Russia prisoner swap: The long ordeal of Evan Gershkovich

The biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War has taken place. Twenty-six people were exchanged, 24 of them prisoners, along with two minors.

Five of them come from Russia and three from the US: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva. Some of them are virtually or completely unknown to the public, while some had their cases reported on comprehensively in media.

One of these is Evan Gershkovich, correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. Gershkovich had been sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony just weeks ago. His story began last spring.

Detention in Yekaterinburg

Russia's war in Ukraine had been going on for about a year when Evan Gershkovich arrived in Yekaterinburg, in the foothills of the Ural Mountains, on March 29, 2023. He was there to research a story about the infamous Wagner Group and their recruitment methods — and potentially to find out what Russians think about the mercenary fighting unit. 

Yekaterinburg is also the headquarters of Uralvagonzavod, a large Russian defense company that, among other things, makes tanks for use in Ukraine. Could this have been the reason for Gershkovich being there, of all places, some 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) east of Moscow? The answer is unclear. What is clear, however, is that visiting the city sealed his fate.

Russian security forces detained Gershkovich and accused him of spying for the US. They alleged he had been sent by the CIA to gather confidential information about the manufacturing and repair of military equipment. His arrest marked the first time since the end of the Cold War that Russia detained a US journalist.

Gershkovich was transferred to the infamous Lefortovo prison in Moscow. Formerly a torture facility for the Soviet security agency KGB, today it serves as a pretrial detention center. He was held there from the time of his arrest until the closed-door trial against him began almost 15 months later.

Gershkovich grew up in two worlds

Gershkovich, 32, had been living and working in Russia since 2017, first as a reporter for The Moscow Times, then for the AFP news agency. In 2022 he began reporting for The Wall Street Journal from post-Soviet successor states.

Gershkovich was born in New York to Jewish immigrant parents, but his family roots lie in Ukraine. Many of his relatives were murdered during the Holocaust, and his family also experienced antisemitic discrimination during the Soviet era, which prompted his parents to emigrate to the US in 1979. 

Gershkovich grew up bilingually, speaking both English and Russian. In his mid-20s, he decided to move to Russia. He quickly made a name for himself as a reporter of stories that provided deep insight into Russian culture and society.

After Russian troops marched into Ukraine in February 2022, the work environment for foreign journalists became increasingly difficult. The tightening of press laws also forced DW to close its Moscow bureau.

Despite all this, Gershkovich decided to stay in the country and continue to report for The Wall Street Journal. He was well aware of the danger he faced.

In July 2022, eight months before his arrest, he tweeted: "Reporting on Russia is now also a regular practice of watching people you know get locked away for years."

Several US citizens detained in Russia

Gershkovich denied all the charges brought against him, but the court sentenced him to 16 years in prison.

And Gershkovich wasn't the only American detained in Russia: Roughly a dozen US citizens are being held in Russian prisons. Washington has accused Moscow of using them as bargaining chips to push for the release of Russians imprisoned in the US. The US has repeatedly been warning its citizens to leave Russia since 2022.

One of the best-known US citizens in Russian custody was Paul Whelan. Now, the 54-year-old former marine has been released along with Gershkovich. Whelan was working for a US automotive supplier when he was arrested in 2018 on spying charges. He had been serving a 16-year prison sentence.

The trial of Ksenia Karelina, a dual Russian-American citizen, began on June 20 in Yekaterinburg. In 2022, the 32-year-old donated $50 (€47) to a Ukrainian organization that supported Ukraine's army. She faces up to 20 years in prison, but no sentence has yet been announced. Karelina was not freed in the recent exchange.

In June, another US soldier was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. Gordon Black allegedly visited a Russian woman in Vladivostok whom he had met while serving in South Korea. The soldier is accused of having physically attacked the woman and stolen 10,000 rubles (€105, $112).

He has appealed against the conviction. However, the US has also accused the 34-year-old of having broken military regulations by traveling to Russia without permission from his superiors.

Last-minute exchange

The case of US basketball player Brittney Griner had garnered particular attention. She was arrested shortly before the invasion of Ukraine on alleged drug-related violations and sentenced to nine years in prison. She had been carrying 0.7 grams (0.02 ounces) of cannabis oil in her luggage that had been prescribed to her by a US doctor for pain management. Griner was freed in December 2022 in exchange for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been imprisoned in the US.

Now, a similar exchange has proven to be the way out for Gershkovich and Whelan, as well as for Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-US journalist from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She was convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian armed forces, an accusation that her family and employer reject.  

Following Gershkovich's arrest in March 2023, US media speculated that the move had been in retaliation for the US indictment of the Russian spy Sergey Cherkasov just five days prior. Cherkasov was sentenced in Brazil to 15 years in prison. But Moscow's biggest success now is probably the release on Vadim Krasikov, jailed in Germany for the killing of a Georgian citizen of ethnic Chechen background in Berlin at the orders of Russia's security service.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed in early June that Moscow and Washington had been holding intense, behind-the-scenes discussions about a possible prisoner exchange.

"The ball is in the United States' court," Putin's deputy foreign minister, Sergey Ryabkov, told the Russian state news agency Tass. "We are waiting for them to respond to the ideas that have been presented to them."

In an interview with US broadcaster ABC News in March, Gershkovich's parents had said they were happy to hear that both governments had declared their willingness to negotiate.

"I think if you let the pessimism in ... the game is over," said Gershkovich's mother, Ella Milman.

Now her optimism has been rewarded.

This article was originally written in German.