The day we discovered our parents were Russian spies

[Larry1]

I thought some of you might be interested in this account of two brothers born in Canada and raised in the united states by what they thought were Canadian parents. Their parents were not Canadian but were Russians and were spying for Russia's Foreign Intelligence service. They began their espionage careers in the soviet era, working for the KGB, and continued after the KGB dissolved. They obtained the identities of two Canadian kids who had died when they were young children.

The kids moved to Moscow after their parents were arrested. The kids spoke no Russian but were met at the airport by their parents' co-workers.  Their parents were later swapped and returned to Russia.

The day we discovered our parents were Russian spies

For years Donald Heathfield, Tracey Foley and their two children lived the American dream. Then an FBI raid revealed the truth: they were agents of Putin’s Russia. Their sons tell their story

Read the account here:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/07/discovered-our-parents-were-russian-spies-tim-alex-foley

The parents were rounded up in the same FBI investigation that netted Anna Chapman. That summer I was engaged to a Belarusian girl. During one of our daily skype calls I mentioned the news. I was greeted with a frosty reaction; she told me not to believe everything I read in the American news. I was shocked to hear her reaction. The FBI wouldn't devote a huge amount of resources in such an effort and make large-scale arrests without having a lot of evidence.

The next day my fiancee found some article containing a Russian denial of involvement. But of course that was preposterous. And the intelligence officers were swapped. Then Anna Chapman gets a public decoration from the Russian government for her work.

That was my first exposure to the mindless fanaticism of many Russians where their government is concerned. And she wasn't even Russian; she was Belarusian.

[HoundDaddyLee]

Sounds like the plot of the FX TV show "The Americans"...

[Anotherkiwi]

Sounds like the plot of the FX TV show "The Americans"...

If you read the article, HDL, you would see that the TV show was based on their lives.

[msmobyone]

That was my first exposure to the mindless fanaticism of many Russians where their government is concerned. And she wasn't even Russian; she was Belarusian.

Larry,

My advice - dont 'bring up politics..  or agree to differ - only living in the west - seeing both sides - might change someone's mind or they'll question more...

I grew up in N.Ireland - I was taught to believe I was British and those trying to create a united Ireland were 'wrong'.

It took no account that my 'people' were planted to deliberately out number the indigenous people... We didn't trust anything that Irish media reported.

Only spending tie immersed in a society with deep seated mistrust of t'other can help understand why people think as they do ...

THEY have to come around - if ever...

[HoundDaddyLee]

If you read the article, HDL, you would see that the TV show was based on their lives.

My bad. I didn't read the article.


HDL