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The Big Spy Swap: The U.S.-Russia Secret Agent Exchange 10 Years Ago

Ten years ago, the United States and Russia carried out their biggest spy swap since the end of the Cold War. The exchange happened on July 9, 2010, in broad daylight on the tarmac of Vienna International Airport.

The United States released 10 Russians, including Anna Chapman. Sergei Skripal, a Russian military intelligence officer convicted of spying for Britain, was among four people released by Moscow.


The 10 Russian who were released by the United States in the July 9, 2010, spy swap had been arrested by the FBI on June 27 and charged with acting as unregistered foreign agents. From top left: Lydia Guryev; Natalia Pereverzeva; Anna Chapman; Elena Vavilova; and Vicky Pelaez. From bottom left: Vladimir Guryev; Mikhail Kutsik; Mikhail Semenko; Andrei Bezrukov; and Mikhail Vasenkov. All of them pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as unregistered agents of a foreign country.
1 The 10 Russian who were released by the United States in the July 9, 2010, spy swap had been arrested by the FBI on June 27 and charged with acting as unregistered foreign agents. From top left: Lydia Guryev; Natalia Pereverzeva; Anna Chapman; Elena Vavilova; and Vicky Pelaez. From bottom left: Vladimir Guryev; Mikhail Kutsik; Mikhail Semenko; Andrei Bezrukov; and Mikhail Vasenkov. All of them pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as unregistered agents of a foreign country.
Then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev chairs a Security Council meeting at the Kremlin on June 29, 2010, with then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Moscow angrily rejected Washington's claims that it had cracked an undercover Russian spy ring in the United States.
2 Then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev chairs a Security Council meeting at the Kremlin on June 29, 2010, with then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Moscow angrily rejected Washington's claims that it had cracked an undercover Russian spy ring in the United States.
Born Anna Kushchenko, Russian spy Anna Chapman had lived in New York City from 2009. She was a photogenic socialite and model who moved in Manhattan policymaking circles.
3 Born Anna Kushchenko, Russian spy Anna Chapman had lived in New York City from 2009. She was a photogenic socialite and model who moved in Manhattan policymaking circles.
Chapman unknowingly met an undercover U.S. agent in a New York coffee shop on June 26, 2010. The next day, she and nine other Russians were arrested by the FBI and charged with acting as unregistered foreign agents.
4 Chapman unknowingly met an undercover U.S. agent in a New York coffee shop on June 26, 2010. The next day, she and nine other Russians were arrested by the FBI and charged with acting as unregistered foreign agents.
The arrest of Chapman and Russian spies Vladimir and Lydia Guryev made the headlines of U.S. tabloids on June 30, 2010. 
5 The arrest of Chapman and Russian spies Vladimir and Lydia Guryev made the headlines of U.S. tabloids on June 30, 2010. 
Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal was among the four people released by Russia. A monitor outside a Moscow courtroom shows Skripal speaking to his lawyer during a 2006 trial in which he was convicted of spying for the U.K. After the spy swap, Skripal ended up living in England, where he was poisoned in 2018, allegedly by two Russian suspects. Skripal and his daughter almost died in the attack. Moscow denied accusations that it tried to kill him.
6 Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal was among the four people released by Russia. A monitor outside a Moscow courtroom shows Skripal speaking to his lawyer during a 2006 trial in which he was convicted of spying for the U.K. After the spy swap, Skripal ended up living in England, where he was poisoned in 2018, allegedly by two Russian suspects. Skripal and his daughter almost died in the attack. Moscow denied accusations that it tried to kill him.
Russian nuclear scientist Igor Sutyagin stands behind bars on April 7, 2004, as he listens to a guilty verdict in a Moscow courtroom. Sutyagin was among four convicted spies pardoned by Medvedev to be exchanged for 10 Russians accused of spying in the United States.
7 Russian nuclear scientist Igor Sutyagin stands behind bars on April 7, 2004, as he listens to a guilty verdict in a Moscow courtroom. Sutyagin was among four convicted spies pardoned by Medvedev to be exchanged for 10 Russians accused of spying in the United States.
The barbed-wire walls of the Lefortovo prison in Moscow on July 8, 2010, where Sutyagin was being held.
8 The barbed-wire walls of the Lefortovo prison in Moscow on July 8, 2010, where Sutyagin was being held.
Former Russian special services officer Aleksandr Zaporozhsky was one of the four people released by Moscow in the 2010 spy swap. Here, he listens to a 2003 verdict where he was convicted of high treason for passing on details of Russian spying activities to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Zaporozhsky denied the charges but was sentenced to 18 years of hard labor.
9 Former Russian special services officer Aleksandr Zaporozhsky was one of the four people released by Moscow in the 2010 spy swap. Here, he listens to a 2003 verdict where he was convicted of high treason for passing on details of Russian spying activities to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Zaporozhsky denied the charges but was sentenced to 18 years of hard labor.
