Russian refers to anything related to Russia, including:

Russians (''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries (where they are also known as Ruthenians or by other names)

Demographics of Russia (россиянин, ''rossiyánin''), nationals of the country of Russia of any ethnicity

Russophone, Russian-speaking person (русскоговорящий, русскоязычный, ''russkogovoryashchy'', ''russkoyazychny'')

Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages

Russian alphabet

Russian cuisine

Russian may also refer to:

Russian dressing

Russian (comics), fictional Marvel Comics supervillain from ''The Punisher'' series

"Russians" (song), from the album ''The Dream of the Blue Turtles'', by Sting

"Russian", from the album ''Tubular Bells 2003'', by Mike Oldfield

Nik Russian, the perpetrator of a con committed in 2002

See also

Russia (disambiguation)

Rus (disambiguation)

Rossiysky (disambiguation)

Russian River (disambiguation)

Soviet (disambiguation)

ar:روسية (توضيح) de:Russisch es:Ruso fa:روسی gl:Ruso it:Russian nl:Russen nn:Russisk (fleirtyding) mhr:Руш (ыҥ-влак) ru:Русский (значения) sk:Ruský sv:Rysk th:รัสเซีย (แก้ความกำกวม)

birth name	Виктор Анатольевич БутViktor Anatolyevich Bout
birth date	January 13, 1967
birth place	Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union
other names	Victor Bout, Boris, Vadim Markovich Aminov, Viktor Bulakin, Victor Anatoliyevich Bout, Victor But, Viktor Budd, Viktor Butt
known for	Having been convicted of terrorism in relation to arms trafficking }}

Viktor Anatolyevich Bout () (born 13 January 1967, near Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union) is a convicted arms smuggler. A citizen of Russia, he was arrested in Thailand in 2008 before being extradited in 2010 to the United States to stand trial on terrorism charges after being accused of smuggling arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to use against US forces. On November 2, 2011, he was convicted by a jury in a Manhattan federal court of conspiracy to kill US citizens and officials, deliver anti-aircraft missiles and provide aid to a terrorist organization.

A former Soviet military translator, Bout had reportedly made a significant amount of money through his multiple air transport companies shipping cargo mostly in Africa and the Middle East during the 1990s and early 2000s (decade). Just as willing to work for Charles Taylor in Liberia as he was for the United Nations in Sudan and the United States in Iraq, Bout may have facilitated huge arms shipments into various civil wars in Africa with his private air cargo fleets during the 1990s.

Bout says he has done little more than provide logistics while former British Foreign Office minister Peter Hain called Bout a "sanctions buster" and described him as "the principal conduit for planes and supply routes that take arms... from east Europe, principally Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine, to Liberia and Angola".

In cooperation with American authorities, Royal Thai Police arrested Bout in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2008. The United States demanded his extradition, which was eventually mandated by the Thai High Court in August 2010. Before his extradition to the United States in November 2010, he expressed confidence that this U.S. trial would eventually lead to his acquittal. This did not occur. As of January 2011 Bout was incarcerated in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City. On April 5, 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a U.S. judge.

Personal history

UN documents and Bout himself both state his birthplace as Dushanbe, USSR, (now the capital of Tajikistan) possibly on 13 January 1967. But a few other birthplaces have been suggested; a 2001 South African intelligence file listed him as Ukrainian in origin also connecting him with "Russian crimes" organized by "Soviet empire" .

Soviet military service

There is confusion regarding Bout's military career although it is clear that he served in the Soviet Armed Forces. Having graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages, he is said to be fluent in six languages. These include Persian and Esperanto, which he mastered already at the age of 12, and in the early 1980s he was member of the Esperanto club in Dushanbe. Bout's personal website states that he served in the Soviet Army as a translator, holding the rank of Lieutenant.

He is thought to have been discharged in 1991 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. But other sources state he rose to the rank of Major in the GRU (an arm of the Soviet military that combines intelligence services and special forces), that he was an officer in the Soviet Air Forces, that he graduated from a Soviet military intelligence training program, or that he was a KGB operative.

Bout was involved with a Soviet military operation in Angola in the late 1980s. He has said he was in Angola for only a few weeks. Bout's website states that he began an air freight business in Africa around the time of the collapse of the USSR.

1990s

Bout's nickname, "Sanctions Buster", is due to his implication in facilitating the violation of UN arms embargoes in Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 1990s.

