Freed arms dealer Viktor Bout joins Russian ultra-nationalist party days after Griner swap

Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer freed on Thursday after 14 years in U.S. custody in exchange for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, has joined the Kremlin-loyal ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), its leader announced on Monday.

In a video posted on Telegram, LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky, standing on a stage beside Bout, said: "I want to thank Viktor Anatolievich (Bout) for the decision he has made and welcome him into the ranks of the best political party in today's Russia." Despite its name, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) has since its founding in 1991 espoused a hardline, ultra-nationalist ideology, demanding Russia reconquer the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Bout said he joined the LDPR "because the party stands for ordinary citizens; because the party stands for the 'Russian World'; because the party stands for our great motherland. It was a natural choice."

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