Spy, get out: the life of the children of Russian agents after being exposed by Americans - ForumDaily
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Spy, get out: the life of the children of Russian agents after the exposure of the Americans

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Alex and Tim in Bangkok in 2011 year. Photo: Tim and Alex Foley

After US citizens Donald Heathfield and his wife Tracy Foley were exposed by FBI agents, not only the lives of the agents of Putin’s Russia themselves changed, but also their sons, Tim and Alex.

The special group raid day - 7 June 2010 of the year - coincided with Tim's 20 birthday, which he celebrated not far from his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Shortly after the guys returned home, a group of black-clad armed men rushed in with a shout of “FBI!”, After which they were handcuffed to their parents and taken away in different cars.

To the shocked brothers, one of the FBI employees said that parents were arrested on suspicion of being "illegal agents of a foreign government."

Alex, the youngest of the brothers, suggested that there was some kind of mistake, perhaps the FBI representatives entered the wrong house, or there was confusion because of his father’s consulting work.

Donald Heathfield, who studied in Paris and Harvard, at that time worked as a senior employee of a consulting firm in Boston. Their mother, Tracy Foley, was engaged in raising her children for a long time, and then began working as a real estate agent.

The brothers were born in Canada, but at that time 10 had lived in the USA for years. Acquaintances considered Hitfield-Foley to be an ordinary American family, albeit with Canadian roots and attraction to foreign travel.

New Names

However, a few days later, the brothers heard on the radio that the FBI revealed 10 to Russian agents as part of the operation called Ghost Stories. In addition, it soon became clear that the real names of their parents were Andrei Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova.

The names of "Donald Heathfield" and "Tracy Foley" belonged to Canadians who died in childhood many years ago. Their identities were stolen and used by the brothers' parents.

Both were born in the USSR and were trained in the KGB, after which they went abroad on the program of introducing deeply disguised secret agents, known in Russia as “illegals.” They and eight other agents, including Anna Chapman, were handed over to the American authorities by a Russian spy defector.

The report on the plane that brought ten exposed spies to Vienna for exchange for four Russian citizens who had served their time on charges of spying on Western countries, recalled the times of the Cold War.

Alex and Tim also had a long trip to Russia, and almost 6 years after the memorable FBI raid, a correspondent for the British newspaper Guardian met in Moscow with Alex, who was now officially named Alexander Vavilov, and his brother Timofey Vavilov.

Alex can already order a Russian-style lunch, but he cannot speak fluently yet. He studies in Europe and came to Moscow to his parents. Tim works as a financier in Asia, and in the interests of protecting privacy, the brothers asked not to disclose details of their studies and work.

In addition, the brothers are in legal litigation for the restoration of Canadian citizenship, which they were deprived of after the arrest of their parents. The brothers believe that this is unjust and illegal.

Moving to Russia

During the FBI raid, as Alex recalls, they seized all computers, mobile phones, photos, and more. All bank accounts of the family were frozen, and the brothers only had cash in their pockets.

The mother, with whom they were able to meet in prison, ordered her sons to go to Moscow, although they had never been to Russia before. In the airport, the brothers were met by several people who called themselves colleagues of their parents and asked the brothers to trust them.

“They showed us photographs of parents in their youth, who wore uniforms and medals. At that moment I realized that it was true. Until then, I refused to believe the charges were fair, ”said Alex.

In Russia, they met with their uncle and cousin, whose existence they had not even previously suspected, as well as with their grandmother.

Alex and Tim say they don’t feel much discomfort when they talk about their experiences, but they don’t rejoice in it either. The brothers doubt that parents were once going to tell them about their true personalities.

In 2010, spies were met in Russia as heroes. First they were interviewed at the SVR headquarters, and then Bezrukov, Vavilova and the rest met with President Dmitry Medvedev, who presented them with medals for service.

Then they were received by Putin, and the group sang the patriotic Soviet song "Where the Motherland Begins." Then the authorities organized a tour for them - they took them to St. Petersburg, to Lake Baikal, to Siberia and to Sochi, to the Black Sea, to show them modern Russia and give them the opportunity to become attached to it.

Identity crisis

Tim replied that they sometimes meet with other spy families, although he and Alex were the only teenagers among these families. Of the four married couples detained, one had two small children, and the other had older sons.

Tim and Alex received Russian passports at the end of December 2010. Unexpectedly, they turned out to be Timofey and Alexander Vavilov. The names were completely new, alien and unpredictable, Tim said.

“The real identity crisis,” he added bitterly. Unable to return to the university where he enrolled, Tim transferred to a Russian university and graduated from it, and then he studied at the MBA in London.

Alex completed his secondary education at the British International School in Moscow. He did not want to stay in Russia and applied to a Canadian university, but he was told that he must first obtain a new Canadian birth certificate, then apply for citizenship, and only after that would he be able to renew his Canadian passport.

In 2012, he entered the University of Toronto and applied for a four-year student visa on a Russian passport. He was issued a visa, and he was going on September 2 to go to Canada. But four days before his departure, when he collected his things and corresponded by e-mail with his future roommate, Alex was unexpectedly called from the Canadian embassy and called for an urgent interview.

The meeting was unpleasant. He was asked many questions about his parents and his life. A visa was canceled before his eyes, and he lost his place at the university. After that, he was denied a French and British visa. Alex entered the London School of Economics twice and did not get a visa twice. Tim often travels to Asia, where many countries maintain a visa-free regime with Russia.

Canadian identity

The brothers are fighting for the restoration of Canadian citizenship, not only for the convenience of travel. Moscow is not the most benevolent city to the new arrivals, and not one of the brothers feels Russian. Both are ready to work in Asia for the time being, but are interested in returning to Canada to create families there.

Their Canadian identity remains the last straw for which they clutch, having lost most of the past reality.

"I lived 20 for years, considering myself a Canadian, and I am still a Canadian, in this respect nothing has changed," Tim wrote in a statement to the court of Toronto. “I have nothing to do with Russia, I don’t speak their language, I don’t have friends there, I have never lived there for a long time and I don’t want to live there.”

Tim and Alex have been asking questions about themselves for several months and who they are and whether they should be angry with their parents. They do not want their childhood to determine their adult life.

Although they do not want to live in Russia, the brothers visit Moscow every few months to see their parents. Tim finds it sad that, although now he can finally spend time with his grandparents, the language barrier will not allow him to know them properly.

“By choosing this path, it’s very difficult for you to keep your family and keep everything together,” he said.

Alex told me that he sometimes wondered why his parents decided to have children at all.

“They lived a normal life and made their choice. I am glad that they had something to believe in, but this meant that I would have nothing to do with the country for which they risked their lives. I would like the world not to punish me for their choices and actions. This will be completely unfair, ”Alex believes.

In the end, he came to the conclusion that his parents were the same people who raised him with love, and no matter what secrets they kept.

Read also on ForumDaily:

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The case of espionage: the FBI tapped Russian diplomats and a banker

Russian detained in New York officially accused of espionage

Spy group without Anya Chapman

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