gulag in Russia. The hunt leads Krycek and Mulder to Tunguska, where they are held captive until Krycek maneuvers his own release. Mulder attempts his own escape, taking an unconscious Krycek with him. When he awakes, Krycek separates into the woods only to encounter a strange group of Russians, all of whom have missing left arms. The men amputate Krycek's arm as well, to keep him from being used in black oil experiments. Eventually, Krycek graduates into a more powerful role within this group. He uses any knowledge he has to gain leverage with the syndicate. He even has had romantic ties to their secretary, Marita Covarrubias (who apparently was using Krycek for her own means in assisting Mulder). Due to this double-crossing, Krycek is temporarily held captive by the Well Manicured Man. Krycek later appears to Mulder as a friendly messenger to tell him that a war has begun, and that Mulder must "resist or serve". Later in the series, Krycek can be seen switching sides as it suits him, occasionally helping Mulder, the Cigarette Smoking Man and other people. He attempted to blackmail Skinner with infectious nanotechnology, but ended up being thrown into a Tunisian prison by the Cigarette Smoking Man. In the season seven finale, "Requiem", Krycek apparently kills the now wheelchair-using Cigarette Smoking Man by pushing him down a flight of stairs. Later, when Mulder was abducted by aliens and returned in a deathlike state, Krycek attempts to again blackmail Skinner, offering the means to save Mulder's life in exchange for Scully's baby. Skinner refuses, and Krycek has a violent confrontation with John Doggett before escaping. In the season eight finale, "Existence", Krycek is shot dead by Skinner, during an unsuccessful attempt to kill Mulder. Krycek's ghost briefly showed up to help Mulder escape a military base in the series finale. Conceptual history Originally, the role of Krycek was offered to Callum Keith Rennie, who rejected it, but later made two guest appearances on the show. Krycek does not appear in the first season, but Nicholas Lea did have a small part in the Monster-of-the-Week episode, "Gender Bender". In the episode, he played a club goer named "Michel". When Lea appeared as Krycek, the producers felt that they could kill him off if the portraying actor didn't do a good enough job. Krycek, who was initially created by writer Howard Gordon to temporarily replace Scully as