Anatoly Knyazev

"There is nothing that money cannot buy in this country."

- Anatoly to Oliver Queen about Russia.

Anatoly Knyazev is the leader of Solntsevskaya Bratva, a former prisoner of Anthony Ivo and friend of Oliver Queen

Biography
Oliver Queen, during his stay on Lian Yu, saved Anatoly from Anthony Ivo. In return, Anatoly made Oliver a captain of Solntsevskaya Bratva.

Season 2
In "Crucible", he is in the prison cell next to Oliver on the ship they are held at. After Oliver is shot, a bandage kit is next to him, and Anatoly tells him that it is a test to see if he is strong and shows the wound he has.

In "Keep Your Enemies Closer", Anatoly appears in both the present day and island flashback scenes. In the flashback scenes, he appears as a prisoner in the cell next to Oliver's aboard the Amazo. While in his cell, he asks Oliver whether or not he will return to free him and the other prisoners. Oliver then assures him that he will. In the present day Anatoly greets Oliver and John Diggle in Russia to help them rescue Diggle's ex-wife, A.R.G.U.S. agent Lyla Michaels. He provides them with Intel of the gulag Lyla is in and helps them with extraction.

In "The Promise", Anatoly, along with the other prisoners, are freed by Oliver and Sara. He escapes onto Lian Yu with Sara Lance and Thomas Flynn.

In "Birds of Prey", after overhearing Slade's demand that he fix the Amazo's engine in exchange for Oliver, Hendrick Von Arnim holds a gun to Anatoly's head. Anatoly remains calm, allowing Sara to knock Hendrick out from behind.

In "Deathstroke", Anatoly argues with the other prisoners about the morality of trading Hendrick for Oliver. He later disarms a mine in order to use its explosive charge to turn Hendrick into a human bomb, which Sara plans to detonate once Hendrick has been handed over to Slade.

Personality
Due to his time on the island Anatoly developed a warrior's perspective, believing that living isn't for the weak, and was willing to hand Hendrick over to Slade for Oliver, as he knew Slade would kill Oliver but was less sure what he would do to Hendrick. His time under Ivo's torture and the island he also seemed to have developed a sadistic sense of humor, as he was perfectly willing to make Ivo suffer once he became his prisoner.

Despite his status as a mafia leader, Anatoly seems to be a man of honor, as he awarded Oliver Queen the rank of Captain in the Bratva, and therefore granting him access to its resources, for saving his life, even though it was extremely rare for an American to hold such a rank in the organization. Even Oliver stated that his relationship with the Bratva and Anatoly is an extremely valuable one. Anatoly holds Oliver in high regard, to the point he doesn't hesitate to help Oliver in anyway he can, and also takes an immediate liking to anyone Oliver vouches for. Anatoly is also shown to be very considerate individual, as he was the first person who asked where Oliver was after escaping the Amazo.

Trivia

 * After Deadshot, Firefly and Dollmaker, KGBeast is the fourth member of Batman's rogue gallery to be included in the show. Although, he is the first one to appear as an ally.
 * It is possible that Anatoly was the man who taught Oliver Russian. In  Anatoly tells Oliver that he will teach him Russian if he makes it alive.
 * In, he stated he once worked for the KGB, possibly referencing his supervillain alter ego and possibly hinting towards a possible appearance of KGBeast in the show.
 * He was once a member of the Russian navy.