VIKTOR BOUT - LORD of WAR. When the real story is way better than the movie

Viktor Bout is the most famous arms dealer in the world. This fact is greatly facilitated by the film "Lord of War" starring Nicolas Cage, which skyrocketed Bout's popularity. Despite many scenes in the film being fictitious or embellished, Bout really did do business with the most cruel and bloody people on Earth. He worked with Al-Qaeda and with the Taliban, ran military equipment for the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, supplied weapons to probably all African countries where civil wars were fought, and did not shy away from transporting weapons to all the belligerents involved. People died because of people like him, and he was dubbed the "Merchant of Death." In American law enforcement circles, Bout was second only to Osama Bin Laden, while in Russia, on the contrary, he was considered an innocent victim of American politics and almost a national hero. He was hunted by numerous international intelligence agencies, but unimaginably always managed to escape. So how did he get caught? If the movie had ended the same way as Viktor Bout's real story did, then "fiction" could have been easily added to the genre tags of the movie, right beside drama and crime. Only this fiction is real, which is the scary thing. The mysteries that would shroud the entire life of Viktor Bout begin with his very birth. Officially, it is believed that he was born on January 13, 1967, but some sources claim that the real date of birth was seven years earlier in 1960, and his original surname was not Bout, but Butkov. What is certain is the place of his birth, the capital of Tajikistan - Dushanbe. It is unlikely that Viktor’s parents imagined who their son would become in the future, but from childhood, the boy had a passion for two things - learning languages and the military. Until high school, he actively studied English, and while in high school he decided to study a rather atypical combo of languages - German and Esperanto and consolidated his interest in military affairs by graduating from the Suvorov Military School. After receiving his diploma, Bout tried to enroll at MGIMO University but failed and was drafted into the army. After serving for two years on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR in Zakarpattia, Bout once again decided to try his hand at studying and risked entering the extremely prestigious USSR Military Institute of Foreign Languages, located in Moscow. The second attempt at admission was successful. It's not surprising that Bout chose to study to be a military translator. What was surprising was the main language of his study - Portuguese. Albeit not the most popular language, it quickly came in handy when Bout was sent on a business trip to Mozambique and Angola, where they just needed a person with a knowledge of Portuguese. Being on another continent and very far from his home, Viktor did not get confused and successfully completed the tasks that were assigned to him. Traveling to different African countries, Bout proved himself to be excellent in his tasks and gained immensely important connections that he would use in the future for his transportation of goods. Another important event was meeting his future wife Alla in Africa, whom he would marry a little later, in 1992. The name of his wife will come up more than a few times in our story. Having completed his African tour with the rank of first lieutenant, Bout left the service and began to think about his own business. Fortunately, he now had experience working abroad and, most importantly, the necessary acquaintances with influential people. Shortly after, the USSR began to collapse, creating a mess in almost all post-Soviet countries. The country was divided by anyone who wanted a slice - politicians, oligarchs, bandits. In the film "Lord of War", what Nicolas Cage's character said was true, stating that after the collapse everyone was trying to grab their piece of the pie, and, as such, there was presently no new stable power. The real Viktor Bout was of the same mind and decided to also take part in the “circus”. In 1992, Viktor opened a company that was supposed to deal with civilian air freight transportation. To carry out the business idea, he needed airplanes, so he calmly bought three for... $120,000. When he was later asked where the 25-year-old former officer got so much money, Viktor replied that he never had investors and that finding money was never a problem. Right... It's only a measly 120 grand… As he was starting out, Bout chose South Africa as his home base, but very soon changed it to the United Arab Emirates, where his company settled at the Sharjah airport. Business quickly took off, with Bout transporting everything and anything and making decent money in the process. He bought fresh flowers from South Africa, which cost $2, and sent them to the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where they allegedly cost $100. In one flight, Viktor transported 20 tons of flowers. He also transported exotic perishable fruits, spare parts, imported equipment, and many other household goods. His planes carried French and Belgian peacekeepers and legitimate military supplies. Even the UN did not shy away from using the services of his company to deliver humanitarian aid. Bout's auto and air fleet was constantly expanding, and his company's employees were becoming more and more numerous. Everything was fine, money flowed like a river, and everyone was happy. But something would soon happen that would cause Viktor's activities to gain the attention of