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Viktor Bout

Russian arms dealer convicted in U.S., swapped for Brittney Griner.

Viktor Bout

Drug Enforcement Administration · Public domain

Viktor Bout is a Russian citizen accused of being one of the world's largest illegal arms dealers, known as the "Merchant of Death."[1][2] He was convicted in a U.S. federal court in 2011 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.[3] In 2022, Bout was released in a prisoner exchange for American basketball player Brittney Griner.[3]

Quick Facts

Nickname
  • Merchant of Death
  • Vadim Markovich Aminov
  • Viktor Bulakin
  • Viktor Butt
  • Viktor Budd
  • Boris
Birth name
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout
Born
13 January 1967
Birthplace
Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union
Occupation
Arms dealer
Office
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ulyanovsk Oblast
Took office
20 September 2023
Party
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (2022–present)

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

In 2000, a United Nations report formally mentioned Bout in connection with arms trafficking, stating Air Cess was the main transporter of weapons from Bulgaria.[4] On 6 March 2008, Bout was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, based on an Interpol red notice requested by the United States.[5] He was extradited to the United States on 16 November 2010.[6] Bout has been married to Alla Vladimirovna Bout since 1992.[7]

According to United Nations documents and Bout's own statements, his birthplace is Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, and his date of birth is most probably 13 January 1967.[8] At age 12, he became fluent in Esperanto after joining the Dushanbe Esperanto club.[9] In 1995, Bout established an air freight company called Air Cess, which was registered in Liberia.[10]

What the cited sources add

A Spiegel investigation reported that some Western experts believe Bout has spread more terror than Osama bin Laden.[2][11] According to the same source, Bout's secretive connections reach senior levels of government in Moscow and Washington.[2][11] The Global Policy Forum account states that Bout graduated as an interpreter from the Military Foreign Languages Institute and served in the 339th military-transport aerial regiment.[12] That source also reports that Bout was discharged into the reserves as a Senior Lieutenant in 1992.[12]

The Christian Science Monitor profile notes that Bout was charged in 2000 with forging documents in the Central African Republic and convicted in absentia.[1]

Gallery

Viktor Bout
Drug Enforcement Administration · Public domain

References

  1. "Who is Victor Bout?" Global News Blog (The Christian Science Monitor) by Elizabeth Ryan, 22 October 2009. facts only, no text reused. features.csmonitor.com
  2. Trapping the Lord of War, The Rise and Fall of Viktor Bout Part 1. spiegel.de, 6 October 2010. facts only, no text reused. spiegel.de
  3. Wikipedia, "Viktor Bout" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "What is hashish oil and how did it land Brittney Griner in a Russian jail?", The Independent, 2022-12-08 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Viktor Bout" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Addendum to the final report of the Monitoring Mechanism on Sanctions against UNITA S/2001/363; Copy of the text of S/2000/1225 Final report of the Monitoring Mechanism on Angola Sanctions, UN Security Council, 21 December 2000; Copy of the text of S/2000/1225 Final report of the Monitoring Mechanism on Angola Sanctions, UN Security Council, 21 December 2000 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Viktor Bout" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: INTERPOL praises international co-operation behind arrest of suspected international arms dealer by Thai Police, Media release, INTERPOL, 7 March 2008. Retrieve; "Russian 'arms dealer' trial opens" , BBC, Monday, 22 September 2008; A letter to Secretary of State Mrs. Clinton regarding Bout extradition . PDF, Victor Bout's personal website (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Viktor Bout" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mydans, "Russian Arrives in U.S. to Face Arms Charges", The New York Times, 16 November 2009; "Extradition of 'arms dealer' Viktor Bout goes ahead", BBC News, 16 November 2010; "Thailand extradites accused international arms dealer", CNN, 16 November 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Viktor Bout" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lenta.ru: : Бут, Виктор"; "Радио ЭХО Москвы :: История одного города, 19.02.2006 15:08 Йоханнесбург : Дмитрий Иосифов, Алла Бут" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Viktor Bout" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Arms and the Man New York Times, 17 August 2003; "Meeting Viktor Bout, the 'Merchant of Death'" , BBC Channel 4 Snowblog, 16 March 2009; Victor Bout's Personal Website . Victorbout.com.; Addendum to the final report of the Monitoring Mechanism on Sanctions against UNITA S/2001/363; Trapping the Lord of War, The Rise and Fall of Viktor Bout Part 2: Secretive about His Past. spiegel.de, 6 October 2055; "The deadly convenience of Victor Bout", ETH Zurich, 24 June 2008; "Security Council Committee on Liberia Updates Assets Freeze List United Na en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Viktor Bout" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Light, "Who is Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer swapped for Griner?", Reuters, 8 December 2022; Viktor Bout arrested The Economist, 13 March 2008; "Viktor Bout, seigneur de guerres" , L'Express, 24 April 2009; "Un trafiquant d'arme, polyglotte émérite, était espérantophone dans sa jeunesse!" AgoraVox, 12 May 2009; "Komercisto de la morto" estas esperantisto Libera Folio, 5 May 2009; Victor Bout's Personal Website, FAQ . Victorbout.com. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Viktor Bout" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: C K Daly, "The Deadly Convenience of Victor Bout", Global Policy Forum, 24 June 2008; "Security Council Committee on Liberia Updates Assets Freeze List United Nations Press Release", United Nations – Press Releases, 1 December 2005; Victor Bout's Personal Website . Victorbout.com.; "Flying Anything to Anybody" , The Economist, 18 December 2008; Arms and the Man New York Times, 17 August 2003; Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun: "The Merchant of Death" . (PDF).; Trapping the Lord of War, The Rise and Fall of Viktor Bout Part 1. spiegel.de, 6 Oc en.wikipedia.org
  11. Trapping the Lord of War, The Rise and Fall of Viktor Bout Part 2: Secretive about His Past. spiegel.de, 6 October 2055. facts only, no text reused. spiegel.de
  12. C K Daly, "The Deadly Convenience of Victor Bout", Global Policy Forum, 24 June 2008. facts only, no text reused. archive.globalpolicy.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Viktor Bout (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Test yourself on TriviaCafe: In what year was Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout born: 1936, 1967, 1968 or 1970? · More people trivia

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