Viktor Bout, the Merchant of Death - The Life of the Most Notorious Arms Dealer of All Time

hello I once served as the right-hand man to some of the most Dreadful people who called themselves leaders even when I was one of the biggest arms dealers in the world your boss the president of the USA moves as many weapons in a day as I do in a year though sometimes he hesitates unwilling to get directly involved in the arms trade sometimes he needs a free agent like me to supply weapons to forces he can't directly support that's why they call me the devil but sadly I'm a devil with a purpose these are the words of Yuri orof a character in the 2005 film Lord of War though he is a fictional character the film vividly portrays the harsh realities behind criminals like him you might not know that the movie is based on a real person Victor bout who is widely known as The Merchant of death so who is Victor bout on December 25th 1991 the Soviet Union officially dissolved after 74 years of existence the collapse of the Soviet Union was not only a cause for celebration in the USA the west or the Russian mafia but it also left behind a strategic Treasure Trove for criminal organizations this Treasure Trove included highly trained cunning and deceitful operatives specifically KGB agents when the Soviet Union fell the KGB also disbanded thousands of Agents suddenly found themselves unemployed forcing them to seek other ways to make a living for many the easiest path was to join or become key partners of Mafia gangs exploiting the vast stockpile of Soviet weapons during those years the Soviet Union's Arsenal was a massive Cash Cow waiting to be tapped just imagine an Arsenal large enough to equip 4.5 million active duty troops and millions of reservists and you can grasp its enormity selling just a third of these weapons would be enough to make those involved incredibly wealthy and Victor bout was no exception Victor bout whose full name is bout anatolich bout was born on January 13th 1967 in a village near Dube Tajikistan then part of the Soviet Union from a young age bout showed himself to be an intelligent child with a knack for persuading others after graduating from the Soviet Union's military Foreign Language Institute in Moscow where he became fluent in six languages including Persian and Esperanto bout served in the Soviet military as a translator with the rank of lieutenant in the 1980s bout a Portuguese speaker served under a KGB officer named eigor suchin who later became Russia's Deputy Prime Minister thanks to his quick thinking and adaptability bout earned the trust of his superiors and became a negotiator in many of the Soviet Union's arms deals with African nations in late 1987 Victor bout left Angola Africa before that Angola had experienced a civil war involving three factions the people's movement for the liberation of Angola mpla the national Union for the total independence of Angola Unita and the National Liberation Front of Angola fnla the USA and South Africa supported Unita and the fnla while the mpla received support only from the Soviet Union the Soviet Union supplied the mpla with military equipment such as armored vehicles aircraft and ammunition even deploying Soviet military units to Angola to create a favorable military balance for the mpla with this strong support the mpla and its military shifted from Guerilla Warfare to strategic offensives taking control of the capital Luanda and 3/4s of the territory forcing Unita to adopt Guerilla tactics during his time in Angola Victor bout was known as a lieutenant Colonel responsible for operating cargo flights for refueling when the Soviet Union and the socialist countries disbanded along with the dissolution of the KGB Victor bout was discharged like many others he began trading popular Goods in Russia at the time such as jeans beer and Coca-Cola however it didn't take long for bout to realize his opportunity when the Soviet Union's stockpiled weapons fell into disarray officers and soldiers who were no longer being paid were willing to sell anything they had if there was a buyer with massive stockpiles of weapons scattered across the former Soviet Union's territories particularly in Russia Ukraine and bellarus this was a vast resource waiting to be exploited in reality this was also the path many former KGB agents took after being discharged they became reputable Traders supplying weapons to the Russian mafia and smuggling them worldwide for Victor bout this Venture was even more convenient due to his 10 years of experience delivering Soviet weapons to forces fighting against the USA in Africa moving these Goods worldwide was as easy as flipping a switch for him and this was when Victor bout officially made a name for himself in history as the most successful arms dealer in human history a true Lord of War seeing a vast arsenal of weapons before him Victor bout with his sharp mind quickly established one of the largest arms trafficking routes at the time the Soviet Union had disbanded and Russia's economy was almost destroyed under Boris nikovic yelton's era leaving thousands of Russian Pilots unemployed especially those who had served in the Soviet Air Force drawing on his Decades of experience as a negotiator Victor bout attracted hundreds of outstanding Pilots to work for him bout developed an aviation Network for arms trafficking so large that it rivaled the military scale of many medium-sized Nations using an uan ill 76 cargo plane bout shifted his