the international intelligence agencies. Afghanistan, 1995. A civil war is raging. The Taliban, including many jihadists who fought the Soviet Union in 1989, are rushing towards Kabul. President Rabbani is purchasing weapons. "Aerostan", Bout's transportation company, headquartered in the Arab city of Sharjah, volunteers to solve the problem. A huge IL-76, filled with Albanian weapons and ammunition, is sent to Afghanistan. It is crewed by seven Russian pilots. Problems begin over Kandahar. A Taliban plane forces the crew commander to land the IL-76 at the Kandahar airport. The cargo goes to the insurgents, the pilots are taken hostage. A little more than a year later, the pilots are given a chance to escape, and they successfully take advantage of it. They secretly enter the plane, start it, and fly away from the Taliban. The miraculous rescue of the pilots is celebrated throughout Russia, the country is in desperate need of heroes. All newspapers in the world write about the escape from Kandahar. But none of the journalists can track down the owner of the plane - the mysterious businessman from Sharjah. Some call him Viktor Bout, others Viktor Bulakin or Vadim Aminov. There are no photographs of him. There are only vague rumors about connections with the KGB and a transportation empire. Due to this high-profile incident, many intelligence agencies around the world became interested in Bout, and soon stunning facts about the man began to surface. It turned out that transporting flowers, and working with the UN, along with the rest of it, were just distractions. In reality, Bout made his money by selling weapons and military equipment. And he did it on such a scale that he was immediately called "one of the world's most prolific arms dealers". During the Cold War between the East and the West, both sides pumped out ludicrous quantities of weapons in case a real war broke out. Fortunately, the war never happened, but it did mean that numerous weapons warehouses remained inactive. Of course, another military conflict could have started at any time with any one of the other countries, but few people cared. After the collapse of the USSR, the Soviets and allied countries had so many weapons that they had more than enough for several military conflicts. There was simply too much of it. Which is why it was decided to clean up the warehouses properly, allowing mind-boggling sums of money to be made. Many countries in Asia and Africa needed military-grade weapons and Viktor Bout, a former officer who knew multiple languages, had been on a lengthy business trip in Africa, and had connections with influential people, was perfectly set up to take the role of the one who would transport these weapons. The key word being "transport", Viktor said that he never purchased or sold the weapons, but simply transported them. Even if this were true, which is hard to believe, it is worth looking at who he was transporting these weapons to. It's quite the list. His first known order was in 1992 delivering weapons for the Northern Alliance fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Bout made initial contacts with President Rabbani and Bout's transport plane began appearing regularly at government-controlled airports, delivering ammunition and small arms from Albania and other Eastern European countries. Although many mujahideen leaders remained staunchly anti-Russian even after the collapse of the USSR, Rabbani's government took a more pragmatic position and welcomed a businessman who could deliver. Bout personally visited Afghanistan several times, enjoying mountain hunting trips that his hosts arranged for him to establish a good business relationship. Bout's services were vital for Rabbani, as in the early years of his government, he had little ability to purchase military goods from other sources. Having established a partnership with the President of Afghanistan, Bout supplied him weapons for a long time, but eventually, the hunger for money drove the enterprising Viktor to impertinently start supplying weapons to the president's direct enemy - the Taliban. In 1995, in Kandahar, precisely at the moment when the seven pilots were captured by the Taliban, Bout, according to rumors, managed to make a deal with Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban, and earned about $50 million by supplying them weapons. It was a partnership that lasted from 1995 to 2001 until American troops entered Afghanistan. Since late 1996, Bout's transport aircraft have regularly flown from Sharjah to airports in Afghanistan, delivering small arms, ammunition, satellite phones, as well as refrigerators, food, and other commercial goods. But this was just the beginning of much larger operations. The growing international isolation of the Islamic movement due to its reluctance to extradite Osama bin Laden, its poor human rights record, and a host of other factors gradually made Bout an important partner for the Taliban, simply because he was willing to take risks and could deliver on what was needed. Ironically, as Bout strengthened his business ties with the Taliban, he continued to work for the ousted Rabbani government. He continued to transport military supplies all the way until the former president and his army lost their last viable airfield. Thus, Bout, without experiencing any guilt, continued transporting weapons for both sides. He was everyone's friend. He was tolerated as there were no other viable alternatives. Nobody, other than Bout, could deliver the necessary goods, and he transported everything from rounds and Kalashnikovs to helicopters and even