As well as some more-controversial customers such as Charles G. Taylor, his air freight companies have provided service to the French government, the UN and the US. Bout has reportedly shipped flowers, frozen chicken, UN peacekeepers, French soldiers and African heads of state.

Afghanistan

Bout says he has been to Afghanistan many times in the mid-1990s, but he denies any dealings with al Qaeda or the Taliban. He may have sold planes to the Taliban, however. Some say he also delivered them arms.

Starting in 1994 Bout made shipments for the pre-Taliban government, which later became the Northern Alliance, and he knew Ahmed Shah Massoud, an Afghan Northern Alliance commander. The CIA has described Bout-owned planes as transporters of small arms and ammunition into Afghanistan.

In 1995 he was involved in the negotiations to free Russian hostages during the 1995 Airstan incident.

Africa

A 2000 United Nations report stated, "...Bulgarian arms manufacturing companies had exported large quantities of different types of weapons between 1996 and 1998 on the basis of (forged) end-user certificates from Togo", and that "...with only one exception, the company Air Cess, owned by Victor Bout, was the main transporter of these weapons from Burgas airport in Bulgaria". This was the first time Bout was mentioned in connection with arms trading, and the weapons may have been destined for use by ''União Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola'' (UNITA), one faction in Angola's 1975–2002 civil war.

Another suspected arms dealer, Imad Kebir, is said to have employed Bout's aircraft during the mid-1990s to transport weapons to Africa from Eastern European states. The cargo supposedly had Zairean end user certificates, but the true end-user was UNITA. From 1993, UNITA was under a United Nations Security Council embargo prohibiting the importation of arms, established in Resolution 864.

Sierra Leone

Bout is suspected of supplying Charles Taylor with arms for use in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Eyewitnesses describe personal meetings between the two.

UAE

In 1993 Bout began collaborating with Syrian-born Richard Chichakli and in 1995 Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates hired Chichakli to be the commercial manager of its new free trade zone, which saw use from Bout. Chichakli was, at one time, called Bout's "financial manager" by the US.

2000s

After the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, Bout appeared in Moscow and stated that while his aircraft made regular flights to the country he had never made contact with al Qaeda or the Taliban--instead supplying the rebel Northern Alliance.

Afghanistan

Soon after the beginning of the 2001–present war in Afghanistan, al Qaeda is said to have moved gold and cash out of the country; reports state that some of the planes used to do this were linked to Bout.

In July 2003 the New York Times interviewed Bout. Bout stated that "I woke up after Sept. 11 and found I was second only to Osama.... My clients, the governments... I keep my mouth shut." He pointed to his forehead and said “If I told you everything I’d get the red hole right here". When the journalist asked about Russian intelligence services, Bout replied "Until now you’ve been digging in a big lake with small spoons. There are huge forces..." and then stayed quiet.

Congo

Bout is suspected of supplying weapons to numerous armed groups in the early 2000s (decade) Second Congo War and may have employed an estimated 300 people and operated 40-60 aircraft to do so.

Kenya

Bout's network allegedly delivered surface-to-air missiles that were used to attack an Israeli airliner during takeoff in Kenya in 2002.

Lebanon

Bout was reportedly seen meeting with Hezbollah officials in Lebanon during the run-up to the 2006 Lebanon War. Some state he was actually in Russia when the meeting took place. Israel later found out that Hezbollah had Russian-made RPG-29 Vampir and 9K129 Kornet anti-tank weaponry. Bout reportedly worked with an arms dealer named Imad Kabir during this time.

Libya

Records found in Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence headquarters in Tripoli, shortly after the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime in 2011, indicated that in late September 2003, British intelligence officials told then-Libyan intelligence chief Musa Kusa that Bout had a "considerable commercial presence in Libya" and aimed to expand his interests there.

Places of residence

Bout has lived in a number of countries, including Belgium, Lebanon, Rwanda, Russia, South Africa, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.

Alleged Russian government and intelligence ties

It is thought that Bout was of help to Russia's intelligence agencies, and he is alleged to have connections to ranking Russian officials, including Igor Sechin. The language institute Bout attended has been linked to the GRU, one such agency. Bout is thought to have worked alongside GRU-affiliated, and current Russian deputy prime minister, Igor Sechin in Africa in the 1980s, although both men deny this allegation. And according to a 2002 United Nations report, Bout's father-in-law Zuiguin "at one point held a high position in the KGB, perhaps even as high as a deputy chairman".

