Nikolai Stanislofsky

Nikolai Stanislofsky
First appearance	"Legs" (episode 3.03)
Last appearance	"A Town Without Pity" (episode 4.07)
Reason/Cause	Murdered by Claire Howell
Details
Prisoner No.	99S233
Aliases	Niko, Stano
Gender	Male
Age	51 (Deceased)
Date of Conviction	February 14, 1999
Date of Death	August 23, 2000
Affiliations	Alexander Vogel & The Others
Spouse	Unnamed Girlfriend
Relatives	Unspecified
Kill Count	1
Episode Count	13 Episodes
Portrayed by	Philip Casnoff

"Mr. Querns, sometime after you send me back to Em City, a day, a week, maybe, O'Reily will have found a way to kill me."

―Nikolai Stanislofsky

Nikolai Petrovich Stanislofsky (Russian: Николай Петрович Станиславский, Yiddish: ניקאָלאַי פּעטראָוויטש סטאַניסלאָפסקי) was a Russian Jewish inmate featured in Oz. He was Ryan O'Reily's main antagonist in Part I of Season 4. Portrayed by Philip Casnoff.

Character Summary

"Prisoner number 99S233, Nikolai Stanislofsky. Convicted February 14, '99 - Possession of stolen goods with intent to sell. Sentence: 15 years, up for parole in 5."

―The Narrator

Stanislofsky was a Russian mobster sent to Oz for attempting to sell some stolen diamonds to an undercover police officer. In Russia, he was a member of the Vory v Zakone, along with his comrade Alexander Vogel. Stanislofsky served seven years in a Russian gulag after being captured during a raid, but he was able to use bribery to get an early release. He later immigrated to the United States. In the states, he still had connections to the Russian Mafia (known as the Organizatze). It seems that he might have had some bad blood with them, as when the Organizatze's famed hitman, Yuri Kosygin, is imprisoned — he suspects that Kosygin was sent to Oz to murder him. Kosygin however tells Stanislofsky (in Russian) that he can count on him for now.

In Oz, Stanislofsky uses his imprisonment to avenge his fallen friend, Vogel, then later lays low until Kosygin is imprisoned. He shares a rivalry with Ryan O'Reily which began after O’Reily had Kosygin try to kill him. Stanislofsky later discovers that O'Reily had been manipulating the results in the boxing tournament. Later, their rivalry escalates into war after Stanislofsky manipulates Ralph Galino into giving him his cell phone. Stanislofsky and O'Reily then attempt to manipulate others into killing each other until eventually O'Reily defeats him by manipulating Officer Howell into murdering him in the hospital therapy room.

He's background story is loosely based on Russian mobster Vyacheslav Ivankov; both forged police documents to burglarize wealthy houses (dressed in police uniforms) in Russia, and both bribed their way out of prison (gulag) only to find themselves serving a lengthy sentences in a United States prison.

Plot Summary

Season 3

Stanislofsky about to kill Richie Hanlon with a hidden razor blade.

Originally, he had heard that his friend Alexander Vogel was killed by Richie Hanlon. He didn't know that it was really Vernon Schillinger's doing. Upon his arrival, he kept a low profile until he saw that Hanlon's death sentence was overturned. Once he was in the shower room, all alone with Hanlon, he made his move, with Hanlon perceiving the situation as if Stanislofsky was approaching for a sexual encounter. Stanislofsky approached Hanson in the shower and once he had a grip on Hanlon, he cut Hanlon's throat with a hidden razor blade kept in his mouth. Stanislofsky rinsed the razor in the water, leaving no evidence to point at him as the murderer and left the scene.

After executing his "enemy," Stanislofsky continued to keep a low profile, until Yuri Kosygin came into the mix. Kosygin was a Russian cossack and a professional killer. The hitman had his sights set on eliminating Stanislofsky after Ryan O'Reily manipulated others. Once Kosygin had Stanislofsky alone in the library, he sealed the doors and managed to stab Stanislofsky right before the guards showed up to save him, nearly becoming Kosygin's fiftieth victim. Kosygin was sent to isolation and Stanislofsky had to recover in the hospital. When the racial tension reached an all time high during Stanislofsky's recovery, Schillinger asked all the Whites including the Jewish Stanislofsky to stick together against the majority Black inmates.

