nat'l interest kristol 2

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Butina was not keeping a low profile. In June, she wrote an&nbsp;<a href="http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-bear-the-elephant-13098" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">English-language op-ed</a>&nbsp;about U.S-Russia relations for The National Interest, the foreign-policy magazine founded by neoconservative Irving Kristol.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">&nbsp;Butina staked out a case for regime change in America: “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,” she wrote. “As improbable as it may sound, the Russian bear shares more interests with the Republican elephant than the Democratic donkey.” Citing the GOP’s coalition of social conservatives, businessmen and anti-terrorism hawks, Butina wrote, “These are values espoused by United Russia, the current ruling political party in Moscow.” The magazine identified Butina as the founder of “a Russian version of the NRA.” Not included in her bio: Butina was still on the government payroll, as special assistant to Torshin, who by now was deputy governor of the Russian central bank.</span>