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Maria Butina, Deported to Moscow, Is Defiant: ‘Russians Don’t Give Up’ | Maria Butina, Deported to Moscow, Is Defiant: ‘Russians Don’t Give Up’ |
(about 1 hour later) | |
MOSCOW — Maria Butina, the gun-loving Russian who befriended prominent Republicans during the 2016 presidential campaign and ended up imprisoned in Florida, landed in Moscow on Saturday, a day after she was deported. | MOSCOW — Maria Butina, the gun-loving Russian who befriended prominent Republicans during the 2016 presidential campaign and ended up imprisoned in Florida, landed in Moscow on Saturday, a day after she was deported. |
She was welcomed with flowers off a flight from Miami at Moscow’s main international airport by her father, Valery, and Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry. | She was welcomed with flowers off a flight from Miami at Moscow’s main international airport by her father, Valery, and Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry. |
Ms. Butina, who became an embroiled in accusations of meddling in the 2016 American election and was imprisoned after pleading guilty to conspiring to act as a foreign agent, thanked Russian officials and the local news media for campaigning for her release. | Ms. Butina, who became an embroiled in accusations of meddling in the 2016 American election and was imprisoned after pleading guilty to conspiring to act as a foreign agent, thanked Russian officials and the local news media for campaigning for her release. |
“I am very, very happy to be back home,” she told a throng of waiting journalists, adding, “As you know, Russians don’t give up.” | “I am very, very happy to be back home,” she told a throng of waiting journalists, adding, “As you know, Russians don’t give up.” |
Her return to Russia was the top item on state news broadcasts, which celebrated her as an innocent victim of what Russia views as Cold War-style paranoia gripping the United States. | Her return to Russia was the top item on state news broadcasts, which celebrated her as an innocent victim of what Russia views as Cold War-style paranoia gripping the United States. |
Aboard her return flight, Ms. Butina complained to Russian news outlets about prison conditions in the United States and said she had kept a detailed diary that she planned to turn into a “creative project.” | Aboard her return flight, Ms. Butina complained to Russian news outlets about prison conditions in the United States and said she had kept a detailed diary that she planned to turn into a “creative project.” |
She said she had earned some money in prison by washing dishes and teaching fellow prisoners mathematics. | She said she had earned some money in prison by washing dishes and teaching fellow prisoners mathematics. |
Ms. Butina, 30, a firearms advocate, pleaded guilty in December to a single charge of conspiring to act as a foreign agent without registering with the Justice Department, as is required by law. But she and the Russian government have strenuously denied that she was ever involved in espionage. | Ms. Butina, 30, a firearms advocate, pleaded guilty in December to a single charge of conspiring to act as a foreign agent without registering with the Justice Department, as is required by law. But she and the Russian government have strenuously denied that she was ever involved in espionage. |
After initially comparing her to a character from a spy thriller, United States prosecutors backed off salacious accusations that Ms. Butina, a former graduate student at American University in Washington, had traded sex for access as part of a covert operation by Russian intelligence. | After initially comparing her to a character from a spy thriller, United States prosecutors backed off salacious accusations that Ms. Butina, a former graduate student at American University in Washington, had traded sex for access as part of a covert operation by Russian intelligence. |
There is no evidence that she had any contact with Russia’s civilian or military intelligence agencies, though she did communicate extensively before her arrest with Alexander Torshin, a former Russian lawmaker and official who shared her interest in gun rights and in cultivating relations with the National Rifle Association. | There is no evidence that she had any contact with Russia’s civilian or military intelligence agencies, though she did communicate extensively before her arrest with Alexander Torshin, a former Russian lawmaker and official who shared her interest in gun rights and in cultivating relations with the National Rifle Association. |
Ms. Butina’s case was widely seen in Russia as a miscarriage of justice driven by political turmoil in the United States, and the Foreign Ministry in Moscow seized on it as an example of what it sees as rampant “Russophobia.” | Ms. Butina’s case was widely seen in Russia as a miscarriage of justice driven by political turmoil in the United States, and the Foreign Ministry in Moscow seized on it as an example of what it sees as rampant “Russophobia.” |
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said Ms. Butina had “spent 467 long days in American prisons on far-fetched accusations” and wished her a “speedy recovery of her strength after all the trials she has been through.” | In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said Ms. Butina had “spent 467 long days in American prisons on far-fetched accusations” and wished her a “speedy recovery of her strength after all the trials she has been through.” |
The ministry’s Twitter account had for months featured an image with the hashtag #FreeMariaButina. It continued to be displayed for three hours after her arrival in Russia before it was deleted. |