Last week, a Dutch artist was shocked to find her “Argentinian” art agent listed as a spy among the 24 Russians released in a prisoner swap.
Dutch painter Mariken Heijwegen thought of “Maria Rosa Mayer Muños” as a sweet, shy Argentinian with great taste, selling art in her gallery in Slovenia.
Mariken spotted the art gallery on Instagram and messaged Maria Rosa to start a collaboration. After selling two paintings through the gallery, the two met in person.
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They instantly clicked, and Mariken asked Maria Rosa to be her art agent. Soon, however, she got a call from a lawyer. He told her the collaboration had to stop but was vague about why.
Art agent by day, secret agent by night
Turns out, “Maria Rosa” was actually called Anna Doeltseva, and she had been arrested for espionage.
As Mariken explained to NOS, “She wasn’t just my agent, she was also a secret agent.”
Doeltseva and her husband, Artem Doeltsev, were Russian spies deployed in Slovenia.
They lived there with their two children, posing as an Argentinian couple owning an IT company and an art gallery.
A story of family secrets
For years, the couple remained unsuspected, their identity buried so deep that even their children didn’t know. In 2022, however, a tip from foreign intelligence led to their arrest.
@dailymail The children of Anna and Artem Dultsev, two deep cover spies who returned to Russia as part of the complex prisoner exchange with the West, didn't realize they were Russian until their plane had taken off for Moscow. President Vladimir Putin had to greet the children in Spanish, as they don't speak Russian. #joebiden #putin #russia #usa #prison #free #evangershkovich #president #moscow #kamalaharris #theamericans ♬ Russian dark violin round dance style(1024486) – Yukari Okano
The kids, who grew up speaking Spanish, were kept in the dark after the arrest and placed in foster care.
Last week, after their parents were freed alongside 22 other prisoners, the family was reunited, and they finally learned the truth.
Do you think you’d notice if you were working with a spy? Tell us in the comments below.
Your statement about “the 24 Russian spies released in a prisoner swap” is disinformation. Only 8 of them were Russian spies, including the Doeltsev family. The 16 prisoners released from Russian prisons were not spies. They were political activists, journalists and foreign citizens taken by Putin regime as hostages. Shame on you for spreading fakes!
Hi Anna,
Thanks for your comment. We agree that this could be clearer in the text. We have updated the article now for accuracy.
Kind regards,
Samantha Dixon
Director of Content and Social