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Viktor Bout, once dubbed "the merchant of death" by the United
States, served 10 years of a 25-year sentence in U.S. prisons on
arms dealing charges until his release in the prisoner exchange
with Griner, an Olympic gold medallist.
RIA cited an official in Russia's ultra-nationalist Liberal
Democratic Party (LDPR)'s local organisation as saying that Bout
had been nominated as a candidate for the legislative assembly
of the Ulyanovsk region in central Russia.
Bout was arrested by U.S. agents during a sting in Thailand in
2008. The U.S. Department of Justice described him as one of the
world's most prolific arms dealers who had sold weapons across
the globe to terrorists and America's enemies for decades. Bout
always denied the charges.
Griner was sentenced in 2022 to nine years in a penal colony for
possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil - which is
banned in Russia - after a judicial process labelled a sham by
Washington. Griner has since resumed her sports career.
Bout publicly joined the LDPR following his return to Russia.
Despite its name, the LDPR holds far-right, ultra-nationalist
views and strongly supports President Vladimir Putin's invasion
of Ukraine.
The LDPR has previously provided a home to Andrei Lugovoi, who
is wanted in Britain for the 2006 murder of ex-KGB officer and
Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko. Lugovoi has served as an LDPR
member of Russia's national parliament since 2007.
(Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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