Former convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout is among a slate of ultra-nationalist candidates vying for a seat in Russia’s tightly-controlled parliament, ABC News reports.
Bout is running for a seat in the Russian national Duma as an official candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party, or LDPR, a staunchly right-wing and pro-government party despite its leftist name, ABC reported this week. According to ABC, the LDPR “competes with the Communists by trying to cater to voters nostalgic for the USSR.”
In recent months, well in advance of the Duma elections being held from September 18 through September 20, Bout has been both a high-profile political figure in Russia and as well, a high-profile guest on ultra-conservative American talk shows and podcasts.
Bout appeared in June on right-wing media host Tucker Carlson’s podcast and has guested several times on the podcast headed by right-wing media figure Alex Jones.
During his Carlson interview, Bout warned that the Putin government in Moscow “may have no other choice” but to strike out at countries that are aiding Ukraine in its grueling war with Russia.
Bout has described himself as a struggling businessman, but the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported in 2024 that he had joined negotiations to provide weapons to Houthi militants. The Houthis are backed by Iran in the current conflict in Yemen and targeted by the Trump administration in its elongated Persian Gulf combat with the Iranian government.
Bout served 10 years in federal prison in Illinois for an arms-related court conviction and was freed in 2022 as part of a swap for American basketball star Brittney Griner, who had been convicted on narcotics charges in a Moscow court. Bout’s massive global air and weapons transport operation was described in detail in “Merchant of Death,” the book about his activities reported and written by Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun.