It’s probably part of every decent world-trip to be arrested as a spy at least once. I waited in vain for almost for two years – however, I now proudly can say. I did it, and I did it in Russia!

Together with Maya, a couchsurfer, I walked along the frozen river Volga near the city Gorodets. We wanted to take pictures of some fishermen in front of their ice holes – a nice motive.

The ice was already wet and made funny noises – Maya was not to keen to return the way we had come from. Therefore we decided for a shortcut and walked up to river bank towards an abandoned wharf. I loved what I saw: High rusty cranes, unfinished ships of huge tonnage… A perfect play-ground for the daring adventure traveller. We climbed over piles of steel and iron bars, took pictures and… …got arrested.

Suddenly, a uniformed man stood in front of us and begged us convincingly to follow him. No problem, I thought, he probably will show us of grounds.
He did not exactly do that. He politely pointed to the guard-house and there more guys in uniform stood around. They wanted my camera but I did not give it. One guard told us to wait for his boss and explained that the wharf was operational again and working for Russia’s 5th fleet. Oups.After the good part of an hour the boss, whose mouth was shinning due to his 5 golden teeth, arrived and we started to fill out a protocol. Maya translated and meantime I secretly deleted all the pictures I had taken in the wharf.
 
After the protocol was finished, we were ushered into another office – into Mr. “Boss of Security”’s own impressive 6sqm room. There we got more tea and were asked to wait. Maya and I played “battleship”, waited and finally dared to ask what we actually were waiting for.

The whole time I had assumed that they played for time and would keep us until I would offer a generous bribe. We had time enough at hands and I was not willing to play that game. Should they wait with us!

However, when Maya had translated his answer, I was mildly shocked: We were waiting for two agents from the FSB, Russia&’s FBI and the successor of the famous KGB-secret service.  I suddenly felt a little bit less happy. Would I see a Russian prison from the inside?

After another half an hour, the two agents arrived. Moulder and Scully themselves. They showed us their marks, did not smile a bit and started to ask for my papers. The questioned every page of my passport. Why Nicaragua? Did I spy there, too? And why do I travel by car? And if I am a tourist, why do I have a business visa? I then had to explain my 2-year world trip station for station – and my trip through Russia day by day. Could I proof that? Well, I could show them some stamps, some Russian registration cards… They asked Maya where we had met. Couchsurfing? What was that? And was it legal?
Wow, my brain started to burn. The same questions again and again. They really seemed seriously to ponder the question, whether I was a spy spying for the famous seafaring nation Switzerland. I could not believe it.

Then the wharf-director entered the small office. I seemed to be personally offended by my person and when I said hello in Russian, he only hissed his head and said “ha, hello!” like he would say “…and now this spy even dares to greet me!” Moulder and Scully still did not see the absurdness of the situation and kept on asking us questions for another hour. They took phone numbers of the friends I stayed at in Vladivostok, checked the university Maya had been studying at and I really started to believe that I would go back to Siberia – only this time in handcuffs.

However, after another round of the same questions, they went out of the office, conferred together and then came back in, handed me my papers and wanted to see the pictures I had taken. Luckily there were only pictures of fishermen and when they saw them, they agreed to let us run. Ufff…

We left the wharf and walked through the snow. We were so much relieved! However, there was an aftershock to come: Suddenly a Wolga limousine with official plates stopped next to us and Moulder got out. Did we forget something? Did they find some strange sort evidence that Switzerland had a military fleet after all? It could not be – after all we were not spies!

No, Moulder smiled. I was stunned – Agent Moulder and Scully smiling! It got better: They offered us to drive us back to my car. We happily accepted and at the end even got a “Da Svidanie”. Crazy, these Russians.

Ps: The pictures are not very clear. We apoligize for this. Your FSB.