Russian spy Chapman in surprise appearance at Baikonur Published duration 8 October 2010

image caption Anna Chapman has kept a low profile since her return to Russia in July

Anna Chapman, a Russian spy recently deported from the US, has made an unexpected public appearance at a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Ms Chapman watched the launch of Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, carrying a US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts for the International Space Station, from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

She did not make any public comments.

Ms Chapman was among 10 Russians arrested in the US who admitted to being agents for a foreign country.

More serious money-laundering charges against them were dropped.

Moscow agreed to exchange four US spies for the 10 Russian agents and the swap was carried out in Vienna on 9 July.

'Just arrived'

Ms Chapman watched as Russian cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka and America's Scott Kelly blasted off for the ISS early on Friday.

image caption Ms Chapman refused to answer any questions from the media

It was her first public appearance since she returned to Russia three months ago.

She refused to answer any questions from the media, saying only that she had "just arrived", the Associated Press reports.

She then walked hastily to a guarded guest house near the launch pad accompanied by a burly man who blocked her from reporters, the news agency says.

Reports say she was at the launch as an adviser to a president of one of Russia's banks.

Ms Chapman, who is also known as Anya Kushchenko, has kept a low profile since she was deported from the US.