Montana
Enormous Montana ranch, once a hideout for Soviet defector, lists for $21.7M
A sprawling property with a movie-worthy USSR connection has hit the market for the first time in more than 70 years.
Known as Rocking Chair Ranch, the 7,200-plus-acre expanse is located across the road from the old mining town of Philipsburg, Montana, and has been in the Vietor family since 1952, Mansion Global first reported.
In addition to offering more than 11 square miles of terrain ranging from irrigated fields to conifer forest and riparian meadows, the estate — which is seeking $21.7 million — also has a unique connection to Soviet Russia, thanks to ex-Soviet fighter pilot Viktor Belenko.
In 1976, Belenko defected during a training exercise, flying his supersonic interceptor, the MiG-25 Foxbat, to Hokkaido, Japan, and seeking asylum in the US, Mansion Global reported. He quickly became a hero, and in addition to offering his plane to the US government, he also shared confidential information with them about the state of the Soviet military.
As thanks, “the CIA asked him where he wanted to live, and he said somewhere in the western part of the country on a ranch,” Willy Vietor, a rancher and the Vietor family patriarch, told Mansion Global. “The CIA agent who knew my parents came up with us.”
And so Belenko came to live at Rocking Chair under an alias — but the Vietors quickly saw through it.
“After he had been with us about a year, we connected the dots and realized he was one of the most valuable defectors the US had ever had,” said Vietor, who is 80 and selling the property because “we’ve hit a generational wall…There are no kids to take it over.”
He and his wife, Carolynn, will continue living on a 2,000-acre portion of the ranch that is not included in the current listing.
Belenko left the ranch in the early 1980s but would periodically visit. He passed away last year at the age of 76.
In addition to a “beautiful piece of earth,” as the listing puts it, Rocking Chair also comes with an array of buildings, all located near each other, that include a 3,800-plus-square-foot main house originally from 1932, various barns, a shop and a granary.
“One of the things that makes Rocking Chair Ranch unique is that a buyer does not have to make any sacrifices to their wish list. Usually, a buyer must choose between river, mountains and any number of other variables,” Bill McDavid of Hall and Hall, who shares the listing with Deke Tidwell, told The Post. “Rocking Chair Ranch covers it all … river to the mountains and everything in between.”
HELENA, Mont. — Montana counties have accepted enough signatures for Seth Bodnar, running for U.S. Senate and Michael Eisenhauer, running in Montana’s 2nd Congressional District, to be on the November ballot, although counts are still unofficial.
County election officials are continuing to verify signatures submitted by Tuesday’s deadline as part of the candidate petition process.
The Montana Secretary of State’s Office has not yet verified, certified or accepted the petitions, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Counties must submit candidate petitions to the Secretary of State’s office by June 1.
The Secretary of State’s office will then conduct its “statutory review to ensure the petitions meet the necessary legal requirements under law.”
The deadline for the November general election ballot to be certified is Thursday, Aug. 20. By then, all qualifying candidates and any potential ballot issues that qualify for the general election will be officially certified.
The following was out by the Montana Secretary of State’s Office:
The attached report is unofficial. It includes totals that the county election officials have processed and entered in the system. These totals do not represent what the Secretary of State’s Office has received, reviewed, tabulated, or certified. The certified totals may differ from what is reflected.
Seth Bodnar, U.S. Senate
- 13,327 required
- 18,772 accepted
- 7,812 rejected
Kimberly Persico, MT-01
- 6,742 required
- 563 accepted
- 156 rejected
Michael Eisenhauer, MT-02
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- 7,274 required
- 7,754 accepted
- 4,720 rejected
Severe storms moved through parts of Montana on Thursday, prompting a total of 5 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings. Reports included strong wind gusts and hail in several communities, including Augusta, Choteau, Sunburst, Bigfork, Kalispell and Evergreen.
The strongest reported wind gust was 60 mph near Augusta, while hail up to 1 inch was reported near Evergreen and Kalispell.
STORM REPORTS:
12 SE Grant — 56 mph thunderstorm wind gust
7 NNE Augusta — 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust
5 ENE Choteau — 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust
Sunburst — 54 mph thunderstorm wind gust
Ennis — 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust
3 SSW Ennis — 52 mph thunderstorm wind gust
2 E Helena — 54 mph thunderstorm wind gust
19 E Swan Lake — 56 mph thunderstorm wind gust
2 NNW Yaak — thunderstorm wind damage – Multiple downed trees reported along Highway 2 between MM 3 and 8
3 WSW Blacktail — 53 mph thunderstorm wind gust
1 NNW Troy — 49 mph thunderstorm wind gust
5 ENE Choteau — 56 mph thunderstorm wind gust
Turah — 0.88″ hail
1 NNW Bigfork — 0.75″ hail
3 SW La Salle — 0.50″ hail
2 N Evergreen — 1.00″ hail
1 W Kalispell — 1.00″ hail
3 WNW Kalispell — 0.75″ hail
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LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A man from Las Vegas has been sentenced after stealing coins and precious metals from a Helena shop in Montana.
This comes after Bishop Lott, 47, pleaded guilty in January to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.
A judge sentenced Lott on Thursday to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $276,153.08 in restitution to the Helena business as well as five other theft victims.
MORE | Southern California man pleads guilty to importing, trafficking 70 pounds of ketamine
The government alleged in court documents that Lott, along with Ricky Rynell Rose, broke into Wayne Miller Coins in Helena and stole nearly $59,000 in coins and precious metals from a Helena business.
Rose pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 39 months in prison.
The Helena Police Department received a call on March 3, 2024, reporting that Wayne Miller Coins had been burglarized earlier that day.
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As part of their investigation, Helena police officers reviewed surveillance footage from multiple businesses. They analyzed email account data, which led them to Lott and Rose, who had taken the stolen material to Nevada.
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