How would you feel if you were told your parents were spies and they were not who you thought they were?

For Alexander Vavilov, that revelation came in 2010 when American authorities came to his family home in Cambridge, MA, and arrested his parents for conspiring to act as secret agents for Russia. Donald Howard Heathfield and Tracey Lee Ann Foley were, in fact, the identities of two deceased Canadian infants that his parents — their real names, Andrey Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova — assumed.

“I didn’t believe it. My first reaction was that the FBI had the wrong house,” the Canadian-born Vavilov told a news conference in Toronto, his hometown, on Friday, a day after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled to reaffirm his birthright and that of his brother as a Canadian citizen in spite of this.

“I thought they had made a mistake with my father’s consulting work. It’s just a sheer series of coincidences lined up in a way to make something. It’s much later when I came to the realization that it was true.”

As a part of a swap for prisoners between the Kremlin and Washington, the family was sent to Russia, a strange land that spoke a language foreign to Vavilov and his older brother, Timothy, who are now 25 and 29, respectively. The two adopted their new Russian last name.

Although the boys discovered the grandparents and relatives they grew up not knowing they had, they suffered an identity crisis and a strained relationship with their parents.

“It’s very difficult, at the beginning, going through all these identity crises and troubles, but I think we managed to get past all these …. I understand their (his parents’) decisions now. They did what they did for patriotic reasons. They wanted to help their country to fight for, as they saw it, peace, and better understanding between the countries,” said Vavilov.

“Although I suffered through the result of all these, I have an understanding of why they did what they did. In their position, maybe they shouldn’t have had children, but it’s not to say I’m not happy to be alive and be here.”

However, there was a bigger crisis looming ahead of the brothers with their parents’ identity unmasked; Ottawa subsequently revoked their Canadian citizenship, citing a provision in Canada’s immigration law that makes children born here to “employees of a foreign government” ineligible for citizenship by birth here, on the grounds that Vavilov’s parents worked for Russia .

For almost 10 years, Vavilov and his brother fought through federal court, appeal court, and, ultimately, the Supreme Court to maintain their Canadian citizenship. In its ruling this week, the country’s highest court clarified that the ban of citizenship birthright only applies to foreign employees with diplomatic protection and immunity rights — privileges that spies are not afforded.

Vavilov said he and his brother were relieved that the Supreme Court decision recognized their citizenship rights and validated the Canadian identity they had grown up with.

“I am who I am. Whatever you learn about your heritage, I don’t think it defines you as a person. That’s my conclusion. It was difficult to understand at first. Who am I? Am I Russian? Am I Canadian?” he asked. “Ultimately, through a lot of soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that my character defines me and my experience defines me. My life of being a Canadian is a big defining factor.”

Vavilov, who has an undergraduate and master’s degree in finance from Europe, said his relationship with his parents has mended with time.

“We have a good relationship. They’ve been understanding of my fight for my citizenship. They had also enjoyed their time in Canada. They did like living here. They support my beliefs and feelings about my Canadian heritage and upbringing,” said Vavilov, who, along with Timothy, stayed connected with Canada through numerous visits even after moving to the United States.

With the legal battle behind him, Vavilov still faces the challenge of reintegrating into the Canadian society, a difficult task, he believes, given all the media and public attention on him and his family and his parents’ espionage. The story is portrayed in the Emmy-nominated television series, “The Americans.”

Vavilov said the family has seen the show and his parents actually liked it.

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“It was odd watching it. On one hand, you can relate to something. On the other hand, it was Hollywood, with murders and shooting. It is completely unrealistic. Some parts were a bit tricky. You feel emotionally seeing the struggles that people go through. My parents enjoyed watching it and said, at least, they portrayed the sense of patriotism and connection,” Vavilov noted.

“It was a good show, but it misses a lot of the realities of what going through all these (things) means for people on a personal level.”