On Friday, December 9, Maria Butina posted on the portal RT First interview with Viktor Bout, who has returned to his hometown after 14 years in prison.
He specifically said: I did not come across with manifestations of Russian hostility.
Note that in 2012, US authorities sent Bout to ADX Florence maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado, to serve his sentence.
“You know, I’ve never encountered such anti-Russian hostility, probably because in this prison … America is located in a very traditional “red belt” – a one-story America, as we used to call it,” he said. He told Butina.
Booth stressed that he did not see prejudice from both other inmates and staff.
“Basically, everyone had some kind of sympathy for Russia in some way. Or at least, if they don’t know anything, they at least asked about Russia,” he explained.
Bout also believes that the West was “shocked” by Russia’s desire to develop as an independent state.
“The West believes that they did not finish us off in 1990, when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate. And the fact that now we’re just trying to live and be anybody, you know, governed and not dependent on anyone, a truly independent power and to evolve in the way our people choose, which is of course very shocking. something for them. news,” he says.
According to Bout, the agreement between Russia and the United States to trade him for Brittney Griner is still in the hands of the parties. managed Finding common ground.
At the same time, he added, one should not assume that the American side is somehow “bent on”. According to him, Washington’s politics often “degrade to the childish level of backyard children.”
“I am sure that neither our leaders nor the decision makers in our country do not consider whether you are weak or not in such categories. True power never needs some kind of manifestation on such a sorry, cheap level,” Booth said.
According to him, “since the deal is done, some points of contact have been found that can satisfy both sides.” “Otherwise, this deal would not have happened,” he said.
Booth also expressed the view that Hollywood could make a better movie about him.
The question of whether Hollywood’s opinion of him was correct was the most frequently asked question he had to answer in an American prison.
“Maybe I would have found a more interesting story if they had at least asked me somehow,” Bout said. According to him, Hollywood “has become the propaganda department of the Washington District Committee.”
We are talking about the movie “Lord of War”, the image of its main character was deleted from Bout, reports TASS. Russian lawyer Alexei Tarasov, his client i watched this movie.
“As far as I know, he’s seen this movie. When Victor was imprisoned in Thailand, the guards asked him to sign autographs for the covers and DVDs of this movie. Victor, of course, does not identify himself with this hero.
Tarasov believes that Victor is more charismatic if you choose between Nicolas Cage and Booth.
Bout, who was sentenced on Thursday to 25 years in prison for illegal arms trade in the US exchange It’s about Brittney Griner, an American basketball player who was convicted of drug trafficking in the Russian Federation. procedure took place At the Abu Dhabi airport, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on 8 December. Washington’s categorically refused to speak. Nevertheless, Moscow continued to work in this direction, and Bout returned to his hometown the previous day.
In 2008, at the request of the United States, he was arrested in Thailand on charges of illegal arms smuggling and supporting terrorism. Washington believes Bout will allegedly supply weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – the People’s Army, which the US recognizes as a terrorist organization. He was extradited to the United States in 2010, in 2012 the court sentenced him to 25 years in prison. The Russian pleaded not guilty.
Greiner is a two-time Olympic champion. In February, he was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport with cannabis oil cartridges in his hand luggage. He said the doctors prescribed marijuana to him and forgot to take it out of his bag. The court sentenced Greiner to nine years in prison for drug trafficking. In November, he was transferred from a pre-trial detention center to the general regime colony in Mordovia.
It was said that prisoner exchange negotiations were conducted in Moscow and Washington through a channel specially created for this purpose. On 8 December at Abu Dhabi airport Bout was replaced by Griner. Russian human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova announced that both prisoners have been pardoned, meaning they will not serve the remainder of their sentences. Bout returned to Moscow after his release. Greiner went to the USA, his plane landed in Texas.