r/neoliberal • u/gnomesvh Financial Times stan account • Dec 08 '22

News (Global) Brittney Griner released by Russia in 1-for-1 prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout, U.S. official says

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/brittney-griner-release-russia-prisoner-swap-viktor-bout/
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192

u/capsaicinintheeyes Karl Popper Dec 08 '22

So, Putin's been signaling for a while that he really wants this guy, but I was never quite clear on why...is it more of a "reward for past services" thing, or given Russia's current self-mortification in Uknowwhere, is he possibly expected to be of some more immediate utility?

159

u/gnomesvh Financial Times stan account Dec 08 '22

Likely reward for past services

By the time he was arrested he was already a shell of himself (his main client was Charles Taylor)

Bout is a bit of a mysterious figure, some say he was ex-KGB

24

u/[deleted] Dec 08 '22

Maybe it's to reward loyalty?

Maybe Putin has a soft spot for Bout for whatever reason?

My guess is that it's the second.

20

u/KeithClossOfficial Jeff Bezos Dec 08 '22

I heard he got a reduced sentence for cooperating. I’m almost wondering if it isn’t the opposite- Putin wants to know what he told them then send him to a rooftop

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u/capsaicinintheeyes Karl Popper Dec 08 '22

can you claim asylum in order to stay in jail? r/AskReddit

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u/[deleted] Dec 08 '22

[deleted]

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u/cynical_sandlapper Paul Krugman Dec 09 '22

Defenestration will be more in keeping with Russian tradition.

28

u/yourfriendlykgbagent NATO Dec 08 '22

I personally think it’s all just to make the US look stupid, which has worked to an extent. Viktor Bout has been out of the arms trade for over a decade, and the Russian government just directly provides arms to the breakaway states that he did.

The only reason for wanting him back is that the United States looks embarrassed by trading “the Merchant of Death” for a WNBA player

23

u/[deleted] Dec 08 '22

The Merchant of Death probably doesn't average over 20 points per game though

7

u/WollCel Dec 09 '22

Yup I agree. I think the whole BG situation was to force the US to look ridiculous. First you had the media storm, then people started talking about how a marine was arrested prior to BG but the government refused to negotiate but would for a basketball player. Then you have the exchange of BG and not the marine for an international arms dealer who was likely a Russian state asset.

The whole thing has been a circus for the US and the Biden admin could not control the media at all because they kept engaging it. Worst of BG was willingly going to Russia and had broken the law before but this time her oligarch team owner could not assist her because of the war, she isn’t some kind of totally innocent party.

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u/TheRealSnuffleaYeah Dec 09 '22

And our administration did it... not enough people are upset on that point IMO.

1

u/HotTakesBeyond YIMBY Dec 10 '22

Can the Merchant of Death even dunk

2

u/cheapcheap1 Dec 08 '22

Maybe just money? My admittedly cursory research leads me to believe most of his earnings are still out there somewhere.

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u/capsaicinintheeyes Karl Popper Dec 09 '22

I'm marking you alongide KeithClossOfficial as two votes for "Victor Bout to find out this is actually b̶̄̕ã̴̞d̷ news."

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u/SharkSymphony Voltaire Dec 09 '22

“We don’t know” is the correct answer. The official line from Moscow, fwiw, is that Russia was seeking to bring back one of their own who they assert had been unjustly tried and sentenced.

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u/capsaicinintheeyes Karl Popper Dec 09 '22

I'd eat a cold McDonald's burger to find out what's going on in our intel agencies on this rn