Accused Spy Heads Home For Holidays Russia Releases American, But Weather Won’t Cooperate

An American accused of spying in southern Russia arrived here Wednesday after the first leg of a journey that he hopes will take him to his family on Christmas.

Richard Bliss, formerly of Longview, Wash., has permission to leave Russia for two weeks under an agreement between his employer, San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc., and the Russian government.

He left Rostov-on-Don, a city 600 miles south of Moscow where he had been held by Russian authorities, on a commercial flight for the capital Wednesday night. A chartered plane sent to pick up Bliss was unable to fly into Rostov-on-Don because of icy weather.

“It’s the first step in a very long journey that hasn’t really started,” he told reporters at the airport in Moscow, where a team of Qualcomm officials whisked him into a waiting car. “We’re trying to work out all the details, and we’re trying to get back to San Diego as soon as possible.”

Qualcomm spokeswoman Christine Trimble said it appeared Bliss would have to wait until this morning to get a flight out of Moscow, which would put him in San Diego by this evening.

Based on guarantees from Qualcomm and the U.S. Embassy, the Russians decided to allow Bliss to go home for the holidays, Maj. Gen. Alexander Zdanovich, spokesman for the Federal Security Service, told the ITAR-Tass news agency.

He described the decision as a “humanitarian act,” but said the investigation into his case was continuing.

Trimble said Qualcomm was paying for about 10 people, including Bliss’ family, to fly to San Diego to be with him. Bliss agreed to return to Russia on Jan. 10, but the company hopes the dispute will be resolved by then, the spokeswoman said.

Bliss’ Russian lawyer, Valery Petryayev, said the decision proved the weakness of the government’s case.

“Had he been a real spy, nobody would have sent him to America for Christmas,” Petryayev told Russian television.