Recently, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has become a hot topic in the world, and now, everyone has speculated that the United States and Russia are the biggest beneficiaries of this war. After all, the United States has achieved the attempt to stir up the muddy waters of Russia, and Russia has also prevented Ukraine from entering NATO, and has achieved its established strategic goals.
But in addition to the great powers, there are some people who have made a lot of money in this conflict, and they are arms dealers. Of course, there are also big and small differences between arms dealers, and the possibility that those small arms dealers can influence the outcome of the war is very small, but do not underestimate those big arms dealers, their strength is amazing.
Russia once had the world's number one arms dealer, his value is as high as 60 billion US dollars, basically where there is war where you can see his figure, his influence is so great, even many well-known wars have started because of him, he is Victor. Bout. Victor. What exactly is Boot's history? Why did he spread his business all over the world? What happened to him?
Contact with arms, the first pot of gold
Victor. Bout was born in 1968 in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, a member of the former Soviet Union, to Ukrainian parents. Victor. Boot's infancy was not outstanding, and it was even very ordinary, no different from ordinary people. Soon, time came to Victor. The day Boot became an adult, he decided to join the army, which changed his life ever since.
After joining the army, Victor. Bout came to the Soviet Air Force and carried out many peacekeeping missions in Africa, excellent military merit coupled with later studies, Victor. Bout was successfully admitted to the Military Academy. During his time at the Military Academy, Victor. Butt showed a strong talent for languages, learning 6 Chinese words, including English, French and Portuguese.
Victor at this time. Boot can be called one of the best young officers in the Soviet army. But alas, Victor is about to graduate. Bout happened to encounter the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the results of three years of learning were instantly annihilated, victor. It had become a luxury for Bout to want to remain in the army at this time.
At this time, the various member states of the Soviet Union were independent, and the millions of Red Army members of the Soviet Union could not afford to support them, and under such huge economic pressure, these member countries chose to reduce their troops, Victor. Bout's troops were among them. Victor. Butt's martial arts skills were useless, which made him confused for a long time at that time.
But the good thing is, Victor. Boot's family was quite substantial, with the help of his parents, Victor. Bout opened an airline in the UAE, flipping electronics back and forth between Asia and Africa. Life is hard, but also very rich, Victor. Bout also found joy in the profession.
But soon, an opportunity allowed Victor. Boot saw a new way to make money. In 1995, Victor. At the recommendation of his father-in-law, Butt became acquainted with Bulgarian arms dealers, who entrusted Victor. Bout shipped large quantities of weapons and ammunition to Afghanistan, and they would pay them.
With a try-and-try mentality, Victor. Boot took the deal, and the subsequent shipment went very smoothly, with Victor. Boot also got paid by the arms dealer. Only this single, Victor. Boot made $1 million, an amount so large that Victor. What Boot didn't expect, it also made him darker and darker on this path.
Arms trafficking is getting bigger and bigger
In the "King of War" movie starring Nicolas Cage, there are many very interesting scenes, such as the diamond trade, the drug trade. Although the film's protagonist, Yuri, is a fictional character, the inspiration for these shots is a tribute to Victor. Bout. Even Yuri and Victor. Butt's circumstances are exactly the same.
Victor. After the First Pot of Gold was found by the Bulgarian arms dealers, Boute soon realized that he was more suitable for the arms industry than these people, he had his own means of transport, routes, and now there was a shortage of factories. Subsequently, in order to expand the arms business, Victor. Bout traveled throughout eastern Europe all year round, collecting out the weapons they had sealed in their warehouses, and then refurbishing them for sale.
No middlemen, Victor. Boot soon made a lot of money. Once people have entered into greed, they simply cannot give up the pleasure that greed brings to people. Victor. Bout desperately needed to expand his arms business. Soon, Victor, who had experience in African peacekeeping. Boot seized the business opportunity. He saw the instability of Africa, which was a paradise for arms.
Now, Victor. Boot's biggest weakness is that guns and ammunition are not enough. At this time, Victor. Bout's experience helped him again, when the Soviet Union collapsed, millions of troops were dismantled, and the arms of these troops were piled up in warehouses, and the number of them was not carefully calculated.
