Who is Anna Chapman? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Anna Vasilyevna Kushchenko

Age: 42 Years, 42 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Alex Chapman (m. 2002–2006)

father: Vasily Kushenko

mother: Irene Kushenko

siblings: Yekaterina Kushenko

Born Country: Russia

Russian Women Pisces Women

Height: 1.7 m

Notable Alumni: Peoples' Friendship University Of Russia

City: Volgograd, Russia

More Facts

education: Peoples' Friendship University Of Russia

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Childhood & Early Life

Anna Chapman was born on 23 February 1982, in Volgograd, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, to Irina and Vasiliy Kushchyenko. Her father served as a senior KGB officer employed in the Soviet embassy in Kenya.

She attended Moscow University from where she earned a master's degree in economics. According to some sources, she graduated from Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.

During 2003 or 2004, Chapman moved to London where she worked in a number of companies, including NetJets and Barclays.

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Time Spent in US

In 2009, Anna Chapman flew to the United States where she settled in Manhattan. She identified herself as the CEO of the real estate agency Property Finder LLC.

According to her husband, the agency was in debt during the initial years. However, by 2009, it had emerged as a successful business.

During her time in USA, Chapman was in a love relationship with Michel Bittan, a divorced restaurant owner.

On June 27, 2010, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy on behalf of a foreign government and was eventually arrested. She was working on the behalf of Sluzhba vneshney razvedki (SVR), a Russian Federation's external intelligence agency.

Aftermath & Arrival in Russia

In 2010, Anna Chapman was sent back to Russia as part of a criminal exchange program between USA and Russia.

After returning to her country, she joined Young Guard of United Russia and was appointed to educate young people.

On 21 January 2011, she started hosting ‘Secrets of the World’, a weekly TV show in Russia for REN TV. In June 2011, she joined the ‘Venture Business News’ magazine as an editor.

During this time, Chapman also wrote a column for ‘Komsomolskaya Pravda.’ In October that year, she was accused of copying content from Oleg Matveychev’s book.

In August 2013, she arrived in the breakaway region of Nagorno Karabakh with a group of officers and requested the Republic of Artsakh to end their battle with Azerbaijan over the territory.

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Illegals Program & Arrest

Anna Chapman was suspected of being a part of the Illegals Program, a network of Russian sleeper agents who were planted in USA by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service aka SVR.

All the members of the Illegals Program posed as ordinary American citizens and tried to build contacts with high-profile industrialists and academics to gain access to intelligence.

In June 2010, an investigation by the FBI culminated in the arrest of the Program’s ten agents who were accused of carrying out 'deep-cover' assignments in USA on behalf of the Russian Federation.

Anna Chapman, who was working with a network of others, was trapped at a Manhattan coffee shop and arrested.

After being formally charged, she and nine other agents became part of a spy swap deal between USA and Russia, the largest of its kind since 1986. The swap occurred on 8 July 2010, at the Vienna International Airport in Austria.

Chapman and her co-agents returned to Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. Although she settled in Russia after that, she wanted to move to UK. However, the British government revoked her British citizenship under section 40 of the British Nationality Act 1981.

On 13 July 2010, the Home Office issued legal documents revoking her citizenship in order to prevent her return to UK. The expulsion from the country made her upset.

Family & Personal Life

In 2001, Anna Chapman met Alex Chapman at a rave party in London. The couple married a year later, after which Chapman gained British citizenship. The two eventually divorced in 2006.

During her time in USA, she dated an Israeli-Moroccan restaurant owner named Michel Bittan.

In September 2015, she gave birth to her first child, a son. However, the identity of his father hasn’t been revealed till date.

Anna Chapman Biography