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The Toronto-born son of Russian spies has won a court battle to regain his Canadian citizenship after it was revoked by Ottawa.

The long-awaited Federal Court of Appeal decision in Alexander Vavilov’s favour is the latest twist in an intriguing espionage saga that spans continents and cultures.

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Vavilov was born in 1994 as Alexander Philip Anthony Foley to Donald Heathfield and Tracey Ann Foley. The following year the family — including an older boy, Timothy — left Canada for France, where they spent four years before moving to the United States.

Alexander’s life unravelled one day in June 2010 when the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation turned up at the family’s Boston-area home.

I remember vividly the FBI agents entering our house with weapons as I walked down the stairs

“I remember vividly the FBI agents entering our house with weapons as I walked down the stairs,” he said in an affidavit filed with the court. “My parents were handcuffed in front of my eyes and I was led to a dark car outside without being told why my parents were being arrested.”