“Russian Arms Baron” and “Merchant of Death”, Viktor Bout is currently already in Russia
Victor Bout, one of the largest illegal traders involved in the international exchange for basketball player Brittney Griner
Viktora Buta, who spent 15 years in the United States, was exchanged for the American athlete Brittney Griner.
On December 8, it became known that in the course of lengthy negotiations, the Russian Foreign Ministry managed to reach agreements and include Russian Viktor Anatolyevich Bout on the exchange list. Viktor Bout, a citizen of the Russian Federation, was arrested in 2008 in Thailand on charges of devastating the United States and in 2012 turned out to be a 25-year-old trial.
The scale of Viktor Bout’s personality is hard to overestimate. Various sources called him “Lone Wolf”, “Russian Arms Baron”, “Master of the Sky” and “Merchant of Death”.
In 2005, director Andrew Niccol filmed the film “Lord of War”, in which the main role was played by Nicolas Cage, the prototype of the main character was Victor Bout. The book “Merchant of Death” is also dedicated.
In 2008, Bout was detained in Bangkok in connection with the threat of international danger, which he moved to the United States. During operational counter-narcotics activities, the United States posed as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). According to legend, they wanted to buy ground-to-air from Viktor Butaraketa. All agreements were checked on the recorder, which became the main trump card of the prosecution. The American government immediately issued a statement that they would seek the immediate extradition of Bout, which nevertheless dragged on for four years. According to the media, if Bout were tried in Thailand, he could face up to 10 years in custody for shooting in aiding terrorism.