Hidden lives exposed: The Dulchev family’s secret spy saga

Anna and Artiom Dulchev acted as Russian spies in Slovenia. Although they pretended to be an Argentine family, the authorities managed to expose them. The last prisoner exchange granted them the freedom they craved, but the echoes of the case are still resonating in American media. The New York Times has discovered some fascinating information about the Dulchev family.

The historic prisoner exchange between the USA and Russia occurred on August 1. The endeavour involved several other countries. As part of the exchange, journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, among others, returned to the United States.

Meanwhile, among those who returned to Russia were Pawel Rubtsov, who worked in Poland and posed as a Spanish journalist, and the Dulchev family, who worked undercover in Slovenia. Their arrival at Moscow's Vnukovo airport was captured on camera. Vladimir Putin participated in the event and greeted the returning spies with flowers. The operation affected 24 people from prisons in seven countries and included two children.

The New York Times has uncovered new information about the Dulchev family. Artiom and Anna worked as Russian spies while pretending to be an Argentine family. She supposedly went by the name Maria Rosa Mayer Munos, and he by Ludwig Gisch. They had two children, who, according to the Kremlin, believed until the end that they were from Argentina.

According to information from The New York Times, Slovenian authorities were unable to determine the tasks assigned to the couple by Moscow. It's also possible that they preferred not to make this information public. However, it is known that Anna Dulchev ran an online art gallery in Slovenia, which did not generate any profit. The owner of the country's most extensive gallery, Damian Kosec, noted in an interview with the American newspaper that few people are involved in art in Slovenia. This might be why it was so easy for Dulcheva to enter this sphere. Meanwhile, her husband Artiom owned a tech start-up, but its profits did not exceed a few thousand dollars.

Despite this, they lived at a very high standard, which initially escaped the attention of Slovenian authorities. The Dulchevs sent their children to a British international school, where tuition was 19,000 CAD per month.

Finally, in 2022, the Dulchevs were detained. The verdict in their case was recently handed down, but through the prisoner exchange, they regained their freedom. They returned to Russia with their children, who had spent some time in foster care. The scenes at Vnukovo airport, when Anna fell into Putin's arms, were seen worldwide.