Spy Kids: Couple's Children Discover Their Russian Identity Only When Boarding Plane to Moscow with Parents
Espionage is such a risky business that individuals often keep it a secret from their near and dear ones.
Artem Viktorovich Dultsev and Anna Valerevna Dultseva's children never knew that they were Russians, TODAY reported. For many years, the husband and wife pair pretended to be Argentinian citizens living in Slovenia. But, for their children, the pretense was a reality.
The parents went by the names of Ludwig Gisch and Maria Rosa Mayer Muños, and were undercover spies working for Russia, TODAY reported. Their job was allegedly to relay orders from Moscow and bring cash to other Russian sleeper agents.
They allegedly never let their two children know the true nature of their work. The children had no idea about their Russian roots — so much so, that Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted them in Spanish on their arrival.
The couple moved to Slovenia in 2017, TODAY reported. The husband was involved in a startup while the wife ran an online art gallery. Their children attended school in Ljubljana, the country's capital.
In 2022, the couple were arrested on espionage charges and using fake documents to register their firms. They pleaded guilty to espionage charges and were sentenced to 19 months in prison.
The couple were two of the eight Russians imprisoned in the U.S. and Europe being traded for four American prisoners in Russia, as per a prison swap program, TODAY reported.
Discussions regarding their swap started in June, The New York Times reported. The discussions happened between a group of CIA officers and their Russian counterparts during a secret meeting in a Middle Eastern capital.
Joe Biden talked about this decision with the media in July. "The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship," Mr. Biden said. The swap involved two dozen prisoners sitting in jails in Russia, the United States and scattered across Europe
The couple boarded a plane to Russia, as part of the swap, just a day after they were sentenced, TODAY reported.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the children were only told on their flight to Moscow, that they were Russians, TODAY reported. "Before that, they did not know that they were Russian, that they had anything to do with our country," Peskov said.
"They asked their parents yesterday who this guy was meeting them, they didn’t even know who Putin was," Peskov added, and went on to praise intelligence officers who "make such sacrifices for the sake of their work, for the sake of devotion to the cause," TODAY reported.
Putin delivered a speech to all the individuals who returned to Russia after the prisoner swap, TODAY reported. "I would like to thank you for the loyalty to your oath, your duty, and your motherland, which has not forgotten you for even a minute," Putin said.