Following his release in a prisoner exchange for WNBA player Brittney Griner, former arms dealer Viktor Bout has entered Russian politics. The 56-year-old has joined the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a far-right party with a smaller presence than Putin's United Russia Party, and is campaigning for a seat in the regional legislature.
Bout, nicknamed the "merchant of death," was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and subsequently served 10 years of a 25-year U.S. sentence before his release in December 2022. His return to Russia coincided with Griner's release after being sentenced to nine years for possessing cannabis oil.
This combination of images shows Viktor Bout, left, a former Russian arms dealer at the criminal court in Bangkok, on Aug. 20, 2010 and WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner, right, in a courtroom prior to a hearing, in Khimki, outside of Moscow. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, left, and Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Griner recently faced an incident of harassment at Dallas/Fort Worth airport involving YouTuber Alex Stein, who questioned her about a purported deal with Vladimir Putin. This incident prompted Griner to advocate for increased WNBA funding for private chartered flights, citing the airport encounter as a "rock bottom" moment for the league.
YouTuber YouTuber Alex Stein asked WNBA star Brittany Griner about a possible triste with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
