A major exchange of prisoners and detainees between the US and Russia, with Germany playing an important part. To everyone’s amazement, on August 1, a massive diplomatic operation was accomplished on neutral ground in Ankara, Turkey, involving prominent figures such as Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, American marine Paul Whelan, dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Russian murderer Vadim Krasikov.
The top-secret operation
According to a source in the American administration, CIA Director Bill Burns recently visited Turkey to negotiate the prisoner exchange with Russia, describing the operation as a “logistical miracle,” with the Turkish government being “very supportive.” Vladimir Putin signed a decree providing legal permission from Moscow. The Russian president, who had previously hinted at a diplomatic solution to the ‘Gershkovich issue,’ signed the proclamation pardoning the released convicts.
The Washington-Moscow axis would not have been successful without Berlin’s support. Germany has agreed to free Krasikov, a former FSB colonel convicted to life in jail by a German court for the murder of a former Chechen combatant in a Berlin park in 2019.
Steffen Hebestreit, a government spokesman, said Germany balanced its “responsibility” to keep its nationals secure against the need to assist its partners in freeing “innocent persons” arrested in Russia, including journalist Evan Gershkovich.
“The federal government did not take this decision lightly. The state’s interest in enforcing the prison sentence of a convicted criminal was balanced against the freedom, physical well-being, and, in some cases, the lives of innocent people detained in Russia and those unjustly imprisoned for political reasons,” Hebestreit stated.
Who are the freed prisoners?
The Turkish presidency confirmed the prisoner exchange in Ankara in a statement. The detainees, it reported, came from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus. Ten people, including two minors, were transferred to Russia, 13 detainees to Germany, and three to the United States.
The American citizens
Evan Gershkovich, 32 years old. Last July, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage and became the first American journalist (Wall Street Journal reporter) arrested in Russia on espionage accusations since the Cold War. The US government, Gershkovich’s publication, and his supporters all condemned the trial as a farce.
Paul Whelan, 54 years old. The former US Marine spent nearly six years in Russian prisons after his arrest in Moscow in December 2018. In 2020, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage allegations, which both he and the US government reject. He said he was in Russia for a friend’s wedding. Like Gershkovich, Whelan has been designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department. He is also an Irish, British, and Canadian citizen.
Alsu Kurmasheva, 47 years old. A Russian-American journalist, she was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian military. Kurmasheva was sentenced the same day a court in the Russian city of Ekaterinburg sentenced Gershkovich.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42 years old. A prominent Russian opposition politician and human rights defender, Kara-Murza, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason after publicly condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine. He is a permanent resident of the United States and holds dual citizenship in Russia and the United Kingdom. He was initially arrested in 2022, just hours after a CNN interview in which he criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “murderous regime.” He has been moved several times in recent months and was transferred to a prison hospital earlier this month. His lawyers have often been refused the opportunity to meet with him.
The freed Russian dissidents
At least seven Russian dissidents have been released. Here are their names:
Ilya Yashin, 41 years old. A Kremlin critic, Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years in December 2022 for spreading “false information” about the Russian military. Yashin, a close ally of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, was convicted of spreading “false” statements about the circumstances of the killings of Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops in Bucha, a town north of Kyiv. Russia criminalized military criticism following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The court stated that he would serve his term in a “in a strict regime correctional colony.”
Alexandra Skochilenko, 33 years old. A Russian artist, she was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2023 after replacing price tags with anti-war messages in a St. Petersburg supermarket as an act of protest.
Oleg Orlov, 71 years old. A human rights defender and former head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Memorial organization, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for speaking out against Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Lilia Chanysheva, 42 years old. A former collaborator of Alexey Navalny’s organization, she was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in June 2023 after being found guilty of “organizing an extremist community.” In April, the Supreme Court of Bashkortostan increased her sentence to nine and a half years.
Ksenia Fadeeva, 32 years old. Another former Navalny collaborator, Fadeeva, was sentenced to nine years in prison in December 2023 for organizing the activities of an extremist group using her official position and participating in a non-profit organization that violated citizens’ rights.
Vadim Ostanin (age unknown). Another former collaborator of Alexey Navalny’s foundation, he was sentenced to nine years in prison on extremism charges.
Andrei Pivovarov (age unknown). An opposition activist and human rights defender, Pivovarov led the now-outlawed Open Russia movement. According to Amnesty International, he has been sentenced to four years in a penal colony in July 2022.
The freed German citizens
At least five German citizens were released in the exchange. To secure their release, Germany had to free Russian Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence for murder.
Rico Krieger, 30 or 31 years old. Sentenced to death in Belarus in June after being accused of terrorism and mercenary activities. Little is known about him. According to the Human Rights Center Viasna, Krieger is an employee of the German Red Cross. According to the Minsk authorities, he is a German citizen born in 1993. According to his social media profile, he worked as an emergency medical technician with the German Red Cross and as an armed security guard for the US Embassy in Berlin. Krieger was pardoned by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on July 30, according to the presidential office.
Kevin Lick, 18, holds dual Russian and German citizenship. According to the Russian state news agency Tass, he was convicted of high treason in December 2023. Lick was accused of photographing and filming military equipment and personnel at the Maikop garrison in Russia. According to the court, he intended to provide the information to German intelligence.
Demuri (Dieter) Voronin is accused of assisting Ivan Safronov, the former journalist and advisor to the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, who was charged with treason, according to Tass. Voronin, a German citizen, allegedly facilitated Safronov’s cooperation with German federal intelligence services. According to the Russian state news agency RIA, Safronov was sentenced to 22 years in prison and Voronin to 13 years and three months.
Herman Moyzhes, a lawyer and cycling activist, was accused earlier this month of treason for helping Russian citizens obtain residence permits in Europe, according to Tass. His arrest has been criticized as politically motivated by the German Jewish Community.
Patrick Schöbel was arrested at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport in January for carrying a bag containing cannabis-infused gummy bears, according to the press service of St. Petersburg courts.
Who are the released Russians?
The released Russian citizens are Vadim Krasikov from Germany, Artem Viktorovich Dultsev from Slovenia, Anna Valerevna Dultseva from Slovenia, Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin from Norway, Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov from Norway, Roman Seleznev from the United States, Vladislav Klyushin from the United States, and Vadim Konoshchenock from the United States.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Tass, said all Russia’s “enemies” should remain abroad while the return of those who are not “enemies” is welcomed.
“I think all enemies should stay abroad, and all those who are not enemies can return. This is my point of view,” he stated. When asked specifically about the prisoner exchange, Peskov indicated that the Kremlin would respond “in due time” and expressed hope that it could happen during the day.
