New York, NY –
Among Russian immigrants in New York, reaction to the arrest of 11 alleged Russian spies varies.
The editorial staff at the weekly newspaper V Novom Svete say they're waiting for more information before taking a strong editorial stance. General Manager Helen Brusilovsky says most of her readers are more recent immigrants and they tend to be sympathetic to Russia--and skeptical of the accusations.
But she says her husband, who has been in the U.S. for 20 years, is in the other camp. After reading the story in the New York Times, he said, “Eh, did you hear Russian spies are here?” Brusilovsky says he was making fun of Russia, “that Russians are losers, you know. Bad spies.”
But in Brusilovsky’s view, there are too many unanswered questions. She says her editorial team is skeptical. “It’s kind of too early to give an analysis. Because now it looks very strange, they don't believe it.”
More from the WNYC Newsroom:
Spies Among Us: How Common Are Espionage Rings?
Peláez Colleagues Express Disbelief at Arrest
Marianne McCune is a staff reporter for New York Public Radio (WNYC 93.9FM/AM820) and contributes regularly to National Public Radio and Public Radio International. She thinks of the New York Metropolitan Area as the center of the world because that's how she covers it: more than a third of New York residents were born in another country and Marianne reports on the resulting cultural, economic, and political links between New York/New Jersey and almost everywhere else on earth.
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