business to Arms dealing including tanks armored vehicles surfac to- a missiles Alaska 47 assault rifles RPD light machine guns dshk 12.7mm heavy machine guns and RPG anti-tank weapons ironically his first arms deal was selling to the Unita Guerilla forces the same group that the people's movement for the liberation of Angola MPL had previously defeated this deal earned bout a significant profit but bout's influence didn't stop at supplying weapons to organizations and forces in major conflicts worldwide he was also a significant figure in global arms transactions he sold weapons to Charles Taylor the Liberian leader in exchange for diamonds provided weapons to Colonel mamar Al Gaddafi in Libya in exchange for oil and notably during the Syrian Civil War Victor bout's weapons cont attributed to the deaths of 150,000 people the words of Yuri orloff the fictional character in the movie Lord of War that sometimes you need a free agent to supply weapons to forces others can't became eerily accurate in reality Victor bout also made a similar statement saying you may think of me as an arms dealer Taking Lives but the truth is if I don't do it someone else will in a meeting with un weapons inspector Drago caric at a hotel in Congo in 1996 Victor bout was criticized for his Planes carrying weapons to those who used them to violate human rights bout coldly replied that's strange the truth is I only provide Logistics and indeed he was right bout played the role of a logistics provider but he was the most crucial one bout provided weapons to the National Union for the total independence of Angola Unita but by then they were were already weakened and reduced to a minor Force before that when Unita was still strong the USA played the most significant role in supporting them in 1995 bout received a phone call from a Sunni Muslim cleric from the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan the caller informed him that the leader of the Taliban Mah Omar wanted to meet with him bout knew the Taliban hated him because he had previously supplied weapons to the Afghan government however when mulah Omar officially invited him bout realized the Taliban were in desperate need of arms at that time the Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan and Mula Omar requested Victor bout to supply 30 tons of weapons to their forces bout quickly fulfilled this request and within just over two months with 45 flights he delivered a large quantity of arms to Afghanistan playing a crucial role in helping the Taliban capture the capital Kabul I ironically When the Northern Alliance led by Ahmad sha massud was formed with the goal of overthrowing the Taliban it was Victor bout who also sold weapons to this Force similarly in 2000 Victor bout and his team whom he called the young guys from Moscow went to Rwanda Africa at the invitation of President Paul kagam to train the country's military on using various weapons including chemical weapons provided by bout Victor bout once remarked that it was absurd to call him a Mur Merchant of death while other nations such as the USA had arms trading companies what should they be called he sarcastically suggested that if he was labeled a merchant of death then those Nations should be called the masters of death Merchants this can be seen as a biting commentary by bout on the USA and its allies who according to him were the ones instigating Wars creating opportunities for people like him to profit by the age of 30 Victor bout had become a billionaire with a fleet of 60 transport planes registered in the Central African Republic under the seemingly innocent name Central African Air Transport company however this was merely a front for his arms trading business when the war between Israel and Hezbollah broke out USA intelligence discovered that Victor bout was meeting with several high-ranking Hezbollah leaders in a safe house on the outskirts of Beirut the meeting's agenda was none other than arms trading and one of the weapons bout soul gold was used to shoot down an Israeli plane in 2002 Victor bout's name resurfaced in the headlines but this time with a different angle related to the media prompting many nations to take action to eliminate him a Belgian journalist named Dirk drains presented a report on bout's activities to the United Nations in 2001 to produce this report drains tracked bout to Congo where he was executing a deal to sell 16,000 AK rifles and over2 million rounds of ammunition Dirk drains recalled Victor bout looked like a businessman on a combined business and travel trip while drain's colleague photojournalist wiim van capellan tried to approach bout to take a picture one of bout's bodyguards suddenly appeared and made a throat slitting gesture implying they would be in danger if they attempted to photograph bout it was no surprise when Victor bout flatly denied and dismissed the United Nations accusations asserting that he was m a businessman with many airplanes and had no concern for the cargo his clients hired him to transport as it was not his responsibility however Dirk drain's report sparked a media frenzy according to Peter landisman and Dirk drains co-authors of the book Merchant of death after the horrific events of 2001 in New York stopping the black market arms trade became an urgent issue for many countries under pressure from the USA government Rwanda and the central African Republic severed all ties with Victor bout at the request of the British government the