While in the first installments of the game trilogy, the character of Miller was a fictional synthesis of various traits, in the final chapter — Metro Exodus — a real person named Pyotr Sherekin became the prototype for the colonel’s refreshed appearance.

In real life, Pyotr Sherekin is the Kyiv-based chairman of the Interregional Association of Special Forces Veterans and a USSR Master of Sports in hand-to-hand combat. He has real-world combat and service experience, which in many ways helped him become the perfect visual prototype for the rugged Colonel Miller.

Sherekin, much like Miller with his “Sparta,” was at the very roots of creating an elite formation. In the early 1990s, within the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of independent Ukraine, the Republican Special Purpose Detachment — ROSPRIZ — was being formed. Pyotr Sherekin became its first commander.

Later, this unit became the foundation for the creation of the famous Ukrainian “Berkut” in January 1992. However, during major political changes and personnel reshuffles within the ministry at the time, Sherekin left the service and fully dedicated himself to training bodyguards, the veteran movement, and running his own business.

Note: The Ukrainian ROSPRIZ (much like the later “Berkut”) is conceptually very close to American regional SWAT or State Police tactical units. This provides a better picture of the type of formation Pyotr Sherekin both founded and commanded.