Orders and warrants regarding Bout

Bout's strategy of constantly moving location, owning numerous companies, and frequently re-registering aircraft made it hard for authorities to make a case against him. He has never been charged for the alleged African arms deals to which he owes his notoriety.

Interpol

The Belgians requested that Interpol issue a notice for Bout on charges of money laundering, and in 2002 an Interpol red notice on Bout was issued.

Bout's website states that because he failed to appear in court a Belgian warrant (not the Interpol notice) for his arrest was issued but later cancelled. The site has a document in Dutch to support the claim that the Belgian case against him was dismissed due to his lack of a fixed residence and because the case could not be prosecuted in a timely fashion.

The day of his Bangkok arrest, an Interpol red notice was requested by the United States against Bout. The alleged crime was conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. His wanted poster can be viewed here.

Executive Order 13348

Bout's US assets were among those frozen in July 2004 under Executive Order 13348. The Order describes him as a "businessman, dealer and transporter of weapons and minerals" and cites his close association with Charles Taylor.

CAR trial

Charged in 2000 with forging documents in the Central African Republic, Bout was convicted in absentia and the charges were later dropped.

Thai arrest and extradition

Bout was arrested in Thailand on an Interpol red notice and on 16 November 2010, Bout was extradited amid protests by the Russian Government.

Arrest

Royal Thai Police arrested Bout in Bangkok on 6 March 2008 the culmination of a sting operation set up by Drug Enforcement Administration agents. Bout allegedly offered to supply weapons to people he thought were representatives of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.

Extradition hearing

After months of delay, the Criminal Court in Bangkok began an extradition hearing for Bout on 22 September 2008.

In February 2009, members of the United States Congress signed a letter to Attorney General Holder and Secretary of State (i.e. Foreign Secretary) Clinton, expressing their wish that the Bout extradition "remain a top priority".

On 11 August 2009, the Criminal Court ruled in his favor, denying the United States' request for extradition and citing the political, not criminal, nature of the case. The United States appealed that judgment, and on 20 August 2010 a higher Thai court ruled that Bout could, in fact, be extradited to the United States.

Extradition

On 16 November 2010 at 1:30pm, Bout was extradited to the United States; the Russian government called the extradition illegal.

Russia's protests and other actions

Russia did not want Bout to face trial and called the Thai court decision in 2010 politically motivated. Its Foreign Ministry took steps to prevent his extradition to the US; Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that Bout was innocent.

On 18 November 2010, shortly after Bout's extradition to the US, Russian President Medvedev's aide Sergei Eduardovich Prikhodko claimed that Russia had "nothing to hide" in Bout's criminal case stating, "it is in our interest that the investigation... be brought to completion, and [Bout] should answer all the questions the American justice system has."

Prosecution and conviction in the United States

The day after his Bangkok arrest, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Bout with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to kill Americans, conspiring to kill American officers or employees, and conspiring to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile. Additional charges against him were filed in February 2010. These included illegal purchase of aircraft, wire fraud, and money laundering.

Bout was convicted by a jury at a court in Manhattan on November 2, 2011. On April 5, 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison (the minimum sentence) for conspiring to sell weapons to a US-designated foreign terrorist group. District Judge Shira Scheindlin said the minimum sentence was appropriate because there was no evidence that Bout would have committed the crimes for which he was convicted.

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement rejecting Bout's sentence as "a political order" and criticizing the US media's one-sided approach to the story. During the trial Bout's lawyers also implied that he was a political prisoner. Bout's wife Alla has stated that the judge acted correctly and that 25 years was the minimum term for the alleged crime.

In the media

The 2005 film ''Lord of War'', starring Nicolas Cage, is thought to be based, in part, on allegations about Bout's personal history and black-market activities.

In 2007 Stephen Braun and Douglas Farah published a book about Bout entitled ''Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible''.

