STORY: The notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was freed by the United States in exchange for Brittney Griner, has now joined an ultranationalist party loyal to the Kremlin.

The Liberal Democratic Party, despite its name, promotes a hardline ideology.

It wants Russia to reconquer the countries of the former Soviet Union.

In a video posted on Telegram, party leader Leonid Slutsky thanks Bout for joining what he calls the "best political party in Russia."

Bout was arrested after a global manhunt and spent 14 years in U.S. jail for arms trafficking, money laundering and conspiring to kill Americans.

He returned to Moscow after the swap last Thursday (December 8).

The party he joins was a serious contender for power in the 1990s.

Now it provides token opposition to the ruling United Russia bloc while backing the Kremlin on most issues.