Man Accused Of Being Spy Admits He’s Russian After Years Posing As Academic In Norway, Canada

A man who was arrested by Norwegian officials last year on suspicion of spying for Russia has admitted to being Russian, according to the Associated Press, after he spent years posing as a Brazilian academic in Norway and Canada.

Mikushin was arrested on Oct. 24, 2022, after Norway’s Police Security Service claimed he was a Russian spy, according to the New York Times. Mikushin—posing as Giammaria—had been working as a guest researcher at the University of Tromso in Norway’s Arctic Circle since 2021, though his colleagues later noted he avoided speaking Portuguese, Brazil’s official language, the Times reported. Before arriving in Norway, Mikushin received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Carleton University in Ottawa before graduating with his master’s degree from the University of Calgary, according to CBS. In 2015, Mikushin also volunteered for the New Democratic Party during Canada’s federal election and would knock on doors to solicit votes, according to the Guardian. Christo Grozev, an investigative journalist from Bellingcat, claims Mikushin is tied to GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, and is likely “no less than a colonel.” Grozev also claims Mikushin first emerged as Giammaria in 2006, when he applied for a Brazilian passport and social security by arguing his mother was Brazilian. The Russian embassy in Oslo condemned Mikushin’s arrest in a statement to the Agence France-Presse, suggesting “spy mania has been actively promoted in Norway lately.”