Anna Chapman Анна Чапман
Anna Chapman, June 2010
Born	Anna Vasil’yevna Kushchyenko (1982-02-23) 23 February 1982 (age 30) Volgograd, Soviet Union
Residence	Moscow, Russia
Other names	Anna Kushchenko Anya Kuschenko Anya Chapman
Citizenship	Russian British (revoked)[1]
Occupation	Entrepreneur, television host, and agent of the Russian Federation
Known for	Involvement with Russian Illegals Program
Criminal charge	Conspiracy to act as an unlawful agent of a foreign government[2]
Criminal status	Deported to Russia[3]
Spouse	Alex Chapman (divorced)[4]
Parents	Irina Kushchyenko Vasiliy Kushchyenko

Anna Vasil’yevna Chapman (Russian: А́нна Васи́льевна Ча́пман; born Anna Vasil’yevna Kushchyenko Russian: А́нна Васи́льевна Кущенко; 23 February 1982) is a Russian national, who was living in New York, United States when she was arrested along with nine others on 27 June 2010, on suspicion of working for the Illegals Program spy ring under the Russian Federation's external intelligence agency, the SVR (Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki).^[2][5] Chapman pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General, and was deported back to Russia on 8 July 2010, as part of a prisoner swap.

Biography[link]

Chapman was born Anna Vasil’yevna Kushchyenko in Volgograd, according to U.S. authorities,^[6] and her father was employed in the Soviet embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.^[7] According to Chapman's British ex-husband, her father, Vasily Kushchenko, was also a senior KGB official, although this is unsubstantiated.^[8] According to her husband, Anna Chapman Kushchyenko earned a Masters degrees in economics with first class honours from Moscow University.^[9] According to other sources she got her degree from Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.^[10][11]

London: 2001–2006[link]

Chapman moved to London in 2003 or 2004, working at NetJets, Barclays Bank and allegedly at a few other companies for brief periods.^[12]

She met Alex Chapman at a London Docklands rave party in 2001 and they married shortly thereafter in Moscow;^[4] as a result she gained dual Russian-British citizenship, and a British passport.^[13] After Anna was arrested in New York, Alex engaged media publicist Max Clifford, and sold his story to The Daily Telegraph newspaper.^[4][14][15]

New York: 2009–2010[link]

She took up residence at 20 Exchange Place, one block from Wall Street in Manhattan.^[16][17] Her LinkedIn social networking site profile identified her as CEO of PropertyFinder LLC, a website selling real estate internationally.^[17][18] Alex has stated that Anna told him the enterprise was continually in the red for the first couple of years, and then suddenly in 2009, she had as many as 50 employees and a successful business.^[4]

She is reported to have been dating Michel Bittan, a prominent New York restaurant owner.^[19] She later described her time in the US with the Charles Dickens quote, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times".^[20][21]

Russia: 2010–present[link]

In late December 2010 Chapman was appointed to the public council of Young Guard of United Russia.^[22][23] According to the organization she "will be engaged in educating young people".^[24][25]

On 21 January 2011, Chapman began hosting a weekly TV show in Russia called Secrets of the World for REN TV.^{[26][27][28][29][30]}

In June 2011, Anna became editor of Venture Business News magazine, according to Bloomberg News.^[31][32]

She testified to the closed trial in absentia of Col. Alexander Poteyev that took place in Moscow in May and June 2011.^[33][34] Chapman testified that it was only Poteyev who could have provided the US authorities with the information that led to her arrest in 2010;^[35] she also alleged that she was arrested shortly after an undercover U.S. agent contacted her using a code that only Poteyev and her personal handler could know.^[35]

Chapman writes a column for Komsomolskaya Pravda. In October 2011 she was accused of plagiarising material on Alexander Pushkin from a book by Kremlin spin-doctor Oleg Matveychev.^[36] The Guardian newspaper reported that this incident added to a general negative trend towards her in certain sections of Russian society, saying that in September 2011, she had been "heckled during a speech on leadership at a St Petersburg University." Students had, it said, displayed signs stating: "Chapman, get out of the university!" and "The Kremlin and the porn studio are in the other direction!"^[36]

Chapman's foundation supported 2nd International Сonference «The Genetics of Aging and Longevity» ^[37] in Moscow , where the top world aging scientists will present their speeches, including researchers who developed the mice, which lived more than 2 times longer than regular mice, extended life of nematodes more than 10 times, study animals that do not age and develop innovative anti-aging drugs.