tanks. Even during the most successful years, gun runners had little sway in terms of the war effort. They were content with dealing with metaphoric crumbs of the pie. But not Viktor Bout. He could build and topple entire nations, literally. In addition to Afghanistan, Viktor "loved" Africa and worked there using a similar model - transporting weapons for absolutely anyone willing to pay. He transported weapons to militants in Rwanda and violated arms embargoes in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Algeria, where he sold weapons to both government forces and rebels fighting them. It was the same story as with the Taliban and the president of Afghanistan, Bout, for example, took orders simultaneously from the Angolan government and from the UNITA rebels fighting said government. He could have easily dispatched a plane for Mobutu Sese Seko, the overthrown dictator of Zaire, even though he supplied weapons to the dictator’s enemies. Bout did not experience any moral scruples; for him, this was just business. Included in the list of Bout's many clients were also the Colombian guerrillas from the FARC, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and that same crazy president from the film "Lord of War", the ruler of Liberia - Charles Taylor. This is one part of the film that was true to life, Taylor was indeed incredibly cruel. Thanks to Bout's dealings, civil wars lasted longer, and human losses and destruction massively increased, which was significantly more profitable for him. So how did Bout manage to transport weapons for so long without getting caught? Viktor tried to do everything relatively cleanly and quietly, without leaving any traces or attracting unnecessary attention. On paper, he had several airlines in different countries, and the aircraft, according to documents, were constantly transferred from one company to another. Bout constantly changed the names of his companies and forged papers. Nobody could catch him! His business was so well hidden by front companies that even the US government later unwittingly contracted two of his companies to supply goods to US troops in Iraq. When transporting weapons, he falsified all the necessary certificates, so, according to the documents, it turned out that the weapons were going to law-abiding citizens, as a rule, to the government of the country. For example, to transport weapons to the rebel army in Angola, which was subject to sanctions on the supply of weapons, Bout took the weapons to Togo, the location of the official customer, according to the papers. Along the way, he stopped in Angola, unloaded weapons, and returned to Togo, although there were 4,500 kilometers between the states. According to the papers, several dozen flights were made to Togo, and a large amount of ammunition and other weapons were received, even though the country was not at war with anyone. But how did Bout's planes fly from Togo to Angola without being detected by radar systems? Simply put, few African countries back then had radars that could detect movement of airborne objects. Thus, Bout calmly flew all around Africa without anyone noticing him, and, if he did manage to get caught, he would simply invite them to take part in the profits. He transported frozen chickens, beer, and a plethora of other goods from Europe, and hid AK-47s, cartridges, and other weapons in the boxes. Bout's partner, Richard Chichakli, once admitted that "getting around international sanctions is easier than buying a burger at McDonald's". It is worth giving them their due, however, both Bout and his team were truly professionals and experts in their field. As a rule, his customers did not have the money to pay for the goods, so Bout took diamonds or prohibited substances as payment, which he resold in Europe and Latin America. It was assumed that over the seven years, the businessman laundered about $300 million. But no matter how secretly and cleanly Bout worked, such activities could not remain hidden forever. It's not the weapons that kill people, it's the people who use them that do the killing - a justification that would later be used by Viktor. The same people he provided weapons for attacked British soldiers in Africa, so the minister of state for Africa in Britain's Foreign Office sounded the alarm. It wasn't just the attacks, but the fact that Africans constantly had modern weapons. It was clear that someone was supplying weapons to the African countries, but who? Truthfully, Viktor Bout had long been on the radar of many countries, and incidents such as the hijacking of a plane in Kandahar or the attack on British soldiers only drew even more attention to the Russian businessman. In the summer of 1999, faced with numerous conflicts in West and Central Africa, the United States National Security Council authorized electronic surveillance of government and militia leaders in war zones such as Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The US compared transcripts of wiretapped telephone conversations with US satellite imagery and with field reports from British spies on the ground. There were a lot of documents, but there was no connection or pattern among them, until, finally, astute analysts noticed that every conflict had something in common - Viktor Bout. The name appeared in numerous variations and always in one of three contexts: aircraft, diamond transportation, or arms shipments. The chief expert on African affairs at the National Security Council, whose staff uncovered the Bout connection, emailed her NSC colleagues with the following words, "Who is this guy? Pay close attention