Why Russia would only trade Brittney Griner for 'Merchant of Death' Viktor Bout

WNBA star Brittney Griner is on her way to San Antonio, Texas, and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is back in Moscow after a prisoner exchange Thursday morning in the United Arab Emirates.

From the U.S. perspective, it wasn't a fair trade: Griner had just started her 9-year sentence at a remote penal colony for possessing a small amount of hashish oil, while Bout was 11 years into a 25-year sentence for organizing the sale of a hefty arsenal of heavy weapons to a buyers he believed represented Colombia's FARC rebels. He told undercover U.S. agents he knew the weapons could be used to kill Americans, and he was good with that.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.