Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who was jailed for arms smuggling in the USA and was released in a barter recently, gave his first major interview after returning to television. RT. The Russian said that he was the most difficult for himself in the American prison system and how he evaluated the special operation carried out by the RF Armed Forces in Ukraine. MP and journalist Maria Butina, who was previously convicted of working as an unregistered “foreign agent” in the US and sentenced to 18 months in prison, spoke with Bout.
About the special operation
Bout stressed that he supports special operations in Ukraine and would volunteer to go personally to the war zone “if he had the opportunity and the necessary skills”.
“I wondered why we didn’t start sooner but we weren’t ready. I fully support it and if I had the opportunity and the necessary skills, of course I would have gone,” he said.
According to the businessman, in 2014, residents of many Ukrainian cities supported the Russian authorities: in Kharkov, Donbass, Odessa, protesters of the Russian tricolor took to the streets.
According to Bout, residents of the United States do not believe the information broadcast on central channels about what is happening in Ukraine. According to him, “everyone knows perfectly well that everything is bought, everything is arranged.”
“And the prison, along with nursing homes, is the only audience that watches CNN, for example,” he added.
about the western world
Booth also criticized Western society and changes in Western culture.
In an interview, he said, “What happens in the West is simply the suicide of civilization,” and he warned that if this is not prevented, at least in the territory of the “Western world”, then the whole planet will “suicide”. ”.
According to him, “it goes in all directions: both drugs and LGBT”. Booth also spoke of tolerance for Americans’ gender definition, being surprised at the existence of “72 genders.”
Booth also touched on the African-American issue, saying that there is “reverse racism” in the United States right now because it is “very difficult” to “be a normal person who wants to have a family there.”
About solitary confinement
The businessman admitted that the most difficult thing for him in an American prison was the lack of the opportunity to communicate with his family and friends. “The most difficult was the lack of communication with friends and loved ones. [в американской тюрьме]Saying what could happen, Ayda added that she was only allowed to call her loved ones once.
The Russian was held in solitary confinement for three years. To Butina’s question about how she experienced such punishment, she replied, “Somehow I came across an interesting book that contains a very interesting assumption that circumstances are always neutral and that only our attitude makes them either very negative or very positive.”
“The ringing silence and the poisonous glow of fluorescent lamps. In New York, for example, in the already closed MCC prison, in the so-called “tenth Duke” block, there are deliberately only six cells, where even small windows are sandblasted so that you cannot see anything. ”Bout recalled that the Nazis helped create the US prison system. According to him, under these circumstances he completely lost interest in food and lost a lot of weight.
About tanks for the Taliban (the organization is banned in Russia)
The businessman once again denied the US allegations that he was transporting the tanks on the orders of the Taliban (the organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities).
“They accused me of transporting 200 T-90 tanks to the Taliban. What does it mean to carry 200 tanks: that’s 200 flights to Afghanistan. On which region? Where is the evidence? So, this is interesting: let’s blow up and then we will add everything, ”he replied, emphasizing that he had nothing to do with the Taliban, answering the relevant question.
about the president
Bout said that a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin hangs in his cell at all times.
“Yes always. Why? I’m proud that I’m a Russian and our president is Vladimir Putin,” he said.
about plans
Bout will be health-checked and recuperated after his release. He lost six teeth in an American prison, so he’s going to the dentist first.
“I am experiencing this happiness: being with my loved ones, being in my own country. Enjoy the snow, enjoy the air of freedom”.
“Political Compromises”
Booth was traded to American basketball player Brittney Griner on December 8. The athlete was serving a prison sentence in a colony in Mordovia for importing e-cigarettes containing poppy oil into the country.
as he wrote Washington post, this change required “difficult political compromises” in the United States. They especially opposed the extradition of Bout to the Russian side in the US Department of Justice.
“If Greiner was my relative, I would go for the trade. However, it is insane to replace a well-known international arms dealer with a basketball player.”
In addition, Russia’s refusal to allow Paul Whelan, who is serving a prison sentence on charges of espionage in Russia, to be included in the exchange list was “a bitter moment for the United States”.
According to Booth, Greiner was very happy during the trade. “I wished him success, he even extended his hand… In our tradition, we wish everyone good luck and happiness,” he said.
Victor Bout was arrested in Thailand on March 6, 2008 and subsequently extradited to the United States. The American court found the Russian guilty of conspiring to sell weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).