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The Bell learned how Russian billionaire Konstantin Nikolaev became the sponsor of the young Russian woman, Maria Butina, arrested in the U.S. on charges of illegal lobbying of Russian interests and attempts to support Donald Trump’s campaign via the National Rifle Association. But the story does not look like a Kremlin-sponsored political project…
Guns, Sex, And A ‘Flight Risk’: Behind The Charges Against Maria Butina
Why the world should care
From everything which we know about Maria Butina’s affairs and the role Konstantin Nikolaev played in them, one thing is clear: the story is very different from the hacking of the DNC or Evgeny Prigozhin’s pre-election trolling campaign. The story doesn’t look like a high profile plan, approved at the highest levels, to interfere in elections or support Trump’s campaign. Nikolaev is a major businessman with powerful partners who are close to the Kremlin, but he isn’t an oligarch integrated with those in power: he doesn’t resemble the kind of person Russian authorities would select to act as their intermediary…
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