How Russia's propaganda machine has played the Brittney Griner prisoner swap

The prisoner exchange that saw WNBA star Brittney Griner released, while Russia got notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, has been widely lauded by Russian state media and Kremlin loyalists as a win for Moscow — and a sign of weakness on the part of the U.S.

"I have to say that we have achieved a tremendous victory today. I don't even think we have the full understanding of how big it is," Russia's top propagandist Vladimir Soloviev said in his daily television show. "The Russian intelligence agencies, alongside the Foreign Ministry, have carried out a stunning operation and brought home a man who did not plead guilty once, who was wrongly convicted and slandered but did not betray his homeland."

While securing Griner's freedom may have scored points for President Joe Biden at home, the same goes for Russian leader Vladimir Putin with the release of Bout. Over the 14 years Bout spent in a U.S. prison, he became something of a martyr figure in Russia. Bringing a patriot home is also a public win at a time when Putin declares Russia to be in an existential battle against American "hegemony" and its "alien values."