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Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is just one of the three Americans returning home to the United States after a massive prisoner swap involving multiple countries, the main two being the US and Russia.
In the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, involving 24 detainees across six different countries, 16 Americans, Russians, and Germans were released by Belarus and Russia while 8 Russians were released from western countries like the US, Poland, and Germany.
Marine veteran Paul Whelan was arrested in December 2018, formally charged with espionage in early 2019, and later sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020. By the time he was released yesterday, he had been in a Russian prison for over five and a half years. Meanwhile, WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 and was kept in detainment for another year as the trial continued to be delayed. Then, in June 2024, his trial begun behind closed doors, and it ended in July with a sentence of 16 years in a penal colony for spying. The third prisoner, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, was visiting Russia to see her mother when she was detained in June 2023 as she was leaving for Prague, and her dual US-Russia passport was confiscated. Then, in October 2023, she was formally arrested and charged with "failing to register herself as a foreign agent," and she was then accused of spreading misinformation about the Russian military in December. In July 2024, she was found guilty of spreading the false information, and was given 6 years in prison.
This is a huge success for the Biden administration, who were also partly responsible for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russia in 2022-- and administrating the release of prisoners is no easy task. It took months to organize this complex deal, as this exchange includes the most countries ever involved in any single prisoner swap, and there was always a fear that the deal could be called off at any time.
Finally, on Thursday night, the three Americans arrived in Ankara, Turkey, which was the central meeting spot for the exchange. Then, when the plane was wheels up, celebrations began as the prisoners began their journey home after months of waiting. Another 12 prisoners from Russia were released to Germany, who reluctantly gave Russia a criminal convicted of murder. That man, Vadim Krasikov, shot a former Chechen fighter in 2019 who fought against Russia, on direct orders from a Russian intelligence agency. Putin indicated that the exchange was likely to not go through if that prisoner had not been handed over, as he specifically wanted that man back in Russia-- western diplomats are still perplexed over why Putin believed that he was such a key man to get back. As for Russia, they were given a total of eight prisoners: three from the US, two from Slovenia, and one each from Norway and Poland.
Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): A woman was actually elected to the United States Congress before women were given the right to vote. American women were given the right to vote in 1920, but Jeanette Rankin became the first woman in the US federal office in 1916.
Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars. (Og Mandino)
Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Midriff (noun)- Midriff refers to the area around a person’s middle, that is, the front of their body between the chest and the waist.
In a Sentence: Even the store’s winter line of clothing includes a number of midriff-baring tops, albeit paired with oversized cardigans or flannel shirts.
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