Season 4

In the season's first episode, Stanislofsky was able to slyly coerce a cell phone from Ralph Galino, and he made illegal business related calls. However, Ryan O'Reily was able to gain knowledge of his newly acquired cell phone, and soon enough, he was paying Stanislofsky in order to rent it. When O’Reily told Galino about his cell phone still being in Stanislofsky's hands, the angered Galino approached Stanislofsky and demanded the phone back. Stanislofsky took matters into his own hands, acquiring help from Jaz Hoyt in order to have Galino taken out. Hoyt and his biker buddies caught Galino off guard and fatally overdosed him with a needle full of heroin. Stanislofsky and O’Reily continued their rivalry for quite some time. Then, when O’Reily got a chance, he told Hoyt all about the cell phone. Hoyt attacked Stanislofsky in the gym and the two quarreled but the cell phone ended up in O’Reily’s hands in the middle of the chaos. Hoyt was sent to the hole and Stanislofsky requested to be placed in protective custody. O’Reily came out as the victor of the war until Stanislofsky had his girlfriend call the cell phone number during the middle of the day, which in-turn informed the correctional officers of the phones whereabouts, thus causing O’Reily to lose the phone.

Stanislofsky holding the rubber ducky 'gift' from Ryan O'Reily.

Soon enough, Stanislofsky would have to be sent back to Em City. When new unit manager Martin Querns investigated the cell phone dispute, Stanislofsky opened up after a harsh interrogation and then asked for protection from the bikers and O’Reily. Querns tried to guarantee his safety telling O’Reily that if anything were to happen to Stanislofsky when he got back to Em City, he would be held responsible, no matter what. O’Reily knew he had only one way of having Stanislofsky murdered. O’Reily was in the middle of a sexual relationship with correctional officer Claire Howell, and he told her to do him a favor. Before returning to Em City, Stanislofsky had asked Querns for a favor, he wanted to take a hot bath. Somewhere along the line, Howell showed up, gave Stanislofsky a hand job while he was bathing, then picked up a rubber ducky and tossed it in. Stanislofsky was confused and asked what it was. “It's a rubber ducky," explained Howell. Then she took a hair dryer and tossed it into the tub, while it was connected. This resulted in Stanislofsky getting electrocuted, his body jolting and the water splashing. Howell acted as if she wasn't responsible and on the way back to Em City, she and O’Reily winked at each other.

Appearances

Season 3

• Legs
• Unnatural Disasters
• U.S. Male
• Cruel and Unusual Punishments
• Secret Identities
• Out o' Time

Season 4, Part I

• A Cock and Balls Story
• Obituaries
• The Bill of Wrongs
• Works of Mercy
• Gray Matter
• A Word to the Wise
• A Town Without Pity (Death)

Kill Count

Personal

• Richie Hanlon: Throat slashed as revenge for Alexander Vogel. (1999)

Proxy

• Ralph Galino: Hired the Bikers to kill him by overdosing him. (2000)

Gallery

Stanislofsky as seen in his crime flashback.

Stanislofsky cleaning his razor blade.

Stanislofsky pouring a shot of vodka for Kosygin.

Stanislofsky being stabbed by Yuri Kosygin.

Stanislofsky toasting to the new year. Note the bandage.

Stanislofsky after attaining Ralph Galino's cell phone.

Stanislofsky reading a Russian newspaper.

Stanislofsky "making peace" with Ryan O'Reily.

Stanislofsky with his rabbi. Note the yarmulke.

The End of Nikolai Stanislofsky.

The Others
Tobias Beecher - Chris Keller - Bob Rebadow - Agamemnon Busmalis - Augustus Hill - Omar White - Nikolai Stanislofsky - Yuri Kosygin - Jia Kenmin - Li Chen - Donald Groves - Edward Galson - Ronald Poklewaldt - Glen Shupe - Stanley Bukowski - Ralph Galino - Lemuel Idzik - Guillaume Tarrant - Bruno Goergen - Adam Guenzel - Alexander Vogel - Greg Penders