It's Hard for Russia to Protect Its Citizens

Viktor Bout is actually in a very difficult position, similar to the one I was in. He is facing the same phenomenal, but poorly substantiated, charges. I don’t know for sure whether Bout is guilty, but I think that his crime was probably not as big as what Americans claim.

The problem with such incidents is that the U.S. regularly and harshly accuses our citizens of incredible crimes, and then they have to spend a log time proving their innocence and cleaning up their negative image. This way, Americans get trump cards in their political game against Russia. We don’t know how to fight this. Americans can intervene everywhere, while we, as it turns out, cannot adequately respond.

Why can the American authorities arrest a Russian citizen in a third country, export him to the U.S. and judge him without our intervention? The reason why Russia doesn’t interfere is that it’s still a somewhat dependent country. It’s hard for us to take the initiative because we want to get into the WTO and show civilized politics. All this combined creates a situation where we are followers, not leaders.

It’s good that the Russian Foreign Ministry and the political parties have started talking about defending Bout. All measures should be taken to stand up for him. He is not a citizen of the country under whose laws he’s on trial. Even if he is guilty of something, he is nonetheless a Russian citizen; we should minimize the negative aspects of the situation, which is largely artificial.

But there is one important nuance. Even if Putin or Medvedev ask officially, or as a favor, for more lenient treatment of Bout, it will not make a difference. American courts are truly independent. That’s the kind of democracy they’ve built. Our head of state is actually a head of state, while their head of state is a pawn that is dependent on the political parties, large capitals, etc.

It is evident that Bout is being persuaded to plead guilty. They might have the following logic: If he agrees to all charges, then he will be given 10 years. Since he has already served four, in a year or two he will be released under house arrest. And then, that’s it — freedom. Otherwise, he might get a life sentence, or 25 years at best. Then, there’s a chance of being free in 10 to 20 years under amnesty. But Bout is doing well; he’s holding up.

Also, in this case, time heals. Thanks to today’s leaders, our country is growing stronger. Perhaps in five to 10 years, we too might be able to, as they say, unzip our fly and show them.