"From Arms Dealing to Politics: Viktor Bout's Surprising Bid for Office"
Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death," who was exchanged for WNBA star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap, has been approved as a candidate for local elections in Russia by a far-right party. Bout, who fueled civil wars by supplying weapons to fighting factions, is running for the Legislative Assembly elections in the Ulyanovsk region and the Krasnoyarsk City Council.