The Peculiar Truth about the Russian Woman Who Infiltrated the NRA

• April 2018: The FBI raided the Washington DC apartment of 30-year-old Russian citizen Maria Butina. She lived there with her boyfriend, Republican political operative Paul Erickson.

• Both would later be sentenced to prison on separate charges.

• Long before leaving her mother country, Maria Butina led an ambitious life. At age 21, she followed in her father’s footsteps and opened a furniture store in her hometown.

• Two years later, she relocated to Moscow to form her own ad agency.

• That same year, 2011, she created a Russian pro-gun political organization called Right to Bear Arms.

• That was odd because private gun ownership was (and still is) unheard of in Russia. Her group had almost no public support. Putin was opposed. Yet the group was not shut down.

• Then, stranger still, Maria became closely allied with prominent Russian politician Aleksandr Torshin, a man with links to Vladimir Putin.

• She was named his assistant and joined Torshin on trips to the United States.

• 2013: Maria and Torshin attended the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Houston. It was her first but Torshin’s second NRA convention.

• Later that year, Maria and Torshin held a Right to Bear Arms convention in Moscow. Among several Americans in attendance was NRA President David Keene. He was a guest speaker.

• Also in attendance was American political lobbyist Paul Erickson, a South Dakota native. He would be a featured speaker at the Right to Bear Arms conference in Moscow one year later.

• February 2015: Butina traveled to the US to attend CPAC, the Republican convention.

• In the months to come, she and Torshin would meet with numerous American political figures, including Obama administration officials and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

• July 2015: Butina was at a political speaking event in Nevada. During public press questioning, she asked candidate Donald Trump about American sanctions against Russia. Trump said he knew Putin and found sanctions unnecessary. Some wondered whether Butina’s question was a setup since she had no press credentials.

• That’s when she also began an on-again-off-again three year affair with eccentric Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne. He also spoke at the event.

• December 2015: With arrangements made by Butina and Paul Erickson, a contingent of prominent NRA officials traveled to Moscow for another Right to Bear Arms conference. They took meetings with Russian officials who were under US sanctions. Butina’s organization covered all expenses, although it was unclear at that time who actually funded it.

• A NRA spokeswoman denied that the trip ever took place.

• By August 2016, Butina had moved to Washington, DC to study at American University. She was 28.

• Although she still occasionally had romantic flings with Patrick Byrne, Butina and Erickson moved in together and became boyfriend and girlfriend.

• They swiftly tried to make connections between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia, including hosting a birthday party for a campaign staffer.

• Meanwhile, press reports revealed that Aleksandr Torshin was accused of international money laundering.

• January 2017: Butina and Erickson attended a ball in honor of Trump’s inauguration.

• February 2017: Butina and Torshin attended the National Prayer Breakfast where they hoped to meet Trump. But a Trump aide nixed the meeting because Torshin was accused of criminal activities.

• April 2018: The Senate Intelligence Committee called Butina to testify. She admitted that her group, Right to Bear Arms, had been funded by a Russian oligarch, Konstantin Nikolaev.

• He had ties to Putin.

• Days later, the FBI raided Butina’s apartment.

• Less than 2 weeks later, the NRA announced a major shakeup, naming Oliver North as president despite never having held any high positions in the organization. Even North was surprised.

• In June, Butina turned on Erickson, offering the Feds her cooperation in an investigation of him on a fraud charge unrelated to her.

• July 15, 2018: Butina was arrested for failing to register as a foreign agent. Essentially, though, she was being charged with spying.

• American prosecutors claimed that Butina’s gun advocacy group, Right to Bear Arms, was a charade financed by a Russian oligarch with Kremlin ties. The ultimate goal was to infiltrate America’s Republican Party via the National Rifle Association.

• Butina pleaded guilty and said she was acting under orders from Torshin, the Russian political figure.

• Butina served less than a year in prison before being sent to her native country in a prisoner exchange.

• Upon her return, Russia hailed her as a hero.

• Today, she’s a member of the Duma, the Russian equivalent of a US Congresswoman.

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