News you may have missed #382 (Russian spy ring edition III)
July 1, 2010 4 Comments
- What about the children of the accused Russian spies? The suspected spies have seven children among them, most of whom are thought to be younger than 18. But while plenty of details have emerged about the spying activities of their parents, very little is known about the children.
- MI5 investigates Russian spy’s time in Britain. Russian alleged spy Anna Chapman lived in Britain for almost five years, working in a string of top London companies. Now MI5, which carries out Britain’s counterespionage work, is understood to be helping the Americans in their investigation.
- Canadian identity was useful for Russian spies. The FBI affidavit charges that four of the 11 Russian spies arrested in the US last weekend, four claim Canadian birth or citizenship, including one who allegedly took the identity of a Montreal infant who died in 1963. The Canadian identity card has become a preferred commodity in the shadowy world of international espionage.
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A neighbor of one of the spy couples made an interesting comment: she wondered whether their children were even “their own kids”, meaning their own biological children.
It seems extremely unlikely, but the case is already very unusual.
Good point. There are reports this morning that some of the children have been taken to Russia, but we are still trying to confirm this. [IA]
Russian spies: children face trauma, psychologists warn
“The fate of the Russian spies’ families remains uncertain, with some older children opting to remain in the US but younger ones likely to rejoin their families.
Eight of the 10 spies flown to Vienna had children. Most are in limbo as the US child protection agency, the FBI and the immigration service sort out the final details. The US state department insisted that all the children were free to leave the US. “This is really fundamentally a matter between the parents and the children,” an official said.
In the long term, US psychologists predicted that some children could face feelings of betrayal, identity crisis and dislocation as they struggle to come to terms with the abrupt change in lifestyle.
…
Government agencies refused to say whether the younger children had left the US, saying they were bound by law to keep such information confidential.
…
According to court papers, Mikhail Kutsik, alias Michael Zottoli, and Natalia Pereverzeva, known as Patricia Mills, who lived in Arlington, Virginia, have asked friends to get in touch with relatives to make arrangements for their children, who are one and three. The indication was the children would be flown to Russia.
More complicated in terms of adjustment could be the children of Vladimir and Lydia Guryev, alias Richard and Cynthia Murphy, who were brought up in New Jersey. The daughters, seven-year-old Lisa and Katie, 11, attended state school and have only known US suburban life.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/09/russian-spies-children-face-trauma
Just saw this:
All children of Russian spies repatriated
(AFP)
All the children of the 10 Russian spies freed in a dramatic swap with Moscow have been sent to Russia to rejoin their parents, US attorney general Eric Holder said Sunday.
“The children have all been repatriated. We did so consistent with what their parents’ wishes were,” Holder told CBS “Face The Nation.”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jiV4faPMGtVxaZ9Y9_JQ0NfEfBPg