See also

End-user certificate

References

External links

Official website of Victor Bout

Indictment of Viktor Bout, May 6, 2008, U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of New York

U.S. ANNOUNCES NEW INDICTMENT AGAINST INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALER VIKTOR BOUT AND AMERICAN CO-CONSPIRATOR FOR MONEY LAUNDERING, WIRE FRAUD, AND CONSPIRACY, Press Release, United States Attorney, Southern District of New York, February 17, 2010

Indictment of Viktor Bout, February 17, 2010, U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of New York

STATEMENT OF MANHATTAN U.S. ATTORNEY PREET BHARARA ON THE CONVICTION OF VIKTOR BOUT, Press Release, United States Attorney, Southern District of New York, November 2, 2011

INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALER VIKTOR BOUT SENTENCED IN MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR TERRORISM CRIMES, Press Release, United States Attorney, Southern District of New York, April 5, 2012

"Who is Viktor Bout?" ''The Christian Science Monitor'' 22 Oct 09

Extensive background information on United States vs. Viktor Bout and related cases The Hague Justice Portal

Gallery of International Arms Dealers - Victor Bout PBS Frontline/World

Arms and the Man NYTimes Magazine Profile of Viktor Bout

The World's Most Notorious Arms Trafficker (Audio/32min) WNYC interview with Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun WNYC

NPR interview of Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun NPR

Brian Wood and Johan Peleman 1999, "The Arms Fixers", online version of report published by Basic Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NIST) and the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)

"The deadly convenience of Victor Bout" International Relations and Security Network

Robert Eringer: Viktor Bout & Monaco

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century criminals Category:Arms smuggling Category:People from Dushanbe Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Category:Russian businesspeople Category:Russian Esperantists Category:Russian extrajudicial prisoners of the United States Category:Russian people imprisoned abroad Category:Soviet military personnel

ca:Viktor Bout cs:Viktor But da:Viktor Bout de:Wiktor Anatoljewitsch But et:Viktor But es:Víktor But fr:Viktor Bout ko:빅토르 부트 it:Viktor Bout he:ויקטור בוט hu:Viktor Anatoljevics But nl:Viktor Boet no:Viktor But pl:Wiktor But pt:Viktor Bout ru:Бут, Виктор Анатольевич sv:Viktor But th:วิกเตอร์ บูท uk:Бут Віктор Анатолійович zh:维克多·布特

name	Yu Dafu
birth date	December 07, 1896
birth place	Fuyang, Zhejiang, China
death date	September 17, 1945
occupation	Short Story writer and Poet
website	}}

Yu Dafu () (December 7, 1896—September 17, 1945). Born in Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet.

Early years

Yu Dafu's father died when he was three, leaving the family poverty-stricken and destitute. He received a number of scholarships through the Chinese government and went on to receive a traditional Chinese education in Hangzhou. Chronologically he studied in Jiangxing-Fu Middle School (before he came to Hangzhou), Hangzhou-Fu Middle School, Yuying Academy (育英学堂, formerly of Zhejiang University).

In 1912, he entered Hangchow University (later its major part merged into Zhejiang University) preparatory through examination. He was there only for a short period before he was expelled for participation in a student strike.

He then moved to Japan, where he studied economics at the Tokyo Imperial University between 1913 and 1922, where he met other Chinese intellectuals (namely, Guo Moruo, Zhang Ziping and Tian Han). Together, in 1921 they founded the ''Chuangzao she'' 創造社 ("Creation Society"), which promoted vernacular and modern literature. One of his earlier works ''Chenlun'' 沉淪, also his most famous, published in Japan in 1921. The work had gained immense popularity in China, shocking the world of Chinese literature with its frank dealing with sex, as well as grievances directed at the incompetence of Chinese government at the time.

In 1922, he returned to China as a literary celebrity and worked as the editor of ''Creation Quarterly'', editing journals and writing short stories. In 1923, after an attack of tuberculosis, Yu Dafu directed his attention to the welfare of the masses.

In 1927, he worked as an editor of the ''Hongshui'' literary magazine. He later came in conflict with the Communist Party of China and fled back to Japan.

Second Sino-Japanese war

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war, he returned to China and worked as a writer of anti-Japanese propaganda in Hangzhou, and later in Zhejiang. From 1938 to 1942, he worked as a literary editor for the newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore.

In 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore, he was forced to flee to Sumatra. Known under a different identity, he settled there among other overseas Chinese and began a brewery business with the help of the locals. Later he was forced to help the Japanese military police as an interpreter when it was discovered that he was one of the few "locals" in the area who could speak Japanese.

In 1945, he was arrested by the Kempeitai when his true identity was finally discovered. It is believed that he was executed by the Japanese shortly after the surrender of Japan.

