Viktor Anatolyevich Bout, better known by his stage name Viktor Bout, is a Russian arms dealer, businessman, and former Soviet military interpreter. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s and early 2000s, he is accused of using his many air transport companies to smuggle weapons from Eastern Europe to Africa and the Middle East.
Viktor Bout: Early Life, Age, Wiki, Parents, Ethnicity
On January 13, 1967, in Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Association, a man by the name of Viktor Anatolyevich Bout entered the world. He is Ukrainian by nationality and Russian by identity.
Similarly to this, he is a devoted Christian and belongs to the white race. Viktor is currently 55 years old, a milestone he recently celebrated, and according to his birthdate, his star sign is Capricorn. He is the son of Raisa Bout, his mother; his father’s identity is unknown. He also has a sibling named Sergei Sessions who is related to him. Viktor continued his education after leaving the Tactical Establishment of Unknown Languages.
Quick Facts
| Name | Viktor Bout |
|---|---|
| Age | 55 Years Old |
| Nick Name | Merchant of Death |
| Birth Name | Viktor Anatolyevich Bout |
| Birth Date | 1967-01-13 |
| Gender | Male |
| Profession | Entrepreneur |
| Place Of Birth | Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union |
| Birth Nation | Russia |
| Ethnicity | Ukrainian |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Religion | Christian |
| Race | White |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Mother | Raisa Bout |
| Siblings | 1 |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse | Alla Bout |
| Children | 1 |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Source of Wealth | Arms Dealer career |
| Net Worth | $50 million |
| Height | 6 ft |
| Weight | 87 kg |
| Hair Color | Light brown |
| Eye Color | Dark brown |
| Body Type | Average |
| Links | Wikipedia |
What is Viktor Bout’s Professional Career?
Since his personal website noted that he had been a translator in the Soviet Army, Viktor Bout began his career in the armed forces of the Soviet Union. He is said to have left the Soviet Army in 1991 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, at which point he started an air freight company. He also participated in a Soviet military operation that supported the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) during the Angolan Civil War in the late 1980s. Around the time of the Soviet Union’s demise, he launches his first air freight company, Air Cess, which he later expands to include supplies for Afghanistan’s pre-Taliban government in 1994.
During the 1995 Airstan incident, he also took part in negotiations to release Russian captives, and for the first time, he was formally linked to arms trafficking. He was suspected of giving Charles Taylor weapons to use in the First Liberian Civil War in Liberia and then getting engaged in the Yugoslav Wars by dealing in weapons.
When 200,000 AK-47 weapons vanished en route from Bosnia to Iraq in May 2006, the Slobodna Bosna newspaper asserted that Cengic was Viktor’s business partner. After the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, he appeared in Moscow and said that his aircraft continued to fly regularly to Afghanistan, but he continued to deny having any contact with al-Qaeda or the Taliban in favor of supporting the rebel Northern Alliance.
Career
He is accused of providing arms to a number of armed organizations in Africa in the 2000s, and his network is said to have given Kenya surface-to-air missiles that were used to strike an Israeli airliner in 2002 as it was taking off. Prior to the 2006 Lebanon War, he was allegedly observed meeting with Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, despite some sources claiming Bout was really in Russia at the time. Additionally, documents discovered in the former intelligence headquarters of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli soon after the Gaddafi government was overthrown in 2011 revealed that in late September 2003, British intelligence officials informed Musa Kusa that Viktor had a “considerable commercial presence in Libya” and intended to advance his interests there.
Viktor Bout is who? Brittney Griner was exchanged for the “Merchant of Death,” a Russian arms dealer, according to CBS News.
Throughout the 2000s, he was thought to have supplied weaponry to various armed organizations in Africa. through CBS News
Additionally, he was found guilty in “absentia” of faking documents in the Central African Republic but the accusations were ultimately withdrawn in 2000. In addition, Belgian officials asked Interpol to issue a notice for him in connection with allegations of money laundering. His American assets were among those that Executive Order 13348 ordered to be frozen in July 2004. The Royal Thai Police detained Viktor on March 6, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand, in response to an Interpol red alert that the United States had requested due to a plan to provide material assistance or resources to a foreign terrorist group that had been classified as such. In February 2009, members of the US Congress sent a letter with their signatures to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton requesting that the Bout extradition “remain a top priority.”
More on Career
In 2014, he was represented by the law office of former US Attorney General John Ashcroft in an effort to get his conviction overturned through a new trial. In June 2020, Moscow was considering trading Whelan for Bout and a pilot called Konstantin Yaroshenko as part of a prisoner swap.
According to a Forbes story, the Biden administration offered Viktor in return for the release of Brittney Griner, a star player in the Women’s National Basketball Association, in May 2022. In Sheremetyevo International Airport, Federal Security Service officers detained Griner on what would be considered minor narcotics charges in the United States, but for which she could have received up to 10 years in jail.
In July 2022, President Joe Biden provided additional support for the proposal. On July 27, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the United States had made a “substantial offer” to Russia in exchange for the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner and Whelan, but he would not specify what that offer was.
The United States reportedly offered to swap Bout for both Griner and Whelan the day after, according to CNN. In addition, the movie “Lord of War” is allegedly based on 2005-launched charges concerning Bout’s personal history and black-market activities. Viktor is discussed in the third chapter of Nick Kochan’s 2005 novel “The Washing Machine,” titled “Merchant of Death.”
The Notorious Mr. Bout, a documentary about Bout, had its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The 2007 book “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible” by Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah and the 2015 television episode “The Merchant of Death” of “Manhunt: Kill or Capture” both explain Viktor Bout’s rise and fall. The seventh episode, “The Merchant of Death,” in the American documentary series “Damian Lewis: Spy Wars,” which A&E Networks released in 2019, tells the story of Viktor.
Who is Viktor Bout’s wife?
Viktor Bout got hitched to his lovely wife Alla Bout in 1992, so he is now a married guy. The couple is also blessed with an Elizaveta Session-named girl. Despite the fact that Viktor has been seriously devoting his time and effort to the US Prison in Marion since June 2012, Alla and Viktor’s relationship is still going strong. Alla, who works as an arms dealer, is supportive of him, and the two are really in love. In terms of sexual orientation, he is straight.
Body Measurements
Viktor Bout continues to stand at a height of 6 feet and weighs a respectable 87 kg. His eyes are a dark earthy tone, and he has light earthy hair. Additionally, his body type is typical.
Victor Bout’s Net worth
Starting in 2022, Viktor Bout will have total assets of $50 million. He will also receive an excellent salary of about a large sum of money per year. He has made a sizable sum of money from his profession as an arms dealer, which accounts for the majority of his income.
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