Anna Chapman honoured by Kremlin... and Maxim

In what is her latest move to garner publicity, Russian spy Anna Chapman has posed in skimpy lingerie for a lad’s magazine in her home country.

The 28-year-old beauty, who shot to fame in a sensational spy ring bust earlier this year, appears on the cover of Russian Maxim clad in little more than black lingerie, complete with suspender belt, and her finger poised on the trigger of a gun.

"No you are not sleeping and your eyesight is not deceiving you," Maxim editors boast on their website in Russian. In the issue, Chapman is billed as "the world-famous red-headed spy, the mysterious debutante from our list of the country's 100 sexiest women."

The photo spread also is accompanied by an interview with the former spy where she reveals what she looks for in a man.

"Most men are divided in three categories: primitive, those that only want sex; smarter, those that want to be loved, and [the] last group – those that not only want to be loved, they also need that this love will be the biggest and most amazing feeling in your life," she said. "Those are the most difficult, but that is my favourite category."

Since posting a behind-the-scenes video of Chapman's photoshoot on their site, it has reportedly crashed several times, a result of high volumes of traffic.

Award

Chapman was on Tuesday handed a top state medal by Kremlin president Dmitry Medvedev for her espionage work in the West, the Daily Mail newspaper reported. She is believed to be one of the youngest people ever to receive such an award.

Nine other agents thrown out of America with her accused of spying for Russia were also awarded highest honours at the ceremony.

The group of 10 spies, many of whom had been working for years undercover in the United States as sleeper agents, returned to Russia in a sensational Cold War-style spy swap.

In return, four Russians who secretly spied for MI6 and the CIA were allowed to go free in the West.

After she returned to Russia in July, Chapman was stripped of her British passport for which she had qualified after marrying a former public schoolboy, Alex Chapman.

In the weeks after their return, strongman prime minister Vladimir Putin met the spies and sang patriotic songs with them.

Before Tuesday’s ceremony, there were claims the glamorous socialite – whose semi-naked pictures were sold by her ex-husband after her arrest in New York – was in reality only a minor player unwittingly caught in the spy scandal. But the new award removes any doubt.

Chapman is also reported to be writing a book, though it is believed she has been barred from selling her story.

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