Central African Republic also decided to shut down bout's Airline from that point on Victor bout a self-made businessman officially became a target of the USA and was deemed an extremely dangerous criminal who needed to be apprehended to arrest Victor bout it was crucial to prove that he was a black market arms dealer rather than just a broker or a hred transporter in early 2007 after meticulous preparation the USA Drug Enforcement Administration DEA used an undercover agent to approach Victor bout the agent posed as a South African lawyer and proposed that bout Supply a shipment of weapons to farc an armed organization in Colombia in exchange for a large quantity of illegal drugs Victor bout was very enthusiastic about this proposal and agreed to meet at a hotel in Thailand to discuss the details this discussion was secretly recorded over nearly a year involving dozens of meetings from Bangkok to Copenhagen kurasa and Bulgaria during these meetings bout and the lawyer discussed the time location of delivery types of weapons quantities and payment methods finally when enough evidence had been gathered showing that Victor bout had committed to supplying farc with 6,000 guns including cling submachine guns light machine guns heavy machine guns millions of rounds of ammunition tens of thousands of grenades and 100 shoulder fired missiles to shoot down aircraft all to be parachuted into fart controlled territory bout was arrested this marked the end of his arms dealing career and made him a target for prosecution by multiple countries in late March 2008 the USA government requested that the royal Tai police urgently arrest Victor bout and extradite him to the USA under the extradition agreement between the two countries however Russia objected arguing that the Thai Court's decision to allow extradition was politically motivated and warned that some USA officials would be denied entry visas to Russia in 2010 the USA Federal Court held a trial for Victor bout on charges of smuggling weapons to the Revolutionary armed forces of Colombia farc with the intent of using these weapons against USA citizens and officials who were assisting the Colombian government in its fight against illegal drugs on April 5th 2012 during the trial Victor bout rejected the prosecution's arguments asserting that if those standards were applied all USA arms trading companies should be treated the same as him Victor bout's lawyer also argued that his client never stated that he was selling weapons to kill Americans it was merely a farc member who said that to him it seemed this would be the end of The Merchant of death's Journey but the Russians did everything they could to bring him back to the country Russia consistently declared Victor bout innocent viewing the case as a blatant Injustice and continually sought to free its citizen according to the website of the USA Federal Bureau of Prisons Victor bout now 55 years old was supposed to serve his sentence until August 2029 however bout told the New Yorker that although they wanted to keep him imprisoned for life he would return to Russia he didn't know when but he still felt young and full of Hope Russia had been striving to bring Victor bout back to the country since he was convicted in New York on four charges including conspiracy to kill USA citizens more than a decade later Victor bout was released even though he had served less than half of his sentence on December 8th 2022 the 55-year-old Arms Dealer was exchanged Ed in a prisoner swap for USA Basketball Star Britney Griner who had been detained in Russia for 10 months many journalists called this a losing deal for the USA so what made Victor bout so valuable to Moscow that they spent a decade trying to secure his freedom although bout claimed to be just an innocent pilot and businessman many experts believe he was highly useful to Russian intelligence however boot denied any connection with the Russian government insis in that he had no secret information about the Russian State and was not involved with any leaders there have been allegations that Victor bout was an asset of Russian intelligence supplying weapons worldwide to serve moscow's geopolitical goals some even suggest that he served the military and high-ranking officials close to President Vladimir Putin this speculation partly arises from the fact that both bout and Putin were former KGB agents if this wasn't the reason the USA spent so much time money to detain Victor bout we may never know the full truth but one thing is certain Victor bout is a mysterious complex figure who holds significant importance to Russia's intelligence Elite and national pride interestingly soon after returning to Russia Victor bout joined the liberal Democratic party of Russia a nationalist political party his membership was announced at the party's annual conference in Moscow held from December 11th to 13 bout's public support for the Kremlin along with his notoriety has fueled speculation that he might be considering a political career potentially even running for the Russian Parliament Victor bout's journey to becoming The Merchant of death is filled with Intrigue and unanswered questions while much about him remains a mystery bout has demonstrated that sometimes those who call for peace are the ones with blood on their hands what do you think about the story feel free to share your thoughts below for everyone to see don't forget to like And subscribe to support me thank you for watching goodbye