Anna Chapman, the “sultry Russian secret agent” who hit the headlines last year after being exposed as a deep-cover operative in the United States, says she bears no ill will towards the man who betrayed her. And why should she? Since being freed as part of a dramatic spy swap deal in Vienna in July 2010, the flame-haired daughter of a Russian career diplomat has rarely been out of the limelight, taking up a number of lucrative job offers and positioning herself for a move into big-time politics. “It was the start of something great and beautiful,” Chapman gushed on a recent Russian TV show. Or, as she puts it on her newly launched website: “The day I returned to Moscow was my second birthday.”
It wasn’t hard to predict that only good things awaited Chapman once she was safely back in Russia. The country’s all-powerful premier, Vladimir Putin, had said that Chapman and her former comrades would “work in worthy places” and have “bright, interesting lives”.
“Every single one of these people has gone through a difficult time… in the interests of their homeland,” said Putin, the ex-KGB officer. And while a number of her former colleagues have reportedly been rewarded with cushy posts at state-run companies, it is Chapman’s star that has risen by far the highest.
A month after their deportation, Putin joined up with the failed spies for a karaoke-type evening, where they crooned together the Soviet-era song – and unofficial Russian intelligence service anthem – “From Where the Motherland Begins”. After that cosy night out, things moved fast for Chapman. She was awarded a top state honour by President Dmitry Medvedev, posed for erotic – and lucrative – photos for men’s magazines, and was handed her own primetime TV show. She did, however, turn down a role in a porn film, despite being offered a “substantial” fee by the Vivid Entertainment adult-film company.
Chapman has also been made the face of the ruling United Russia party’s youth movement and has been tipped to win a seat in parliament in upcoming elections. On top of all this, she has registered her surname as a trademark; has brought out a poker app and a slew of Chapman-own products, including perfume, watches and vodka, is expected to hit the shops soon. The 29-year-old provincial Russian also has a Max Clifford-type agent to handle “commercial projects”, which include highly paid interviews and photo shoots.