Works

''Chenlun'' 沉淪 "''Sinking''" (1921)

''Riji jiuzhong'' 日記九種 “''Nine Diaries''” (1927)

''Guoqu'' 過去 “''The Past''" (1927)

his first novel?? (1928) (moderately successful)

his second novel?? (1932)

''Chuben'' 出奔 "''Flight''" (1935)

His most popular work, breaking all Chinese sales records, was ''Jih-chi chiu-chung'' "''Nine Diaries''", which detailed his affair with the writer Wang Ying-hsin. The most critically acclaimed work is ''Kuo-ch'u'' or "''The Past''", written in 1927.

References

Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Yü Ta-fu"

External links

Category:1896 births Category:1945 deaths Category:Chinese expatriates in Japan Category:Hangzhou High School alumni Category:People from Hangzhou Category:Republic of China poets Category:University of Tokyo alumni Category:Zhejiang University alumni

de:Yu Dafu es:Yu Dafu fr:Yu Dafu it:Yu Dafu ja:郁達夫 no:Yu Dafu zh:郁達夫

Daniel Estulin (born in Vilnius, Lithuania) is an author, public speaker, whose main interest is the Bilderberg Group, an annual invitation-only conference of the elites in the fields of business, finance, media, military and politics. He is known for his extensive works on this group having written a book called "The True Story of the Bilderberg Group" as well as for his live seminars throughout the world, and has been quoted as saying that the Bilderberg Group's "main objective is creating a world government ruled by an elite group of people whose main objective is to control the natural resources of the planet" .

In an interview with conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones, Estulin described his background, which led him to his profession:

"I’m a Russian expatriate who was kicked out of the Soviet Union in 1980. My father was a dissident who fought for freedom of speech who was jailed, tortured by the KGB. Suffered two political deaths. When these people got tired of us they threw us out. We moved to Canada and 12 years ago I came to Spain. My grandfather was a colonel in the KGB and the counter-intelligence in the 1950s, so I am privileged somewhat to get a lot of the information from secret service which are our best sources of information. Not only the KGB people but the MI6 people, the CIA because most of the people who work for the secret service as you probably know are patriots and they love their country and they’re doing it for the good of the nation and they’re the first ones absolutely terrified of the plans of the Bilderbergers".

Estulin wrote ''The True Story of the Bilderberg Group'' (original title: '' La Verdadera Historia Del Club Bilderberg''), purportedly a report on the nature and meetings of the world’s most powerful people. According to Estulin's book, the secretive Bilderbergers have been making major political, economical and social decisions since their first gathering in 1954.

Commenting on an episode in this book, Bruce Ramsey wrote "The method here is to initiate the reader into a special group of in-the-know; of mixing facts with assertions so that the casual reader won’t tell them apart, and to draw lines between A and B, when A is the person you want to impeach and B is a known wickedness."

Estulin published a second book, ''Los secretos del club Bilderberg'', released in September 2006, described by Fidel Castro as a "fantastic story".

In December 2007, Estulin appeared on the Alex Jones Show, and claimed that he had "received information from sources inside the U.S. intelligence community which suggests that people from the highest levels of the U.S. government are considering an assassination attempt against Congressman Ron Paul because they are threatened by his burgeoning popularity" as a presidential candidate. Estulin has worked with American journalist Big Jim Tucker who has a similar interest in the activities of the Bilderberg Group.

On August 19, 2010, the Cuban state news agency Prensa Latina published the full text of a "reflection" by former President Fidel Castro which was devoted to quoting Estulin from ''Los secretos del club Bilderberg'', on the topic of "The World Government." The selected quotes from Estulin's book focused on material credited to Lyndon LaRouche and members of his movement.

Bibliography

English Language books

Spanish Language books

DVD Video

''Shadow government : how the global elite plan to destroy democracy and your freedom'', by Grant R Jeffrey; Katherine Albrecht; Edward G Griffin; Daniel Estulin; Gary Kah; Chuck Missler; Joan Veon; Bradley S O'Leary. Publisher: United States: Cloud Ten Pictures, 2009. OCLC 466168154.

References

External links

Official Site

An article by Estulin on counterpunch.org, "Infiltrating Bilderberg 2005", May 27, 2005

"Bilderberg 2007 - Towards a One World Empire?"

A series of interviews with Estulin on Youtube

Category:Conspiracy theorists Category:Russian writers Category:Living people Category:People from Vilnius

ca:Daniel Estulin es:Daniel Estulin fr:Daniel Estulin it:Daniel Estulin pt:Daniel Estulin ro:Daniel Estulin