Maria Valeryevna Butina, popularly known as Maria Butina is a Russian gun-rights activist. She is the founder of a Russian group, Right to Bear Arms". Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested her in July 2018 and charged her with acting as an agent of the Russian Federation "without prior notification to the Attorney General". She pleaded guilty in December 2018 to felony charges of conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent of the Russian state under 18 U.S.C 951. The Federal judge sentenced her to 18 months in prison on 26 April 2019.

Source: @tech2.org

What is Maria Butina Famous For?

- Russian gun-rights activist who pleaded guilty in December 2018 to felony charges of conspiracy to act as an unregistered foreign agent of the Russian state under 18 U.S.C 951. 

- Sentenced to 18 months prison by Federal Judge on 26 April 2019.

Source: @talkingpointsmemo.com

Where was Maria Butina Born?

Maria Butina was born on 10 November 1988. Her birth name is Maria Valeryevna Butina. She belongs to White ethnicity. Her birth place is in Barnaul, Altai Krai, RSFSR, Soviet Union. She holds Russian nationality. Her zodiac sign is Scorpio. Information about her parents is currently unavailable. She grew up in the Siberia taiga. Her father taught her to use guns and hunt. 

She attended Altai State University in Barnaul, where she studied political science. She also received a teaching degree. She received her master's degree in international relations from American University in Washington in 2018. 

Business Career

She built a furniture retail business in Altai Krai. She was 21 at the time. 

She moved to Moscow in 2011. She sold her seven furniture stores to start an advertising agency. 

She participated in the Youth Primaries organized by the Young Guard of United Russia in 2011.

She founded a Russian gun-rights organization, Right to Bear Arms in 2011. The organization lobbied to change Russia's strict gun control laws. She then started traveling back and forth to the United States. A Senator in the Federation Council of Russia and a leading member of United Russia Aleksandr Torshin hired Butina as his "special assistant". 

They lobbied the council to expand gun rights in 2012. She resigned as the head of Right to Bear Arms in late 2014. 

She met Republican political operative Paul Erickson in Russia in 2013. 

Torshin became deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia in January 2015. Butina worked as his special assistant until May 2017. She told The Washington Post that she never worked for the Russian government.

She moved to the United States in August 2016 on a student visa. She enrolled as a graduate student in International Relations at American University in Washington, D.C.

A source told CNN, that Butina bragged to her fellow students about her contacts in Russian government on at least two separate occasions while drunk.

Butina and Erickson started a South Dakota business, Bridges LLC in February 2016. Erickson stated that the company was established to support Butina's education financially if needed. She completed her master's degree in international relations in 2018. 

Source: @argusleader.com

National Rifle Association

Torshin and Butina established a cooperative relationship between the NRA and Right to Bear Arms. 

Butina and Torshin attended the 2014 NRA annual meeting as special guests of former NRA president David Keene. 

She attended the Women's Leadership Luncheon at the 2014 meeting as a guest of former NRA president Sandy Froman. 

Butina and Torshin also attended the 2015 NRA annual convention. 

She has attended various NRA conventions to date. 

Republican Party

She has attempted to develop ties to conservative American politics. 

FBI stated that she had successfully sought ties to the Republican Party. It is referred to as "POLITICAL PARTY 1" in a supporting affidavit to the government's support for pre-trial detention following her indictment in the United States of America v. Maria Butina. 

She took pictures with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and former US Senator and 2016 presidential candidate Rick Santorum at the 2014 NRA annual meeting. 

She met Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at the 2015 NRA annual meeting. 

She was also present at the launch of Walker's 2016 presidential campaign in July 2015. 

Obama Administration officials

Torshin and Butina met the Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, Nathan Sheets, in 2015 to discuss US-Russian economic relations. 

They also met with a Federal Reserve vice chairman, Stanley Fischer and with a State Department official. 

Donald Trump Campaign

In a June 2015 article published in The National Interest, a conservative American international affairs magazine, just before Trump announced his candidacy for president, she urged better relations between the United States and Russia. She said, "It may take the election of a Republican to the White House in 2016 to improve relations between the Russian Federation and the United States." 

However, her biography in the article did not mention that she worked for the Russian government. Butina attended FreedomFest the next month, where Trump gave a speech. Butina asked Trump from the audience about ending U.S. sanctions against Russia. Trump replied, "I don't think you'd need the sanctions."

Butina hosted a birthday party attended by Erickson and Trump campaign aides shortly after the 2016 election.

Source: @en.wikipedia.org

United States v. Maria Butina

FBI arrested Butina on 15 July 2018 in Washington. She was charged with acting in the United States as an agent of a foreign government, specifically the Russian Federation, without prior notification to the Attorney General, a conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, to wit, 18 USC 951 (Foreign Relations, Agents of foreign governments), in violation of 18 USC 371 (Conspiracy). She pleaded not guilty on 18 July. She was held in solidarity confinement in Alexandria Detention Center. 

Butina, Torshin, Erickson have been subjects of an investigation by the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence into Russian interference in the 2016 United State elections. The FIB began to monitor Butina in August 2016 when she moved to the United States on an F-1 student visa. 

Her attorneys and federal prosecutors declared in November 2018 that they had entered into plea negotiations. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to act as an illegal foreign agent in December 2018. The original charge of failing to register as a foreign agent was dropped. President Putin had denied any knowledge of Butina. However, several Russian government officials opposed Butina's arrest. 

The Federal Judge sentenced her to 18 months in prison on 26 April 2019. 

Who is Maria Butina dating?

She met Republican political operative Paul Erickson in Russia in 2013. They started dating and eventually moved together. There is no other information about her affair at present. 

What are Maria Butina Body Measurements?

Information about her height is 5 feet 6 inches, weight is 121 lbs, and body. She has a slim body build. She has gray eyes and her hair color is brown. 

What is Maria Butina Net Worth?

Maria Butina is a political activist and businessperson. Her net worth is under evaluation.