Both the Old Testament and Will Shakespeare were of the opinion that the sins of the father would be visited upon the children, often for generations to come. And sometimes that prophecy is sadly, even tragically, fulfilled.

But just as often, the sins of the children have had repercussions on their parents. Such appears to be the case of 21-year-old American Michael Gloss, killed last year while fighting for Russia in Ukraine . . . who just happened to be the son of CIA Deputy Director for Digital Innovation Juliane Gallina.

After Gloss’ death was first reported in April of this year, the CIA issued a statement saying that he had been suffering from mental health problems, had never been an employee of the CIA, and was not considered a national security risk. He had enlisted with the Russian military in the fall of 2023, and sources state that the Kremlin was not aware of his family background. His obituary reported that he had been “killed in Eastern Europe” a year earlier, on April 4, 2024. [BBC World News, August 9, 2025.]

Gloss may not have presented security problems to the United States, but he most certainly created issues for his parents. In addition to the grief of having lost a son, his mother has had to deal with the embarrassment of having her CIA colleagues learn of her son’s betrayal of his country.

His father, Iraq War veteran Larry Gloss, told the Washington Post in an interview last April that Michael had struggled with mental illness throughout most of his life. He said:

“Our biggest fear while we were waiting for him to be repatriated was that someone over there [in Moscow] would put two and two together and figure out who his mother was, and use him as a prop.” [Id.]

That didn’t happen at the time; but it has now.

Vladimir Putin took care to see that it did.

When a family member dies in the service of their own or an allied country, receiving a posthumous recognition of their heroism is an honor, and an acknowledgment that their life had meaning and purpose. It is at least a small source of comfort for the surviving relatives.

But for American parents, who themselves have honorably served their own country in civilian and military capacities, learning that they have been sent the Soviet-era Order of Lenin by Vladimir Putin to “honor” their dead son is the supreme insult; it is rubbing salt into a still-fresh wound.

And that is precisely what Putin did, during his meeting last week with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff was in Moscow in an attempt to advance negotiations toward ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. The meeting culminated in an agreement to schedule a summit meeting between Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday, August 15th . . . and in Putin’s handing to Witkoff an Order of Lenin medal for delivery to Michael Gloss’ parents.

I cannot imagine Steve Witkoff’s reaction, but I assume — and hope — that he handled the moment more diplomatically than I would have done. I’m not sure whether I would have laughed maniacally, or simply thrown the offending “gift” at Putin’s evil, grinning face; but either way, I would certainly have put an end to any hope of improving U.S.-Russian relations . . . which is why I wisely chose many years ago not to go into politics.

It is not presently known what has happened to the medal, and no official statement has been made about the incident. Neither the Kremlin nor the Russian Foreign Ministry has acknowledged presentation of the award; and on the U.S. side, the White House, the CIA and Witkoff have all failed to respond to requests for comment. [Id.]

But word leaked out, as it has a way of doing. And the blatant sarcasm of the gesture is just one more “gotcha” moment for Putin — to top off his victory in securing a face-to-face meeting with Trump on U.S. soil.

All in all, I’d say it’s been a pretty good week for the Kremlin.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendohchka
8/10/25