-character answer from "Ivan" was that he was simply "big-boned". A later black-and-white sketch also depicts Ivan wearing a shirt that claims such.
**In the World War-set strips, Ivan technically represents the Soviet Union, rather than the Russian Federation (as evidenced by his flag). However, Himuraya explained in liner notes that he was simply called Russia in the series due to it being cuter and the kana being simpler to write.
**His birthday being given as December 30th also corresponds with the date that the Soviet Union was founded.
**While the flag used for Ivan is the Soviet flag in most of the webcomic, the published version of the manga, as well as the anime and merchandise, has opted to use the standard Russian flag.
**His given name is believed to have come from Ivan the Terrible or, equally as likely, Ivan The Great. Ivan happens to have been a common name for Russian tsars (there were six Tsar Ivans, including two Romanov Ivans), as well as being a common name for Russian males ("Ivan" is the Russian equivalent of "John"). Ivan has frequently been used as a stereotypical slang name for a Russian male. It is pronounced 'EEVAHN', not 'EYE-VAN', in Russian (with emphasis on the second syllable). The Russian diminutive of Ivan is Vanya, and is frequently used in fanworks.
**Ivan's jacket is a stylised Red Army overcoat, with the colors more or less reversed.
**In response to a fan's question (circa 2007), Himaruya stated that Ivan is unaware of his own cruelty.
**In chapter four of the Hetalia manga, after a heart pops out of Ivan's chest, he claims it as his own, saying "it just pops out of me sometimes". This could be symbolic of the heartbreak he's suffered in his time, or a representation of just how insane he is (while the other Allies are completely freaked out, Ivan doesn't even seem to mind that his own heart is literally falling out.)
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