Just a couple of days ago I mentioned that I wanted to keep tabs, if possible, on the two children of Artyom and Anna Dultsev — the two Russian spies who were part of the historic swap concluded on August 1st. The only initial information the public had been given was that Sofia, 11, and Daniel, 8, did not know that they were Russian, and not Argentinian, until they were on a plane from Ankara to Moscow with their parents, whom they had not seen for the past nineteen months because . . .

But wait . . . I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s a convoluted tale, best told in some sort of logical sequence. And thanks to Shaun Walker of The Guardian (U.K.), some further details are now available.

If you’ve never seen the 2013 Golden Globe-winning, six-season TV series “The Americans” . . . well, let me just say that I consider it essential viewing for every adult who isn’t afraid of the truth. It is fiction, overflowing with violence and sex (and violent sex). But it is superbly written and acted, and inspired by the story of a real Russian family of “illegals” — specially-trained spies who infiltrate into another country, blend in as locals, and sacrifice their own normal lives for the benefit of Mother Russia.

Yes, this shit really happens. Not to be overly dramatic — okay, maybe just a little bit dramatic — you don’t really know who your neighbors are.

That, in a nutshell, describes — though hopefully without all the violence (the sex is their own business) — the lives of Artyom Dultsev and Anna Dultseva. They were sent first to live in Argentina as Maria Mayer and Ludwig Gisch. Their children were born there, and grew up speaking Spanish. On the excuse that they feared the excess of street crime in Argentina, the family moved to Ljubljana, Slovenia (wouldn’t that be everyone’s obvious first choice?), where the children attended an international school and studied English. Little Sofia and Daniel knew their parents as ordinary business people who sometimes had to travel; they had no idea they were Russian . . . let alone Russian spies.

Life was good for the family, until one day in December of 2022, when their suburban home was raided by armed police who had come to arrest the couple on the basis of a tip from “an allied intelligence service.” [The Guardian, August 6, 2024.] They were sent to prison; Sofia and Daniel were placed in foster care, and were only reunited with their parents 19 months later — on the day of the spy swap, August 1st, 2024.

What those 19 months were like for the children can only be imagined.

Now look at the picture of them arriving in Moscow. They appear so composed, so normal. Or perhaps they’re simply shell-shocked. In one day, they have been brought back from foster care to their real parents (it is not clear whether they knew why they had been separated in the first place); given some story to explain why they were immediately leaving Slovenia on a plane with strange foreign writing on its exterior; and then told, when they were in the air and it was too late to run away, that they were not Argentinian, their parents were Russian spies, and they were leaving everything behind to spend the rest of their lives in Russia!

Yes . . . I definitely vote for shell-shocked.

Apparently, the children’s parents had done such a good job of keeping them in the dark about all things Russian for the past eleven years that, when they arrived at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport to be greeted by a military honor guard and Vladimir Putin himself, the youngsters didn’t know who the hell he was.

And now, for the second time in their short lives, they are being forced to start over in a strange land, learn a new language, make new friends . . . and adapt to a restricted way of life they have never known before. I believe a few history lessons — including current events — are in order for them. And perhaps a little therapy.

Those poor children . . .

But, according to — yes, folks, he’s back! — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, it’s all worth it; that “making such sacrifices for the sake of their work and their dedication to their service” is all just part of being an illegal.

Easy for you to say, Dima. You’re not the one making the sacrifices.

The story of the Dultsevs is already being touted in Russia with pride, as an indication of what Russian operatives are willing to do in the name of patriotism. Appearing on Russian TV in an interview that was broadcast from the grounds of SVR headquarters outside Moscow (presumably the Yasenevo complex), Anna Dultseva expressed her appreciation:

“I am so grateful to our country and so grateful to Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin].”

Of course you are, Anna. You have no choice.

The children were also there; it happened to be young Daniel’s ninth birthday, and the interviewer presented him with a gift: a plush toy character from a popular Soviet-era book, Cheburashka — a fuzzy little creature, an orphan who doesn’t quite fit in but remains optimistic, and has a best friend Gena, a lonely crocodile . . .

Well, I’m sure Daniel was thrilled.

The interviewer further offered the following palliative to viewers concerning the Dultsev family:

“They are high-class professionals who devoted their whole lives to the motherland, making sacrifices that ordinary people could never understand. They raised their children as Spanish-speaking Catholics. Now they will have to teach them what borscht is.” [The Guardian, id.]

Oh, I feel much better now.

*. *. *

But what about the backstory? How many of these “illegals” does Putin have scattered around the world, living seemingly normal lives while rooting for valuable information to transmit back home, spreading the current line of Russian propaganda, and possibly even recruiting converts to Russia’s team?

The simple truth is, they’re everywhere, and have been for decades. We round them up when we find them, but I don’t suppose there’s any way of estimating how many there are — not just here in the U.S., but throughout the world.

And they have now become heroes of Putin’s propaganda machine, appearing in TV documentaries, “carefully edited” books depicting their patriotic activities, and even statues to some of the most well-known in various cities. The hardships are ignored; what is stressed is their “glorious sacrifice for the benefit of the motherland.” [The Guardian, id.]

I wonder how 11-year-old Sofia and 9-year-old Daniel feel about that.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/7/24