In the name of 'patriotism': Ex-Russian spy Anna Chapman cashes-in on Ukraine war
Anna Chapman, who was expelled from the United States in 2010 after pleading guilty to espionage, has dramatically changed her tone since Wednesday when she shared on Facebook her Tedx video from 2020 condemning war.
FollowFirst, she condemned war, and now amidst Russia's invasion of Ukraine, former Russian spy-turned-model Anna Chapman has praised her countrymen for the 'wave of patriotism and faith', while hawking her clothing line. The 40-year-old, deported from the United States after pleading guilty to espionage in 2012, carved out a career as a fashion designer and influencer in the years since her return to Moscow.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Anna shared a photograph of her in a green strapless gown, holding a black heeled shoe aloft. The post's caption read, "I have never seen such a wave of patriotism and faith in our country and the Russian people in my entire life ... Thank you for this."
"On this wave of patriotism, I would like to fill you in on my clothing brand, which I created out of love for my country. We basically produced in Russia. All our fabrics are the trends of Russian culture," Anna Chapman added.
The former Russian intelligence agent went on to add that the clothes were available on the e-commerce site Wildberries and suggested that it would be the ideal gift for International Women's Day, which is marked on Tuesday.
"Please your women on the eve of March 8," Anna Chapman concluded her post.
Also read: Russian gymnast wears pro-war 'Z' symbol next to Ukrainian; sparks outrage
Chapman's post thanking her fellow Russians for backing Vladimir Putin's war and then urging them to buy her clothing line has forced people to question her previously shared views on war. On March 2, she posted an anti-war message to Facebook. The video was a clip of a Tedx Talk in Krasnaya Polyana, which the former Russian spy gave in February 2020.
"Unfortunately, many people today have forgotten the joy with which Soviet and American soldiers embraced each other during the meeting on the Elbe River," Chapman said at the time.
"United, we were able to stop the terrible war and prevent Hitler from creating an atom bomb. How many more decades of conformations we will need? How many more human lives? And how much money from our federal budget until we understand that killing each other is pointless?" she added.
She also said that she couldn't 'hate' Americans even after her arrest in the United States. The video was under the theme: 'Who are we fighting in the world?'
Who is Anna Chapman?
Anna Chapman was part of a ring of Russian sleeper agents that ended after more than a decade in the biggest spy swap since the Cold War. These spies were under Moscow's orders to dig deep into American society and cultivate contacts with key stakeholders from different walks of life, including defence, finance, etc.
Chapman worked as a real estate agent in New York before Washington swapped her along with nine other deep-cover agents for four Russians imprisoned for spying for the West at a remote corner of a Vienna airport in July 2010. Then-president Dmitry Medvedev awarded all 10 of the freed deep-cover operatives Russia's highest honours at a Kremlin ceremony.
One of the four Russians swapped for Chapman, and the others was Sergei Skripal, a former colonel for Russian military intelligence, the GRU. He was sentenced in 2006 to 13 years in prison for passing the names of other Russian agents to British intelligence.
Contrary to the freed Soviet spies who kept a low profile after they returned to Moscow, Anna Chapman turned towards modelling and became a popular TV personality as well. She also became an activist for the pro-Kremlin youth party and was outspoken in her support of Donald Trump.
