June 28, 2010

Now THAT'S a Reset Button!


"Excuse me, but haven't we met in California last summer?"
"No, I think it was the Hamptons."

Life is always stranger than fiction, or, in this case, it may have been imitating [bad] fiction. Th above was a coded exchange which one Anna Chapman, an alleged Russian sleeper agent ("illegal") was to use to verify the identity of a person to whom she was to give off a fake passport.

Chapman (not her real name, we assume) is one of nearly a dozen Russian sleeper agents rounded up by the FBI today in a multi-state arrest of illegal agents.

The criminal complaints read not so much like a Le Carre spy novel as something Dave Barry might have written. There are meetings in CVS pharmacies and Russian restaurants, malfunctioning private wireless networks, messages encrypted in photographs [aka steganography], invisible writing, brush switches of bags, trips to South America, envelopes of cash hidden at dead drops, and, yes, an apartment in Hoboken, New Jersey. It has to be read to be believed.

Another identity verification with one Mikhail Semenko:

"Could we have met in Beijing in 2004?" 
"Yes, we might have, but I believe it was in Harbin." 

Apparently, these spies were not trained to introduce variety to their spycraft.

Today's arrests are apparently the culmination of a years-long investigation into the SVR's (Russian foreign intelligence) illegals program, which the FBI asserts was set up to train deep cover agents that would blend in in the US, either individiually or as a married couple, have children, buy a house, have cover jobs, etc., all with the express purpose of "becoming sufficiently Americanized" so as to infiltrate, gathering intelligence on and recruiting other agents in policy making bodies. The main NYT article offers some of the more hilarious exchanges between Moscow Center and the agents, the choicest being two agents arguing with Center about who would own a new house they would be purchasing in New Jersey.

Based on the criminal complaints, it is clear that these characters are not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier (someone wrote down a 27-character password for accessing encrypted data on a sheet of paper and left it lying around), and they are going to race to be the first to cut a deal. So I would expect we will soon learn all of the juicy details of this spy ring, perhaps soon to be known as The Gang Which Couldn't Spy Straight.

I am guessing some people on Lubyanka Square are not going to get a lot of sleep the next few days.

p.s. Meanwhile, in a curious twist of fate, our current issue of Russian Life, which mailed last Friday, has a long story on the little-known private life and history of Russia's most famous illegal in the U.S., William Fisher, aka Rudolph Abel.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955