◆ SpookStack

Why has the NRA beeo cozyine up to Russia? Page 7 of 13 Torshin also has been called "the godfather. While he's only. adnitted to having been a godfather in the religious sense,Spanish investigators claimed in an August report that the Russian politician Alexander Porfirievich Torshin stands above (an alleged figure in the Moseow-based Taganskaya crinre syndicate], who eails him. godfather' or boss" and conducted on his behalf activities and inyestments." Torshin demned the allegation, telling Boomberg "I'm a pablie individual and I'm not hiding anywhere.*. Torshin told the New Republie's Julia Ioffe in zora that he adinires the NRA because it represents "stability--the eredo of Patin's reign. The Keene connection In May of aoig, Torshin traveled to the NRA convention in Houston. Months later, he wrote about it in an Washington Times Op/ED about the passing of Mikhail Kalashnikoy (the inventor of the AK- 47). "Last year, I had the pleasure of attending the Nationai Rifle Association's annual meeting in Houston, he recounted. Kalasbnikoy coukdn't join me,though we have both heen life memnbers' of the NRA for years. At 93. his health was eyen then. beginning to fail, but I thought of hin as I toured the exhibit area where I saw dozens of Ak-gy clones." The opinion editor for the paper is the NRA's David Keene. In between,Keene traveled to Russia for a fal aoi3 gun conference, hosted by The Right to Bear Arms.Bmtina's onhine advertisements for the event specitically highlighted his participation,calling him Torshtin atended.and Keene spoke.Keene posted a pieture of his visit with Torshin on his personal website and shared it on Facebook. Weeks after the conference, Bntina explained in a LiveJournal post that just because a foroign eitizen is an NRA member, that does not necessarily mean they are a spy. In April ot aoi4, Butina traveled to the NRA's annual meeting in Indianapolis. She was given the "rare privilege" of ringing the organization's repliea of the Liberty Bell and presented a plaque to NRA President Jin Porter.She attended a wonen's luneheon as the htps/thinkprogress.org/nra-and-russian-cousin-18f607d40240 127BI(8qy2107)-28