to this. He's everywhere." Soon, a real manhunt began; it was a tough time for Bout. Investigations were launched. The agencies began their work. In 1999, the popular newspaper "The Guardian" stated that Viktor's air fleet of 30 aircraft (there were actually around 50) was transporting weapons. And this was far from the only and not even the loudest publication where his name would show up. A year later, Viktor's name appeared in the reports of the United Nations Security Council and the United States Department of State, where he was mentioned as a supplier of weapons and ammunition, bypassing UN sanctions, in particular to Angola, where the Civil War raged on. And in 2001, after the events of September 11, Bout became the second most important public enemy of America, right after Osama bin Laden. US authorities learned that Bout collaborated with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, which was directly involved in the terrorist attacks. His 1990s dealings with the Taliban led the Los Angeles Times to dub him in 2002, quoting a former US government official who called him “the Donald Trump or Bill Gates of the arms trade”. However, some military analysts claimed that the US had no real evidence of guilt and, just in case, simply decided to eliminate a potential competitor in the arms supply market. In 2002, Belgium put the Russian on the international wanted list on suspicion of diamond smuggling and money laundering, and the UN imposed a ban on his movements. By this time, Viktor was already in Russia and understood perfectly well that if he ever left the country, he could have easily not returned. And yet, in 2003, he needed to get to Athens on business, so he secretly flew there on a private jet. The secret services picked up that a Russian businessman planned a flight to Greece. They were waiting for him at the airport to arrest him and take him into custody. However, a problem arose. Bout flew to Athens from Moldova, but halfway there the plane suddenly changed course and disappeared. Appearing again an hour and a half later, the plane landed in Athens, but...Viktor was not on the plane. No one knew who exactly told him that an ambush awaited him, but it was clear that Bout had patrons in the Russian government. At the very beginning of his weapons career, they said that they would protect him and, I must say, they kept their word. But protect him from what? Viktor claimed that in his life he didn't do anything that he could worry about and had to hide. But besides him, few people shared his viewpoint. In 2005, the whole world learned about Viktor Bout, when the film "Lord of War" was released. Bout became the prototype for the main character played by Nicolas Cage. Although many details were changed or made up entirely in the film, the general idea of Bout's actions was preserved, both in the film and reality - he transported huge amounts of weapons to absolutely anyone who was willing to pay. In 2006, US President George W. Bush issued a decree freezing Bout's accounts and the assets of companies associated with his name. The President was confident that Viktor intervened in the armed conflict in the Congo, which jeopardized the entire policy of the United States. Due to these sanctions, Bout lost about $17 million. And yet he was still free, and how do you catch a man who almost never leaves his country and has connections at the highest levels of government of said country? By 2007, the Drug Enforcement Administration had developed a plan to lure Bout out of Russia with an arms deal that would be difficult to refuse. And Viktor swallowed the bait, hook, line, and sinker. The operation was incredibly complex, so everything was planned to perfection. The agents found a former colleague and confidant of Bout named Andrew Smulian in Tanzania. He became the key to capturing the Russian businessman. An undercover agent, allegedly presenting himself as a member of the famous Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, contacted Smulian and proposed a meeting, at which he described in full detail what weapons and equipment he needed. After the meeting, Bout's partner met with Viktor and told him about the meeting and what the Colombians wanted. Bout liked the deal for several reasons. Firstly, it was a massive order, promising millions of dollars in profit. Secondly, Bout knew that the FARC guerrillas had a lot of money since they had long been involved in the drug trade. Finally, the deal would be supervised by his long-time partner, and he trusted him. After some time, Bout and the Colombians were supposed to meet in Romania, but Viktor refused to fly there, considering this country not the safest place for him. So then, he was offered Thailand, and the Russian agreed to this option. When potential buyers told him the weapons could be used to kill American pilots, Bout responded, "We have the same enemy". Weeks later, Bout was on his way to Bangkok, thinking he would be meeting with FARC officials to discuss shipping what prosecutors said was "an arsenal of military-grade weapons" to attack American helicopters in Colombia. During a March 2008 meeting in a Bangkok hotel conference room, Bout told the DEA informants posing as FARC officials that he could airdrop the arms in Colombia and acknowledged that the weapons could be used to kill Americans. After listening in on the meeting, Thai police and DEA agents burst into the room and arrested Bout. The Russian businessman never expected such a turn of events. He didn't see anything fishy, to him it seemed that it would be a successful and clear-cut deal. It seems