Victor. Bout found many of the top Soviet leaders and reached a community of interests with them. Soviet top brass sold a large backlog of arms to Victor. Bout. Coinciding with the turmoil in Africa at this time, more than 10 unrest in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries, the African nationalist rebel movement is even more arrogant, Victor. The arms that Bout had received from the Soviet Union at low prices were sold to the rebels.
Victor. Disguised as a philanthropist, Boot traveled among African countries, and he sold a large number of RPGs, rifles, and anti-aircraft missiles to Africa. Greatly armed the rebels, increased combat effectiveness, the Congo and Angolan government forces and rebels fought in the civil war, only Victor. Boot made a lot of money in it.
Victor. All of Bout's actions not only completely violated the agreement issued by the United Nations that year (arms are not allowed to be sold to them except for humanitarian goods). And Victor. The weapons trafficked by Bout provoked civil wars in Africa, and countless African people were separated and homeless.
What is even more terrifying is that the african extremist democrats treated the people very cruelly, and in addition to the massacre, they also supported a large number of child soldiers, brainwashed them, and made them "great democratic fighters". It can be said that most of the chaos that has emerged in Africa is victor. Boot caused it single-handedly.
One of the most famous battles is the "Democratic Republic of the Congo Civil War", the initiator of this battle is Victor. Bout. He sold his arms to African armies with poor military discipline, resulting in a large number of massacres. The weapons he sold even threatened the lives of peacekeepers at one point.
At that time, the peacekeeping forces found that the rebels actually used RPGs and AK rifles, after all, the United Nations issued a notice that weapons were not allowed to be sold to Africa. After a long interrogation, it was learned that the person who sold them the arms was Victor. Bout. Since then Victor. Bout's behavior has attracted the attention of the US CIA.
Evade guilt and cooperate with the United States
Victor. Boot, the man behind the scenes, finally surfaced, but his behavior did not rise to national sanctions at this time, after all, there were many arms dealers in the United States at that time doing dirty things. CIA for Victor. Butt was also also monitoring, trying to avoid the re-flow of weapons and ammunition to Africa.
In the late 1990s, Victor. Bout also sensed that the CIA began to investigate him, and in order to once again sell arms like various countries, he began to disguise his identity, his more than 50 large transport aircraft, began to deliver some humanitarian supplies for the United Nations, of course, for profit, he secretly put a large amount of arms under these supplies.
To make money, Victor. Bout's behavior became more and more excessive, and he began to be dissatisfied with simply transporting weapons. Subsequently, Victor. Bout contacted Gaddafi and sold him a large number of armored vehicles, helicopters and anti-aircraft missiles. Subsequently, Victor. Bout also sold a large number of weapons to terrorist forces in Afghanistan, the Taliban and other countries.
That's how Western countries describe Victor. Bout: "Without him, many wars in the world would not have happened in the past 30 years" and even Western countries gave him a resounding title of "death businessman". It turns out that Victor. Butt can indeed be called a death businessman.
The weapons and ammunition sold from his hands do not know how many innocent civilians have been killed. In the chaotic times in Africa alone, millions of people have been killed and nearly ten million people have been displaced. Thus, Victor. Boot's sins are deep, and the speed of expansion of his arms industry has reached the point of madness.
It would be fine if he was just selling weapons, but most of the weapons he sold to terrorist forces were used by the Americans, which made the Americans feel sorry for Victor. Boot's resentment was very deep, and the CIA had a deep grudge against Victor. Bout did not just investigate, but arrested him. Victor. Bout also knew that the things he had done were indeed too much, and in order to survive and escape responsibility, he decided to flee to Russia and live in Russia for a long time.
At this time the CIA completely took Victor. Bout had no way. At that time, the Western countries led by the United States did not deal with Russia, and Russia was not willing to take Victor. Boot handed it over. The CIA was unable to carry out blatant arrests on Russian territory at all, and could only temporarily allow Victor. Boot was at large.
