32 MOTHER JONES |^ MAY JUNE 2018
SHALGIN ALEXANDERTASSZUMA; ANTON NOVODEREZHKINTASSZUMA; BILL CLARKCONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLYZUMAMAKING CONTACT
2011: Alexander Torshin, then a
Russian senator, is introduced to nra
President David Keene through Kline
Preston IV, an American lawyer who
had been doing business in Russia for
years. Preston later tells the Washing-
ton Post, “The value system of South-
ern Christians and the value system of
Russians are very much in line.”Maria Butina, then in her early 20s,
creates a group called Right to Bear
Arms, trying to seed a gun rights
movement in Russia.US gun manufacturer Arsenal sells
$5,000 limited-edition AK-74s signed
by Russian gun designer Mikhail
Kalashnikov — a friend of Torshin’s.
Proceeds go to the nra’s political arm.December 2011: Preston serves as
an international observer of Russia’s
legislative elections, calling them
free and fair despite mass protests
and European observers reporting
fraudulent activity.2012: The fbi warns
Republican Rep. Dana
Rohrabacher —a cold
warrior turned Russia
apologist who claimed
to have once lost a
drunken arm-wrestling match to
Vladimir Putin—that the Kremlin aims
to recruit him as a source.April 15, 2012: Torshin tweets about
returning from the nra convention
to a rally in Moscow for Right to
Bear Arms. He notes how “similar,”
“good-looking,” and “confi dent” the
supporters of both groups are.July 24, 2012: Butina and Torshin
lobby the Russian senate to expand
gun rights.May 2013: After attending the nra’s
annual convention in Houston,
Torshin writes, “Kalashnikov couldn’t
join me, though we have both been
‘life members’ of the nra for years,”
adding that “dozens of AK-47 clones”
displayed at the event represented
one of “our country’s greatest
accomplishments.”November 2013: Torshin and Butina
invite Keene to Moscow for a Right
to Bear Arms meeting that draws
200 people and features a fashion
show that includes attire designed for
carrying concealed weapons.At Keene’s request, future Trump
national security adviser John Bolton
appears in a video talking up gun rights
in Russia. npr later reports that Right
to Bear Arms used it in its lobbying.for more than a year, reports have
trickled out about the ties between the
National Rifl e Association, conservative
Republicans, Russian gun rights activ-
ists—and the Trump campaign.
Many of the stories center around a
middle-aged Russian central bank oi -
cial and a young gun activist from Siberia
whose social-media accounts document
their shared interests: posing with as-
sault rifl es, attending nra conventions,
and making connections with Repub-
lican lawmakers and presidential can-
didates. Alexander Torshin, a former
Russian senator and longtime ally of
Vladimir Putin, has been accused of
having ties to the Russian mob (which
he denies). His protégée and former as-
sistant, Maria Butina, founded a Rus-
sian gun rights group and has report-
edly bragged about her connections to
the Trump campaign.
In the lead-up to the 2016 election,
the two tried to connect with the Trump
campaign and its allies. In 2015, Butina
publicly asked Donald Trump what he
would do about the “damaging” US sanc-tions against Russia. Torshin reportedly
made overtures to Trump and met with
Donald Trump Jr. at the 2016 nra con-
vention. A day after Trump was elected,
Torshin tweeted, “Today in nra (usa) I
know only 2 people from the Russian
Federation with the status of ‘Life
Member’: Maria Butina and I.”
In recent months, the House Intelli-
gence Committee has heard sworn
testimony about possible Kremlin “infi l-
tra tion” of the nra and other conservative
groups before the 2016 election. And the
fbi reportedly is investigating whether
Torshin illegally funneled money to the
nra to support its unprecedented $30
million eff ort to elect Trump.
Do this duo’s tweets and travels repre-
sent anything more than a charm off ensive
by well-connected Russian gun enthusi-
asts? Torshin, Butina, the nra, and the
Trump administration did not respond to
requests for comment, but a close exam-
ination of the movements and intersec-
tions of the various players over the last
seven years raises intriguing questions.
—Denise Clifton and Mark FollmanFROM RUSSIA, WITH
LOVE FOR THE NRA
Are Alexander Torshin and Maria Butina just a couple of Russian
activists who love guns and Donald Trump—or something shadier?CLOAK AND DATA