Viktor Bout, released Russian arms dealer, joins ultranationalist party

Russia's arms dealer Viktor Bout, nicknamed the "merchant of death", has joined the pro-Kremlin ultranationalist LDPR party, following his release in a high-profile US prisoner swap that freed basketball star Brittney Griner.

In a video posted online, LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky thanked Bout, 55, for becoming a member of "the best political party in today's Russia".

The LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) was founded in the early 1990s by the late Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who gained notoriety for his outrageous comments, including repeated demands for Moscow to use nuclear weapons.

A serious contender for power during the first years in the post-Soviet Russia, the party is now seen by many as loyal to the Kremlin on key issues, such as the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It is not the first time the LDPR has recruited high-profile figures at the centre of big international scandals.

Russia always maintained that Viktor Bout's conviction in the United States was “biased” and “unfounded” and showed interest in getting him back.

Bout is one of the most infamous arms dealers in the world. He was serving a 25-year sentence in a US prison for selling weapons to the FARC, the now-disbanded Colombian guerrilla group.

However, the arms sale to the FARC, that brought him to trial, is nothing compared to his operations in several African wars, among other armed conflicts.

Viktor Bout is currently 55 years old and only served 12 years. When he was sentenced in 2012 by a NY Court, he said through his lawyer: “This does not end here,”and he was right.

In an article published in Foreign Policy, Michael Braun (former DEA operations chief) wrote about Viktor Bout: “It is believed that he was a former officer of the Moscow military intelligence directorate, the GRU, and began dealing in weapons in the 1990s”.

“By 2003 he had become the world's most infamous trafficker, flooding terrorist organizations, insurgent groups, drug cartels and rogue regimes with weapons”, Braun added.

Michael Braun, a DEA officer, was against surrendering the trafficker: “Before returning Viktor Bout to the arms of Moscow, I hope that Biden thinks carefully about the threat this trade could pose to US interests”.

Viktor Bout was born in 1967 in Dushanbe, a town in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. He joined the army and, according to the American and British intelligence services, was a spy for the KGB. He has always denied these claims.

It’s also believed that he has an ability to learn languages. He is said to be fluent in English, French, Portuguese, Uzbek and various African languages, besides Russian.

To add to this legendary profile, a calm and kind character has also been attributed to the arms dealer.

The figure of Viktor Bout inspired the character played by Nicolas Cage in 'Lord of War' (2005). A quiet man who dedicated himself to selling missile launchers as if it were a normal office job.

Of course, beyond the legend or his Hollywood character are the thousands of deaths that Bout is, in part, responsible for.

Viktor Bout is credited with having sold weapons to Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and African dictators such as Mobutu Sese Seko, Charles Taylor or Gaddafi. In his role as a businessman, he did not apply any principle of moral or political discrimination before a good client.

Of course, Bout has also been, at times, on the right side of history: his career includes a collaboration with the French government on a humanitarian mission in Rwanda and other humanitarian operations with institutions such as the UN World Food Program.

His ability to emerge unscathed from his notorious activity as an arms dealer to the highest bidder earned him the nickname “the untouchable”.

Viktor Bout wasn't explicitly protected by the Russian government in his activities, but his past in the army and, it is assumed, certain contacts, made him appear as an element somehow close to the Russian sphere.

Viktor Bout fell into a trap set for him in Thailand. In a joint operation between several countries, police officers posed as FARC guerrillas.

Viktor's wife, Alla Bout, is one of his biggest supporters. During her visits to Latin America during the 2000s, she assured that her husband was not going to establish relations with the guerrillas but to receive tango lessons, according to a BBC chronicle.

Viktor Bout’s early release from prison and the fact that he will now go into Russia’s politics adds yet another incredible chapter to his astounding biography.