Maria Butina, the Russian woman and gun enthusiast, convicted of acting as a foreign agent for Russia by infiltrating the National Rifle Association, was released after serving fifteen months of her eighteen month sentence (time reduced for good behavior) and was immediately deported back to Russia.
Butina’s arrival at Moscow was somewhat less than heroic. She was met by her father, a spokeswoman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and some reporters, who offered her a bouquet of white roses (a commonly available bouquet sold in street kiosks all over Moscow).
Although Russian President Putin was critical of the way Maria Butina was treated by the American judicial system, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin has no plans to meet with her, as he has with other Russian agents arrested abroad.
I am not a Kremlinologist, and don’t even play one on TV, so I have no speculations about what Ms. Butina’s less than spectacular arrival back in Russia means. Consider this as more of a ‘where are they now’ update.