that during the arrest, an image instantly occurred in Bout's head of what awaited him next. "The game is over", Bout said. Bout's future wasn't clear, but it wasn't hopeless either. He hoped that his influential friends from Russia would once again cover him and he even directly addressed the president, but getting the businessman out of prison wasn't easy, given that the Americans did not want to leave Bout in a Thai prison and tried their best to extradite him to the States. If this were to happen, the Russian authorities would also be at risk, as to mitigate his sentence, Bout could have potentially spoken out and given up his comrades. On the other hand, why should have Viktor worried? According to his wife, Bout went to Colombia to take tango lessons, and he went to Thailand to sign a contract to build a plant to produce disposable syringes for people in need in African countries. Bout's bodyguard lied in the same vein stating that they arrived in Thailand to relax and visit several medical facilities. Such words were more likely to give Bout a chuckle than to help, but still, the Thai authorities were in no hurry to extradite the Russian to the United States and were actively negotiating with the Russian government. The price for his exchange could have been the country's former Prime Minister - Thaksin Shinawatra, who was accused of corruption in his homeland and, according to some sources, often visited Moscow. But Russia negotiated way too slowly and passively and did not take decisive action to return Bout to his homeland, so, as a result, two and a half years after his arrest, he was extradited... to the US. America managed to put pressure on Thailand, which had been refusing them all this time. The Russian Foreign Minister was so outraged that he called it "the result of US political pressure and an example of blatant injustice". Now, Bout had to fear not only that he might spend the rest of his life in an American prison, but, also, that he might be killed. Viktor was certainly privy to serious secrets and knew a lot of things that could have destroyed many influential people. Thai authorities feared an attempt on the life of the dangerous potential witness by the Russian special services, so the businessman was led to the plane in a bulletproof vest and helmet, surrounded by numerous guards. Thai citizens who were on the street and witnessed the operation with their own eyes shouted and asked Bout for an autograph. Aboard Viktor's flight to the US, he was accompanied by six senior DEA officials who were in the region. Knowing the magnitude of Bout's problems, the American intelligence services tried to win the Russian over to their side. According to him, the Americans offered him cooperation, promised green cards and a comfortable existence for him and his family, they guaranteed him that after the end of his prison term, he would be able to stay in the States and live like an ordinary American. His lawyer voiced such proposals to him every day. In return, the United States demanded that Viktor testify against the Russian leadership. In response, Bout stated that didn't possess any secrets of the Russian state or its leaders and didn't work with Russian national companies or government agencies at all. According to him, from 1993 to 2001 he owned a legal business in the field of international air transportation and had nothing to do with the Russian authorities. Bout chose to not give up his "side", even if their credibility was damaged after the authorities were unable to convince Thailand to extradite Viktor to Russia. The States appreciated his patriotism. Before the trial, Viktor spent about 15 months in complete isolation, in a solitary cell without windows with round-the-clock artificial lighting, and without a fresh air supply. The bed, table, and chair were all made of concrete. Walking was not allowed. At least those were the words of his wife on the conditions he was kept in, and even if it seems reasonable to believe, given her previous statements, it is difficult to take her at her word. In October of 2011, the court began proceedings against Bout. He was accused on four counts at once, charged with conspiracy to kill Americans and government employees, as well as agreements to supply weapons to terrorists and sell anti-aircraft missile systems. Viktor pleaded not guilty on all counts. Meanwhile, in Russia, protests took place in support of Bout. The Trade Union of Russian Citizens held pickets outside the US Consulate building, demanding a fair trial. Some of the rallies were supported by the businessman's wife Alla. In November 2011, the jury unanimously returned a guilty verdict on all counts. The prosecutor's office insisted on life imprisonment, but in April 2012 the court sentenced the businessman to 25 years in prison. Those who were on Bout's side said that the Americans didn't sentence a real person, but their fantasy of Viktor, stating that they "found Nicolas Cage guilty". And yet, 25 years for a man who was considered by many to be one of the most dangerous people on Earth, whose cargo killed innumerable people, is a real stroke of luck. "They're going to try to put me away for life", Bout said before sentencing. "But I will return to Russia. Don't know when. But I'm still young". He did eventually come back. Viktor Bout became, perhaps, the most famous Russian convict in an American prison. The Russian media followed his every move and did not deny themselves the pleasure of writing about him given the opportunity. There were articles about him preparing alcohol in an American prison. There were reports