Their parents posed as Argentinian citizens, and Vladimir Putin greeted the children in Spanish. According to the Kremlin, they did not speak Russian nor did they know who Putin was.

Their parents posed as Argentinian citizens, and Vladimir Putin greeted the children in Spanish. According to the Kremlin, they did not speak Russian nor did they know who Putin was.

Why did Russian President Vladimir Putin greet the children of just-freed Russian spies in Spanish?

The reason is straight out of an episode of the hit TV spy show “The Americans.”

Among the first prisoners stepping off the plane to greet President Putin was a slender brown-haired woman grasping the hand of her young daughter. She appeared to stifle a sob as she hugged Putin. He handed her a bouquet of purple and white flowers, and another to her daughter. Putin also hugged her husband and kissed their son.

Then, over the din of the airplane, Putin could be heard greeting the children with “buenas noches” — the Spanish phrase for “good evening.”

Their parents were undercover Russian spies who posed as Argentinian citizens living in Slovenia and went by the names Ludwig Gisch and Maria Rosa Mayer Muños. They were part of Thursday’s massive prisoner swap involving several countries.

  • @MataVatnik
    155•1 month ago

    What a mind fuck for those kids

    • @reddig33
      62•1 month ago

      Makes me wonder if the parents or Putin negotiated that the kids had to come with them as part of the exchange.

      If I was 16 and living in the US, I’d tell everyone to get fucked I ain’t going nowhere.

      • @[email protected]English
        34•1 month ago

        First, their parents were sleeper agents in Slovenia, not the US.

        But, okay. Let’s say that it was the US involved, not Slovenia.

        The US, unlike Slovenia, uses jus soli – if you’re born on American soil, whether your parents are present legally or not (with very, very few exceptions, like for diplomats and soldiers of a foreign power occupying American territory), you are an American citizen.

        But even then, it sounds like the kids were born prior to the parents entering the country, so they wouldn’t have been American citizens. Their parents apparently got visas on forged Argentinian passports, and I assume that whatever visa the kids were on was contingent on that, so the visa would presumably have been invalidated.

        Besides, I assume that their parents didn’t want to leave them behind. I mean, yeah, their parents were spies, but I don’t expect that we’re going to take someone’s kids over that.

        And the kids didn’t think that they were Slovenian, but rather from Argentina. Up until the plane ride, that’s probably where they expected to wind up.

        • andrew_bidlawEnglish
          19•1 month ago

          IIRC they were in a foster family due to both parents being in prison for a year+, with them having a weird legal status. It sucks to be these kids and I don’t think someone asked them.

        • @[email protected]
          3•1 month ago

          Canada uses Jus Soli too (as well as Jus Sanguinis), but they fought to not grant citizenship to a kid born in Canada whose parents turned out to be spies.

          https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/son-of-russian-spies-fights-for-canadian-citizenship-1.4681419

          The government’s argument was that since the parents were on fraudulent documents and were effectively working for the Russian embassy, their kids shouldn’t have Canadian citizenship.

        • SeaJ
          1•1 month ago

          It’s possible they were born in Argentina which also has jus soli. But they would also almost certainly have Russian citizenship via jus sanguinis.

        • @Dasus
          11•1 month ago

          16 is a little young to be out on your own.

          Oh cmon I moved from my mom’s house at 15 and just look at how… uh…

          I see your point.

    • The Snark UrgeEnglish
      28•1 month ago

      Truly the worst version of “Is It Cake?” imaginable

    • @[email protected]
      4•1 month ago

      I remember reading an interview with the kid that the spy Anna Chapman had while in the US after he was sent to Russia with his mother.

      • @[email protected]English
        5•1 month ago

        I don’t think that she had a kid in the US. Either that or she did a damned good job of keeping her figure.

        kagis

        Yeah. Apparently she gave birth to her first kid in Russia five years after being deported.

        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3238720/The-BORN-identity-Russian-secret-agent-Anna-Chapman-gives-birth-child-Moscow-refuses-father.html

        The BORN identity: Russian secret agent Anna Chapman gives birth to her first child in Moscow but refuses to name the father

        • Anna Chapman was stripped of her British citizenship after the spy claims
        • She was deported from the United States in 2010 and runs an antique shop

        You may be thinking of some Russian sleeper agents in Canada who had a son who was something like 17 or 18, was totally in the dark about what his parents were doing, and very much did not want to leave Canada and go to Russia.

        kagis

        It sounds like he fought to remain a Canadan citizen and won.

        https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50873329

        Alexander Vavilov had his citizenship revoked after his parents, who worked for Russia’s foreign intelligence service, were arrested in 2010.

        He was born in Canada, and until their arrest he believed his parents were Canadian too.

        It is the first time he has spoken since Canada’s Supreme Court ruled his citizenship was valid.

        “I am who I am - whatever you learn about your heritage I don’t think it defines you as a person,” Mr Vavilov told the media in Toronto on Friday.

        He said the court victory was recognition that he not only feels like a Canadian, but is one in the eyes of the law.

        The government said that since his parents worked for a foreign government at the time of his birth, being born on Canadian soil was not enough to grant him citizenship.

        Thus began Mr Vavilov’s long fight to restore his citizenship.

        Typically, being born in Canada grants a child automatic citizenship. But there are exceptions for the children of diplomats. The government said that exception should apply to him - Mr Vavilov’s legal team disagreed.

        On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that since his parents were not granted diplomatic status, his citizenship is valid.

        EDIT: He was 16 when they were arrested, and it sounds like most of that time had lived in the US as a Canadian, and that he is in Russia but was looking for work in Canada.

        He told the media that he wants a future in Canada but his next steps depend on his prospects - he will move back for a good work opportunity.