Who Is Viktor Bout, Who Inspired the God of War Movie?

anywhere in the world war When wars break out, outsiders benefit from these wars rather than the warring parties. Among these people, there are those who pit the parties against each other, those who fund them, those who cause confusion out of nothing, and among the worst of all, by arming the parties There are those who cause the death of large masses.

The connection between arming the parties and causing death may have raised questions in your mind. Already the main focus of our content, known as ‘Merchant of Death’ and whose life is “God of WarSubject of movies like ” Viktor Bout We will look at this issue while telling about his life.

Even though we have limited information about his past, Bout’s Tajikistan It is known that he was born in 1967 in Dushanbe, the capital of the country we know as.

Bout’s father was a mechanic and his mother was an accountant in the country, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Bout, different to languages He was interested and in this context he graduated from the language school of the Soviet army.

serving in the army It was around this time that Bout became familiar with military aircraft and weapons. Bout’s happiness, who got married in 1991, did not last long.

Because the Soviet Union, which he was accustomed to and lived in happily for many years, collapsed.

Looking for new exits, Viktor imports products that are not available in his location. to trade started. This enabled him to earn a solid income in Moscow, which was in a difficult situation at that time. As if it wasn’t enough that the people were in a difficult situation in these times, mafia and corrupt government officialswas putting obstacles in Viktor’s way.

At this point, Viktor realized that he had to expand abroad.

Bout chose Belgium as his first stop, where he first rented old Soviet planes himself and then 3 times the price of what you bought rented to others. Bout, who earned enough income from here, later founded his own airline cargo company. Again to Russia with this company, every month approximately 200 tons of cargo sent. This is how he built his wealth before finding his real source of income.

Bout, who constantly does business with Russia, turned his attention to Africa.

“Where did Africa come from now?If you ask: One of Viktor’s first clients in Belgium was african. In this way, he had a general idea about the continent. When he turned his attention there, he realized that his real target should be Africa. Because there are no exceptions everything was needed. Food and clothes are the first things that come to mind. Viktor’s wealth grew further with his trade with African countries.

Of course, Viktor was relentless, chasing wherever there was a suitable deal.

He hasn’t done anything wrong so far. Basically, he was very caring towards both his family and his environment. But is opportunistic You shouldn’t skip it either. At some point, Viktor sent all kinds of materials to African countries. started selling weapons. Of course, the key point here was that it did not sell like other materials.

Viktor was selling these weapons to groups and organizations in conflict zones. These are people too who murdered children and women alike They were organizations. Brutal dictators and organization leaders such as Charles Taylor began to become Bout’s customers.

Of course, there was much more money in the smuggled arms trade than in basic things like food and clothes. But he did not go and become friends with terrorists. Because, as we said, he was opportunistic. If he sold weapons to a terrorist leader, And to the state that fights with it He was selling weapons as a result of the agreement.

Where did these weapons come from?

Viktor’s, Former contacts in the Soviet army It is thought that he obtained these weapons thanks to this. Viktor, who employed the same connections in his cargo company, provided training and even logistical assistance to some of the organizations to which he sold weapons.

Of course, all these operations were hidden behind different legally operating organizations. For example, the airline company through which Viktor traded arms was traded by different countries and customers. It was used quite normally.

Let’s get back to our topic.

By the 1990s, Bout had become one of the most famous names in the illegal arms trade. This gives him “Merchant of Death” earned his name. Wherever there was a civil war, rebellion or gathering of organizations, Bout was contacted for arms guarantee, so he had very powerful friends. Of course, as we said, Bout has feelings for these people. there was no commitment.

These were not limited to African warriors. Terrorist organizations, drug cartels and more were among Bout’s clients. Yuri Orlov in the movie God of War knew what would happen after selling the weapons to these people, but he didn’t care. But looking at Bout, one could see a childish naivety.

Whatever he thought, Viktor knew that the weapons he sold were used to slaughter innocents. Of course, when we say weapons, you only think of don’t let the rifles come. Apart from these, they also had explosives and missiles.

The arrest of Bout, who was seen as unattainable, and the exchange incident that attracted mass reaction:

America’s DEA office put Viktor on their radar and they eventually launched an operation to capture him. The agents would become Viktor’s clients by creating a fake scenario. At that time Viktor was in Moscow was safe. That’s why With an offer he can’t refuse They had to get him out of there.

That’s why two people under the DEA umbrella reached out to Andrew Smulian, one of Bout’s contacts. Following the meeting, a meeting was arranged on the island of Curaçao. Two DEA agents came to this island close to Colombia, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) He was masked as if he was from the organization. Their names were Eduardo and El Comendante. On this island they met Smulian.

Dual, With American pilots and the Colombian army He said he wanted to buy millions of dollars worth of weapons to fight. For many weapons and equipment, from sniper rifles to missiles that will hit air targets. $12 million They stated that they were ready to pay.

Smulian immediately took this offer personally to Bout in Moscow.

Later, at another meeting between Smulian and the DEA in Copenhagen, Bout wants to make a deal specified. Until now, it was not known that the arms dealer was Bout, but Smulian shared this before he was contacted. In addition, he is sought after all over the world and the spelling of his name. emphatically told.

Bout undoubtedly $12 million cash His mouth watered in front of him. But no one would give this money without a face-to-face agreement with the interlocutor. But DEA agents persistently said that they could not come to Moscow. Bout didn’t want to leave there either.

A meeting was planned in Romania.

Bout agreed to come there because DEA agents said the money was hidden there. But he could not come due to visa problems. That being the case DEA agents also withdrew. Because there is an urgent need for weapons in such an issue, “we wait.” would draw unnecessary suspicion from his superiors.

After some time passed, the agents informed Bout that they would soon be in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. When Bout stated that he could come there, our two agents and Bout met in a hotel office room. Agents to test Bout to kill Americans that they wanted the weapons and that they “to blow their heads offHe said they wanted to add snipers to their rifles. Bout said that they shared the same enemy and that he was with them on this issue.

So what would Bout sell to these two agents for 12 million dollars?

5,000 AK-47s700-800 missile systems developed to hit air targets, anti-personnel mines, hand grenades, armor-piercing rockets, money laundering services and many more would be among Bout’s services.

Hours later, Thai police and DEA agents entered the room and arrested Bout.

It was 2008 when Bout was arrested in Thailand. Bout was extradited to the United States two years later and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Between Russia and the USA has been the subject of constant debate. Because Russia is Bout’s to moscow He wanted his return. As the accusations came, Bout said that he was only doing business and that it was wrong to hold him responsible for what was done with the weapons he sold.

Let’s talk about the controversial exchange incident.

named Brittney Griner American WNBA playerHe was caught with drugs in Russia in 2022. As a result, he was sentenced to 9 years in prison. Viktor Bout and Brittney Griner were traded between the USA and Russia. In this context, both of them were released. Again, at the end of last year, Bout entered politics by representing Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party.

This was Bout’s moving story. American agents found him “one of the most dangerous people of the war” And “Merchant of DeathWhile we describe it as “”, we cannot even imagine what the expression of being traded for a WNBA player caught for drugs created on the faces of the DEA agents who carried out all these operations.