that he was experiencing a high fever. There were even articles about him not being able to eat hot dogs or hamburgers since he was a vegetarian and never getting the chance to eat his favorite strawberries in prison. The Russian authorities could not ignore Bout's popularity and, at any opportunity, tried to return him to his homeland. Moreover, Viktor clearly dispelled all doubts about himself, keeping his mouth shut and not giving out any compromising information about his countrymen to the Americans. And yet, the negotiations were similar to the negotiations with Thailand - passive, unhurried, and without any decisive steps. In addition, the states did not want to give up Bout without receiving, at a minimum, an equivalent exchange. It was proposed to exchange him for 15 Americans serving sentences in Russian prisons, but the United States refused the deal. A year later, it was reported that Bout could be released in exchange for Paul Whelan, who was convicted in Russia for espionage, but the deal also broke off. In February of 2022, an American basketball player Brittney Griner, who had been playing for the Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg since 2014, was detained at a Moscow airport. Cartridges containing less than a gram of cannabis oil were found in her luggage, and if, while in the States, this would have been a minor violation, in Russia, this could have resulted in a serious prison sentence. Griner justified herself by saying that she bought the oil legally, that she was in a hurry to pack her things and simply did not check her luggage, and that it was prescribed as part of the treatment of chronic pain and other conditions, but no one listened to her. About a third of such cases in Russia ended in suspended sentences, and the most severe sentences did not exceed five years. But it was obvious that the Russian government had its own plans for Griner. Formally, she became a hostage. At the trial, she was convicted to the fullest extent of the law - the basketball player was sentenced to nine years in prison. She became an ideal target for exchange for Viktor Bout, who was now needed by the Russian authorities more than ever. But why now? The war in Ukraine showed that Russia was far from doing well in terms of its weapons, and Bout was exactly the person who could take care of that. In return for Bout, America wanted Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, whose return the US had long sought, but Russia chose a tough position and insisted that it would only exchange for Griner. It was absurd. The "Merchant of Death", "one of the most dangerous arms smugglers in the world" in exchange for a basketball player who just liked to smoke weed. What about other American prisoners serving time in Russia? Under Trump and Obama, this exchange would certainly have not taken place, but Biden, who was under enormous pressure from sports stars and various minorities, chose a different position and... agreed. Bout, serving time in prison, probably thought it was an April Fool's joke. Paul Whelan's family and supporters were devastated. It was a slap in the face to all those who suffered from Bout's crimes and the work that was spent on his capture. The States argued that it was either this exchange or no exchange at all. On the other hand, America showed that it did not abandon its own citizens, although, in fact, almost any state abandons its people, it's just that when the whole world starts talking about a particular prisoner, it becomes inconvenient to abandon them, and at that point, it's a matter of national prestige. The former New York City federal judge who sentenced Bout stated, "He's done enough time for what he did in this case". The exchange took place on December 8, 2022, at Abu Dhabi Airport. Before getting into the car that would take her to the plane, Griner said goodbye to her prison guards. When leaving the prison, one of the wardens asked if Griner was planning on coming back, to which the basketball player nodded to get the warden to screw off, but then the warden added, "Come back anytime!". It looked like a joke, or rather like George Orwell's most famous novel... The Russian propaganda built the image of Bout as an innocently convicted man. Viktor Bout was transported to Russia on a luxury plane and was greeted almost as a national hero. Soon he began giving interviews and said that he supported what his country was doing in Ukraine and that he himself would volunteer if given the opportunity and skills. These were the words said by a professional pilot. His answer is understandable, however, being a political figure is much more profitable and safer. Soon after his release, one of the popular Russian political parties nominated Bout as a candidate for deputy of the Legislative Assembly of one of the regions. The man who supplied weapons to the vilest people on Earth went into politics, got promoted, and now, instead of prison, will sit in the State Duma, even though the people did not elect him there. Although, as many Russians say, "Half of our politicians have similar or even worse backgrounds". His connections, even if has now been many years, will help Russia obtain the necessary weapons, which Bout himself once took out of the country. But it seems that Viktor Bout cares little about any moral code. He believes that if it weren't him, someone else would sell weapons. And he's right. Bout never worked alone and there are people who, at a minimum, are no better than him; puppeteers who commit monstrous acts with the assistance of people like him. Viktor Bout is the "necessary evil".