Vladimir Bokov was an agent for the Soviet NKVD. In the immediate aftermath of World War II and the unconditional surrender of Germany, Marshal Ivan Koniev was assassinated in Berlin. Bokov was given the task of finding the killer, and through the torture of a German soldier, learned of the so-called "Werewolves". After the GFF rendered Frankfurt uninhabitable with a radium-bomb, Bokov suggested to Shteinberg the possibility of borrowing Geiger counters from the Americans. Shteinberg shot the idea down, echoing the Party line that the USSR must not appear weak before the Americans.