Last summer, sexy redhead Anna Chapman was discovered to be a Russian secret agent. She was returned to Russia in a spy swap, and spent time as a model, before landing a gig hosting the Russian TV show Secrets of the World. A paranormal-tinged talk show, Secrets of the World examines bizarre ephemera and supernatural phenomenon. Like Ali, a 2-year-old boy born to a poor family in Red October Village, in the Caucasus. Since birth, his parents claim that Ali’s body has sometimes mysteriously been covered in phrases from the Koran written in Arabic. That made Ali a folk hero in the mostly-Muslim northern region, and many have lavished gifts and praise on the boy and his family. One Russian billionaire is building a new house for Ali and his family, and the Russian government has gifted the family with a new car.
That was, until Chapman’s show did a story on Ali, which showed how Ali’s parents could have manufactured the “ink” to “write” on Ali’s body. And now the family refuses to deal with other journalists and locals are unhappy. “That Chapman, she said, ‘I will reveal the truth,’ but what did she reveal? Nothing,” said Red October Village imam Khizri Magomedov. “She didn’t reveal anything.”