Illegals Program and arrest[link]

Chapman is one of only two of the Illegals Program Russians arrested in June 2010 who did not use an assumed name.^[38]

Arrest[link]

Officials claimed Chapman worked with a network of others, until an undercover FBI agent attempted to draw her into a trap at a Manhattan coffee shop.^[39] The FBI agent offered Chapman a fake passport at Starbucks, with the instructions to forward it to another spy. He asked, "are you ready for this step?", to which Chapman unequivocally replied, "Of course." She accepted the passport.^[40][41] However, after making a series of phone calls to her father, Vasily Kushchenko, in Moscow, Chapman ended up heeding her father's advice and handed the passport in at a local police station, but was arrested shortly after.^[41][42]

International exchange[link]

After being formally charged, Chapman and nine other detainees became part of a spy swap deal between the US and Russia, the biggest of its kind since 1986.^[43] The 10 Russian agents returned to Russia via a chartered jet that landed at Vienna International Airport, where the swap occurred on the morning of 8 July.^[3] The Russian jet returned to Moscow's Domodedovo airport, where after landing the 10 spies were kept away from local and international press.

Revocation of UK citizenship[link]

According to a statement from her US lawyer Robert Baum and media reports, Chapman wished to move to the UK.^[44] As a result, the Home Office exercised the special powers by the British Home Secretary to deprive Chapman of her British citizenship,^[45][46] only used against six people since their introduction in 2002, in part to make it easier to deport radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al Masri, which, in the event, never occurred and whose British citizenship has been reaffirmed judicially.^[13] The Home Office issued legal papers revoking her citizenship on 13 July 2010.^[1] Steps are also being taken to exclude Chapman, meaning she could not travel to the UK.^[13] After her deportation to Russia, Baum reiterated that his client had wished to stay in the UK; he also said that she was "particularly upset" by the revocation of her UK citizenship and exclusion from the country.^[47][48]

Media coverage and popular reaction[link]

After her arrest by the FBI for her involvement with the illegals Program, Chapman gained celebrity status. Photos of Chapman taken from her Facebook profile appeared on the web, and several videos of her were uploaded to YouTube.^[49]

Magazines and blogs detailed her fashion style and dress sense, while tabloids displayed her action figure dolls.^[14][50] Chapman was described by local media in New York as a regular of exclusive bars and restaurants.^[50][51][52] US Vice-President Joe Biden, when jokingly asked by Jay Leno on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, "Do we have any spies that hot?", replied in a mock serious tone, "Let me be clear. It was not my idea to send her back."^[53]

In October 2010, Chapman posed on the cover of Russian version of Maxim magazine in Agent Provocateur lingerie. The magazine also included Chapman in its list of Russia's 100 sexiest women.^[54][55]

According to the news agency Interfax, effective 1 October 2010 Chapman is employed as an adviser on investment and innovation issues to the President of FundserviceBank, a Moscow bank that handles payments on behalf of state- and private-sector enterprises in the Russian aerospace industry.^[56]

In April 2011, Chapman was on the runway as a catwalk model for Moscow Fashion Week at the Shiyan & Rudkovskaya show.^[57]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Plea agreement, United States v. Anna Chapman, no. 10 Cr. 598, (S.D.N.Y 8 July 2010)
• US vs Anna Chapman Complaint
• Anna Chapman video and Russian news

Eric O'Neill
O'Neill giving a speech to the junior and senior classes of Hermitage High School, Richmond, Virginia.
Born	(1973-03-03) March 3, 1973 (age 39)
Education	Auburn University The George Washington University Law School
Employer	FBI
Known for	Helping to investigate and capture spy Robert Hanssen

Eric Michael O'Neill (born March 3, 1973) is a former American FBI operative. He worked as an Investigative Specialist with the Special Surveillance Group (SSG) and played a major role in the arrest and life imprisonment conviction of FBI agent Robert Hanssen for spying on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia.

Early life[link]

O'Neill graduated from Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. in 1991 and earned a B.A., with honors, in political science and psychology from Auburn University in 1995, where he was a brother of Theta Xi fraternity.^[1]

Career[link]

With the F.B.I.[link]

O'Neill was assigned to work as Hanssen's assistant: his true role, kept secret from Hanssen, was part of the effort to learn as much as possible about which secret information Hanssen had revealed, and to ensure his successful capture and prosecution. Ultimately, investigators made a dramatic move to obtain a "smoking gun". While others briefly disrupted Hanssen's routine and confidence, maneuvering him into relaxing his rigid control of his Palm Pilot,^[2] O'Neill, under intense time pressure, secretly had its encrypted contents copied and returned it apparently undetected, despite forgetting which pocket of Hanssen's briefcase he had taken it from. O'Neill has speculated that, had Hanssen detected the disturbance of his device, he would have realized that all his hope of continued freedom was lost and that Hanssen might have shot O'Neill dead on the spot.^[3][2]

Hanssen was arrested on 18 February 2001 at Foxstone Park near his home in Vienna, Virginia, charged with selling American secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds over a 22-year period. O'Neill's subterfuge had apparently deceived Hanssen, as part of the dead drop contained an evaluation of O'Neill's possibly replacing Hanssen as a mole when he retired. On July 6, 2001, Hanssen pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage.^[4][5] Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison. His treason has been described as "possibly the worst intelligence disaster in US history".^[6]