In 2003, the Gulf War was fought between the United States and Iraq. Although Boute was far away in Russia, he still remotely directed his transport team to sell arms. To calm the anger of the Americans, Victor. Bout took the initiative to take on a lot of the logistics of the United States.
However, his compromise only bought the forgiveness of the United States for a period of time, and after the Gulf War, the United States still put him on the wanted list. The CIA's surveillance of him is getting stronger and stronger day by day, Victor. Boot had now completely cut off the money of arms, if at this time Victor. Bout may be able to live a good life in Russia, but human greed eventually leads him to the road of arrest.
The businessman who died, eventually arrested
Nowadays, Victor. Bout has been targeted by the CIA, waiting for him to go abroad and arrest him. Victor. Bout also knew this, and had been shrinking into Russian territory, preferring to command remotely than be killed. The CIA didn't do much until 2006, when things took a turn for the better.
For arms dealers, where there is war, it means that where there is money. In 2006, the CIA, in the name of Colombian rebels, approached Victor. Bout, buy a shipment of arms from him. Victor. Boot had been suppressed by the United States, and now a big business came, Victor. Boot agreed without even thinking about it.
But what he didn't know was that this was the CIA's "fishing law enforcement", and because it was not easy to catch in Russia, the CIA wanted to give Victor a shot. Boot cheated out. The CIA camouflaged Colombian rebels against Victor. Bout said that such a huge arms deal, I hope the two sides can meet and talk, but they and Russia can not enter due to diplomatic relations, let's go directly to Thailand to meet.
Victor. Boot agreed without even thinking about it. During the meeting, the "Colombian rebels" said they needed 10,000 AKs, 10 million rounds of ammunition, hundreds of mortars and a large amount of explosives. Such a huge arms deal, Victor. Boot closed his mouth happily, but in fact, all their actions had been recorded by the eavesdropper under the table.
After the business was negotiated, Victor. Boot just wanted to leave, and the police who had gathered evidence immediately confronted Victor. Bout was arrested. Subsequently, the Thai police placed Victor. Bout was picked up and a trial was held in Thailand. The United States expressed dissatisfaction with Thailand's decision, after all, Victor. Boute has a blood feud with them and must send him to the United States to stand trial in the United States.
Russia was also unhappy at this time, after all, Victor. Bout is Russian, and it is a matter of going to the United States to stand trial. The three parties just kept pulling and eventually Victor. Butt was still taken away by the United States, and the American court sentenced Victor. Boot was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Although the 25-year sentence was not very heavy compared to what he did, victor at this time. Bout is in his 40s, 25 years in prison, and when he comes out he's 60-70 years old. Victor. The news of Boot's arrest and trial drove journalists around the world crazy and came to interview the "death businessman". Yet Victor. Bout was silent about the conversation between him and the United States at this time, and he only said one sentence: "Instead of saying that he is a heinous arms dealer, it is better to arrest the president of the United States and put him in prison, they are the biggest war traffickers."
After this sentence was said, the United States completely blackened its face. But Victor. What Bout said makes perfect sense, and between him and the United States, it is like a pot-backer. The United States has sold a large number of arms in countless countries around the world, and it can get away with it in the name of democracy and freedom, but it cannot.
If you think about it carefully, how many innocent people the United States killed in the Gulf War and the bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but they hastily ended the matter on the grounds that these were necessary sacrifices. Even during the bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia was destroyed by NATO.
NATO has repeatedly shirked its responsibilities on this matter, and if it were not for the mainland's tough diplomacy, the Americans would not even apologize. Nowadays, Victor. Boot has been arrested and jailed, is there in fact less arms dealer? Obviously, there is still none.
epilogue
Victor. There is no doubt that Boot is a heinous arms dealer, the weapons he sells have killed too many people, he is an indirect murderer. However, for Victor. In terms of Bout's behavior, the Behavior of the United States seems to be even worse, and they carry out things that endanger the world in the name of the world's police.
If the United States had not provoked so many wars, the arms dealers would have gradually decreased. Can only say Victor. Boot made it possible for those who wanted to gain illegitimate power through war, while the United States, as the number one war peddler, made Victor Victor. Bout.