MAY JUNE 2018 | MOTHER JONES 33ED ANDRIESKIAP; RIGHT TO BEAR ARMSINSTAGRAM; MARIA BUTINAINSTAGRAM; MARK REINSTEINZUMA
“WE WOULD LIKE TO BE
FRIENDS WITH NRA”
January 2014:
Following the death
of Kalashnikov at age
94, the Washington
Times publishes an
appreciation written
by Torshin. Former nra
President Keene is the paper’s op-ed
editor at the time.April 2014: Torshin and Butina attend
the nra convention in Indianapolis,
where Butina joins Keene for meetings.
She explains, “We would like to be
friends with nra.”September 2014: Paul Erickson—an
nra member and longtime Republican
operative from South Dakota—attends a
Right to Bear Arms meeting in Moscow
with Butina.November 18, 2014: Russia changes its
laws to allow citizens to carry guns in
public for self-defense.January 2015: Torshin is appointed
deputy governor of Russia’s central bank.March 2015: Butina announces on
Facebook that she will attend the nra’s
upcoming convention in Nashville. She
notes the importance of “paying atten-
tion to the politicians that we have more
similarities than dif erences [with].”April 2015: Butina posts about 200
pictures from Nashville, including one
with Republican Gov. Scott Walker of
Wisconsin, who she says greeted her in
Russian. She notes he’s “one of the pos-
sible future nominees for the post of US
President” and ponders the “beginning
of a new dialogue between Russia and
the US.” Donald Trump also attends,
telling the crowd, “I promise you one
thing, if I run for president and if I win,
the Second Amendment will be totally
protected, that I can tell you.” Torshin,also present, later tells Bloomberg that
he had a “jovial exchange” with the
future president.April 16, 2015: Butina gives a talk at the
University of South Dakota. She says
Right to Bear Arms now has 10,000
members and 76 oi ces “all over Russia.”June 2015: Four days before Trump
announces his campaign, Butina writes
in the conservative National Interest,
urging friendship between “the bear
and the elephant”: “It may take the
election of a Republican to the White
House in 2016 to improve relations
between the Russian Federa-
tion and the United States.”July 11, 2015: At a question -
and-answer session at
Freedom Fest in Las Vegas,
Butina asks Trump, “What will
be your foreign politics...and
do you want to continue thepolitics of sanctions that are damaging
on both economy?” Trump responds,
“I know Putin and I’ll tell you what, we
get along with Putin...I don’t think you’d
need the sanctions. I think that we
would get along very, very well.”July 13, 2015: Butina posts photos from
an event where Gov. Scott Walker
announces his presidential candidacy.August 29, 2015: Preston tweets a
picture of Trump speaking to the
National Federation of Republican
Assemblies, writing in Russian, “Donald
Trump today in Nashville. He is a friend
of Russia.”September 25, 2015: Right to Bear Arms
posts a meme on Facebook, attributing
a quote to Trump in Russian: “Nobody
can encroach on the citizenry’s right to
store and carry fi rearms. Period.”December 8-13, 2015:
Erickson, Keene, future
nra President Pete
Brownell, and Milwaukee
Sherif David Clarke
meet with Kremlin oi cials
in Moscow, where they enjoy lavish
meals and visit a gun manufacturer.
Clarke, an outspoken Trump supporter,
later fi les an ethics report showing
that Right to Bear Arms paid $6,000
for his expenses.December 10, 2015: Future Trump
national security adviser Michael Flynn
attends a gala for the Kremlin- controlled
RT media network in Moscow. Flynn,
who sits next to Putin and across from
future Green Party candidate Jill Stein,
is paid $45,000 to give a speech—which
he fails to report on his White House
fi nancial disclosure forms.“ACTIVELY SEEKING A
DIALOGUE”
January 21, 2016: Trump speaks at the
National Shooting Sports Foundation’s
annual shot Show in Las Vegas. Don
Jr. and Eric Trump also attend, posing
with representatives from Sig Sauer,
whose “Black Mamba” mcx assault rifl e
would soon be used in the Orlando,
Florida, nightclub massacre. Ten days
after the speech, at an event at an Iowa
gun shop, Don Jr. and Eric Trump shoot
assault rifl es and brag about theirA Moscow
fashion show put
on by Right to
Bear ArmsMaria
Butina1