Former spy Anna Chapman has formally joined the ranks of the youth arm of Russia's ruling United Russia party in an apparent attempt to launch a promising political career.
Chapman, 28, was among ten people, who were arrested by U.S. law enforcement agencies on June 27 on suspicion of being part of an espionage ring spying for Russia.
After a brief and rather uninspiring speech at the Young Guards congress in Moscow on Wednesday, where she was named a member of the group's public council, Chapman refused to talk to reporters and left the event accompanied by her bodyguard.
Unlike her colleagues in spy business, she seems to revel in public spotlight. She has recently accepted a job as an adviser to the president of FondServiceBank, showed up at a launch of a Russian spacecraft, and posed nude for men's magazines, including Playboy.
The newly-elected leaders of the Young Guards failed to specify her duties in the organization but said Chapman was "the heroine of her generation" and "an example of unconditional patriotism."
Some analysts believe Chapman's current move could be a preparation for her next step up the political ladder - a run for a seat in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti)
