SUSPECTED Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, dubbed The Merchant of Death by the Western media, is awaiting extradition to the United States on terrorism charges.

But in Russia, Bout's cause has been enthusiastically taken up by the vice-chairman of the Russian parliament while his family is given generous air time to defend his character, fuelling suspicion about Moscow's stance.

Bout, the inspiration for the 2005 Hollywood film Lord Of War, was arrested in Thailand in March after years of evading capture.

The United Nations has accused him of breaking sanctions, and his detractors say he sold weapons to anyone who would pay: African dictators; the Taliban; South American guerrilla groups; and Libya, to name but a few.

He allegedly never took sides and was happy to arm both sides in a conflict then fly in aid afterwards - for a price.

The US has been tracking his movements for years and American agents were involved in the sting operation in Thailand that apparently caught him agreeing to supply weapons to Colombian Farc guerrillas. Washington's attitude towards him has, at times, raised eyebrows. It used him to fly supplies into Iraq at the same time it issued an order not to do business with him.

Bout, now 41, was a Soviet military translator in Mozambique prior to the collapse of the USSR and is a graduate of a prestigious foreign languages institute in Moscow. He went into business with fellow graduates in the 1990s to build a large airfreight business in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

One of the abiding mysteries about Bout is how he managed to live openly in Moscow for at least seven years with his wife and teenage daughter despite being targeted by several law enforcement agencies.

One reason is that the Russian constitution forbids the extradition of Russian citizens. Another, say analysts, is that Bout must have friends in high places and enjoyed the protection of a powerful wing of the Russian intelligence service.

Over the years he gave interviews to journalists in bars and hotels mocking the idea that he was a wanted man. In 2006, he even appeared on the Kremlin's English-language TV channel, Russia Today, to claim he was an honest businessman.

Events in Russia since his arrest suggest he still has friends in high places. The same TV channel, dubbed Kremlin TV by its critics, has given generous air time to Bout's allies.

A businessman arrested with him in Thailand who was later released has appeared to complain of his ordeal and defend his friend while his wife, Alla, has made an emotional appearance on the channel protesting her husband's innocence.

Some in the Russian media say Alla's father was a high-ranking KGB agent during the Soviet era, a fact that helped her husband navigate a maze of bureaucracy after the collapse of the Soviet Union to buy up and export weapons and establish a private fleet of ageing Soviet freight planes. Bout says Alla's father was a PE teacher.

The Russian foreign ministry has offered its support too. It says it will ensure Bout's rights are not violated and has no intention to press any charges against him.

His lawyer was even allowed to use the facilities of the state-affiliated press agency for a press conference in order to argue Bout's corner.

However, Bout's biggest public champion is nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

The leader of the extreme right Liberal Democratic Party is also vice-chairman of the Russian parliament. His party has long been a Kremlin vehicle that slavishly supports the initiatives of the ruling clique and enjoys close Kremlin access in return.

Zhirinovsky picketed the Thai embassy to press for Bout's release, spoke up for him in public speeches, lobbied the Thai ambassador and portrayed Bout as the victim of an anti-Russian witch hunt. In April, he said Bout was "absolutely legally clean".

Some critics have raised awkward questions, such as where did the Igla shoulder-fired missiles Bout allegedly planned to sell to the FARC originate? State arms exporter Rosoboronexport has a monopoly on the sale of them.

Liberal commentator Yulia Latynina said: "The government is engaged in a heroic crusade against all those bad businessmen who break the law, but it is not opposed to a Russian businessman offering surface-to-air missiles to Colombian drug lords."