Relying on his military and intelligence connections, Bout acquired several Antonov cargo planes known for their heavy airlift capacity and ability to land in treacherous terrain. Military planes sat abandoned on Soviet runways because there was no money for maintenance or fuel, and no one was flying them. Piles of weapons and ammunition lay discarded in dusty warehouses. When the Soviet Union teetered and collapsed in 1991, Bout, then in his mid-20s, astutely saw opportunity amid the chaos. The military language school was known as a training ground for the Soviet foreign military intelligence directorate known as the GRU. He reportedly is fluent in more than a half-dozen languages, including English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Uzbek.īout has acknowledged graduating from the prestigious Military Institute of Foreign Languages, then working in Africa in the late 1980s as a Soviet military translator. Russian state media calls him a “businessman” and an “entrepreneur.” His former website says he’s a “born salesman with undying love for aviation.” A longtime DEA agent once described him as “one of the most dangerous men on the face of the earth.”īorn in the Soviet outpost of Tajikistan to Russian parents, Bout, 55, displayed an early gift for mastering languages.
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(AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, File) Who is Viktor Bout?Įxactly how bad is Viktor Bout? The answer varies depending on who you ask. WBNA star Brittney Griner and former U.S.
#Russian time zones movie#
The Russian arms dealer who once inspired a Hollywood movie is back in the headlines with speculation around a return to Moscow in a prisoner exchange for U.S. Viktor Bout, center, is led by armed Thai police commandoes as he arrives at the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. He is a man who the DEA had to lure out of Russia to bring to justice and who the U.S. Bout, the inspiration for the 2005 Nicolas Cage film, “Lord of War,” is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in Illinois for conspiring to kill Americans and sell weapons to terrorists. Then there’s the matter of Russia’s apparent lopsided asking price. As Blinken himself acknowledged, a high-profile prisoner exchange could incentivize the Russians to seize more Americans and could embolden other rogue nations to do the same. While the State Department has declared both Griner and Whelan to be wrongfully detained and has labeled freeing them a top priority, there is a downside to negotiating a deal to bring them home. Whelan, a former Marine, is currently serving 16 years on espionage charges that the United States has described as bogus. Griner has been in Russian custody since February 17 and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of drug smuggling charges. Griner did not dispute that she brought vape cartridges containing hash oil into Russia, but she insisted it was an unplanned accident caused by her haste in packing for a transatlantic flight to Moscow. The revelation of a potential prisoner exchange comes on the same day that Griner testified in a Russian court and made her case for a lenient sentence. “My hope would be in speaking with foreign minister Lavrov, I can advance the efforts to bring them home,” Blinken said.
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That conversation would be Blinken’s first with his Kremlin counterpart since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, but the Secretary of State argued there is value in “conveying clear, direct messages to the Russians on key priorities” like securing the return of Griner and Whelan.
#Russian time zones trial#
involving Griner until after her criminal trial concludes.īlinken said that he intends to “follow up personally” with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to push for the release of Griner and Whelan. informed Russia of its offer for Griner and Whelan “weeks ago.” Russian officials have publicly said that they will not engage in negotiations with the U.S. In a Wednesday afternoon news conference at the Department of State, Blinken revealed that the U.S. Steve Zissou declined comment, citing the sensitivity of the situation at the moment. Yahoo Sports reached out to Bout’s attorney seeking to confirm the CNN report. A plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner has been under discussion since earlier this year and has recently received the backing of President Biden, CNN reported on Wednesday.