Peruvian-born newspaper columnist Vicky Pelaez and her husband, Mikhail Vasenkov, were arrested by U.S. authorities and accused of spying for Russia. ​Pelaez was a columnist for the Spanish-language daily El Diario in New York. After being deported to Russia, the couple moved to Peru in 2013.
10 Peruvian-born newspaper columnist Vicky Pelaez and her husband, Mikhail Vasenkov, were arrested by U.S. authorities and accused of spying for Russia. ​Pelaez was a columnist for the Spanish-language daily El Diario in New York. After being deported to Russia, the couple moved to Peru in 2013.
The FBI released a 2004 video that showed Russian spy ringleader Pavel Kapustin receiving a shopping bag full of cash from an official at the Russian Mission. The FBI said Metsos was the paymaster for the ring of Russian spies who tried to meld into American society in a bid to get close to power brokers and learn secrets. But the FBI said no classified information was stolen. Metsos was the 11th spy in the network and was arrested in Cyprus. 
11 The FBI released a 2004 video that showed Russian spy ringleader Pavel Kapustin receiving a shopping bag full of cash from an official at the Russian Mission. The FBI said Metsos was the paymaster for the ring of Russian spies who tried to meld into American society in a bid to get close to power brokers and learn secrets. But the FBI said no classified information was stolen. Metsos was the 11th spy in the network and was arrested in Cyprus. 
An image released by the FBI shows Russian spy Vladimir Guryev (left) receiving a package from another Russian agent at a New York train station.
12 An image released by the FBI shows Russian spy Vladimir Guryev (left) receiving a package from another Russian agent at a New York train station.
Robert Baum (center), Chapman's lawyer, talks to the press outside Manhattan Federal Court in New York on July 8, 2010, after she pleaded guilty to charges that she communicated with the Russian Federation without registering as a foreign agent.
13 Robert Baum (center), Chapman's lawyer, talks to the press outside Manhattan Federal Court in New York on July 8, 2010, after she pleaded guilty to charges that she communicated with the Russian Federation without registering as a foreign agent.
A Russian Emergency Ministry aircraft returns to Moscow's Domodedovo Airport on July 9, 2010, with 10 agents released by the United States. They had been handed over hours earlier at Vienna International Airport.
14 A Russian Emergency Ministry aircraft returns to Moscow's Domodedovo Airport on July 9, 2010, with 10 agents released by the United States. They had been handed over hours earlier at Vienna International Airport.
A minibus motorcade carrying 10 Russian spies deported from the United States moves from Domodedovo Airport towards central Moscow on July 9, 2010.
15 A minibus motorcade carrying 10 Russian spies deported from the United States moves from Domodedovo Airport towards central Moscow on July 9, 2010.
Vision Airlines Flight N766VA arrives at Dulles International Airport, outside Washington, D.C., on July 9, 2010. It was carrying four Russian citizens who were serving prison sentences for working as U.S. intelligence agents.
16 Vision Airlines Flight N766VA arrives at Dulles International Airport, outside Washington, D.C., on July 9, 2010. It was carrying four Russian citizens who were serving prison sentences for working as U.S. intelligence agents.
A van containing the four Russian citizens released by Moscow drives off the tarmac at Dulles International Airport on July 9, 2010.
17 A van containing the four Russian citizens released by Moscow drives off the tarmac at Dulles International Airport on July 9, 2010.
A headline in Britain's Daily Telegraph, which featured an interview with Chapman's ex-husband.
18 A headline in Britain's Daily Telegraph, which featured an interview with Chapman's ex-husband.
Months after the spy swap, Chapman publicly reaffirmed her allegiance to Russia by joining the youth wing of Putin's United Russia party. She walked on a Moscow stage on December 22, 2010, to join leaders of the Young Guards, a pro-Kremlin youth movement.
19 Months after the spy swap, Chapman publicly reaffirmed her allegiance to Russia by joining the youth wing of Putin's United Russia party. She walked on a Moscow stage on December 22, 2010, to join leaders of the Young Guards, a pro-Kremlin youth movement.
After returning to Russia, Chapman became a celebrity, TV host, and model. Here, she sits in a Moscow studio on January 13, 2011, as she hosts the television program Mysteries Of The World With Anna Chapman on Ren-TV.
20 After returning to Russia, Chapman became a celebrity, TV host, and model. Here, she sits in a Moscow studio on January 13, 2011, as she hosts the television program Mysteries Of The World With Anna Chapman on Ren-TV.
Chapman struts down a Turkish catwalk flanked by two men posing as secret service agents at a fashion show in Antalya on June 8, 2012.
21 Chapman struts down a Turkish catwalk flanked by two men posing as secret service agents at a fashion show in Antalya on June 8, 2012.
Cartoon images of Chapman and a khaki-clad Putin were used in 2011 to promote a new Russian video game called Voinushka (Shoot 'Em Up).
22 Cartoon images of Chapman and a khaki-clad Putin were used in 2011 to promote a new Russian video game called Voinushka (Shoot 'Em Up).
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