U.S. – Russia Spy Exchange Echoes the Cold War

The FBI busted a Russian spy ring this summer. The arrested agents—nine Russians and one Peruvian-born naturalized U.S. citizen—had spent a decade infiltrating the United States. They now faced the prospect of trials and likely prison terms for espionage—until higher-ups in both governments decided otherwise. A “spy swap” was orchestrated: the Russian agents were flown to Austria, where they were traded for four prisoners flown in from Russia. The exchange took place in broad daylight in an out-of-the-way section of the Vienna airport.

Both governments shared an interest in keeping a lid on the scandal, to prevent it detracting from their improving relations. The four prisoners released by Russia as part of the swap had been accused of working for Western intelligence agencies. The dramatic spy swap was the first in about 25 years. It parallels the classic exchanges of the Cold War era, several of which are described below.

• 1962: Rudolf Abel, reputed to be in charge of a Soviet spy network, is exchanged for American airman Francis Gary Powers, who was shot down near the city of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) in 1960, after parachuting from his U-2 photo-reconnaissance plane.
• 1979: Five Soviet dissidents including Alexander Ginzburg are exchanged for two Soviet spies, both former UN officials, who had stolen secret U.S. documents on anti-submarine warfare.
• 1986: The Soviet Jewish dissident Anatoly Shcharansky (now Natan Sharansky), is freed in a spectacular exchange, one of many that took place at the Glienicke Bridge between East Germany and West Berlin.
• 1986: U.S. journalist Nicholas Daniloff is swapped for Gennady Zakharov, a Soviet official at the United Nations who had been arrested for accepting delivery of classified military documents.

Related Links

• U.S. and Russia Complete Spy Swap
  This article recounts the spy exchange and the FBI investigation behind it; includes photo galleries of spies past and present, real and fictional.
  (Source: Washington Post, July 10, 2010)
• A list of Famous US-Russia Spy Exchanges from the Cold War Era
  This article sketches the most famous Cold War–era spy swaps; includes links to related stories about the Russian spy ring.
  (Source: The Australian, July 9, 2010)
• US-Russia Spy Swaps through History
  This Web page provides brief descriptions of the highest-profile spy exchanges of the Cold War era.
  (Source: Associated Press, July 7, 2010)
• Factbox: Major Spy Swaps
  This site gives brief accounts of spy swaps, especially those involving British, rather than American, spies.
  (Source: Reuters, July 9, 2010)