Post-F.B.I.[link]

Following his FBI years, O'Neill earned a J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University Law School in 2003. He has been admitted to the bar in Maryland and in the District of Columbia. After graduating from law school, O'Neill joined DLA Piper US LLP as a Senior Associate in the Government Contracts Group. In December 2008, O'Neill left DLA Piper and accepted a position as General Counsel of CHF International, a global humanitarian relief non-profit organization.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2009, O'Neill founded The Georgetown Group, an investigative and risk management company. ^[7]

Media portrayals[link]

O'Neill is played by Ryan Phillippe in the 2007 docudrama thriller Breach, which depicts O'Neill's role in the investigation and capture of Hanssen. The feature-length commentary track on the Universal Studios DVD features O'Neill with director Billy Ray. There O'Neill expands on the film, offering additional background and details as well as noting where actual events were changed on the film for dramatic purposes.^[8][9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Eric O'Neill's Official Site
• NPR audio interview with O'Neill and Billy Ray
• Eric O'Neill and Billy Ray Discuss 'Breach'
• ABC 20/20 Report on Eric O'Neill, Dec. 27, 2002
• CNN, Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees, October 1, 2003
• Ryan Phillippe discusses working with Eric O'Neill on the Breach Movie Set
• About.com interview with O'Neill and Billy Ray (director)
• The Georgetown Group Official Site

Marina Vladimirovna Orlova Марина Владимировна Орлова
Born	Marina Orlova (1980-12-10) 10 December 1980 (age 31) Arzamas, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Russian/American
Years active	2007–present
Known for	Infotainment etymology
Internet information
Web alias(es)	HotForWords
Web hosting service(s)	YouTube
Signature phrase	"Intelligence is Sexy"
Website
www.hotforwords.com

Marina Vladimirovna Orlova (Russian: Марина Владимировна Орлова) (born December 10, 1980) is a Russian philologist^[1] who has become an Internet celebrity, hosting a popular channel on YouTube, HotForWords, and a corresponding website. She also hosts a bi-weekly radio show on Maxim Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Early life and education[link]

Orlova was born in Arzamas (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast) Russian SFSR, Soviet Union in 1980. In an interview, she claimed to work at a shop for a year before applying to an international recruitment program; she was then sent to a small town near San Francisco and worked as a nanny for a working family with two children.^[2]

Orlova initially aspired to become a model. She went to two photoshoots, but did not succeed – she was told that at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m), she was too short to be a model.^[2]

She has two degrees in philology^[1] and taught English and world literature to high school students in Moscow before moving to the United States to pursue further education.^[3]

Orlova rents an apartment in Beverly Hills. She has said that her work takes up all of her time, and that she sometimes sits at the computer 12 to 14 hours at a time and has little time left for socializing.^[2]

[edit] Hot for Words website

The theme of Orlova's website and YouTube videos, which begin with the tagline "Intelligence is Sexy," is tracing the origins of English words. Some of her entries focus on everyday words such as "irony" and "OK," while others address lengthy and rarely used words such as "floccinaucinihilipilification " and "antidisestablishmentarianism." Some entries also address idioms, including "let the cat out of the bag," "dressed to the nines," and "three sheets to the wind," or new words like the verb "to google."

Orlova in January 2010

The channel became active in February 2007, at a time when, Orlova said, "everybody was uploading cleavage."^[4] Orlova has since been voted "World's #1 Sexiest Geek" in Wired Magazine's "Sexy Geek of the Year Contest" contest. G4 TV has listed Orlova among its "Hot Women of the Net" on several occasions, and Cosmopolitan Magazine has identified her as the "most subscribed to YouTube guru."^[5] Orlova appeared on the cover of the November 2009 issue of the wine, beer and spirits publication Mutineer Magazine,^[6] applying her trademark word explanations to common beverage words. Orlova has appeared on a number of Fox shows including on The O'Reilly Factor,^{[7][dead link]} and was profiled on "The Medium," an Internet feature of The New York Times Magazine.^[8] In June 2008, Orlova and radio personality Danny Bonaduce signed endorsement contracts with coComment.^[9]

The Moscow Times said "Marina exploits her blonde-bombshell looks to the maximum: She appears in her two-minute clips scantily clad, pouting and making doe eyes. This is surely the main factor in her success. However, while the number of scantily clad girls on the Internet is limitless, not all of them put so much intellectual effort into their success."^[10]

In an interview, Orlova explained how she got viewers interested in words: "How else could I attract them to words?" "Everyone knows that sex sells."^[4]

In spring of 2010 Marina started doing video lessons of Russian for RT (TV network)^[11] and in the fall of the same year, she was hired to be the spokeswoman for AnastasiaDate.com^[12], an online dating website.

Bibliography[link]

• Orlova, Marina (2009). Hot for Words: Answers to All Your Burning Questions About Words and Their Meanings. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-177631-9. 

References[link]