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'Russian Agent' Maria Butina Heads Home

Jamie Dettmer

   MOSCOW - For some she was the spy who wasn't - just an eager Russian
   gun-rights enthusiast keen to improve relations between Russia and
   America, who was turned into a scapegoat by vengeful U.S.
   counterintelligence agencies.

   For others, Maria Butina is a clandestine Russian agent, a real-life
   Red Sparrow, with flame-colored hair to match, who infiltrated
   conservative circles in the U.S., including the National Rifle
   Association, to establish 'back channel' communications with political
   figures and aspiring politicians with the goal of influencing them.

   However, when she arrived home at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International
   Airport to be greeted by her father and a melee of reporters, the
   30-year-old shed no new light on the circumstances that led to her
   getting into trouble with U.S. authorities. She said she felt "well"
   and was happy "to return home." She was greeted by people offering her
   flowers.

   She has continued to maintain her overall innocence, despite having
   pled guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent. On board an
   Aeroflot flight from Miami, reporters lined up to interview her even
   before landing. She told them: "Well guys, almost home. Only a little
   bit left, only several hours. Thank you for your support. I'm waiting
   for the plane to land. I'll be in my homeland."

   She added her imprisonment had been a "very painful and lengthy
   experience." On her arrival she again thanked Russians for their
   support. "I didn't give up simply because I knew that I could not do
   that," she said.
   After hugging her father, Butina added:"It was especially frightening
   when I was sitting in prison and seeing how they chose the scariest
   photos of me to air on the news. And they made shows on TV about it. I
   couldn't even turn it off. I was forced to watch that. And the guards
   laughed and watched along. It was very hard to bear."

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