These 24 prisoners were exchanged
One of them spent five and a half years in a Russian prison, witnessing more prominent inmates being released before him. Among those included in the prisoner exchange are journalists, political activists, and opponents of the Russian war in Ukraine. The youngest former prisoner is 19, the oldest 71. They are part of the largest civilian prisoner exchange between East and West since the Cold War.
Released by Russia and Belarus:
Evan Gershkovich: The "Wall Street Journal" reporter was arrested in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in March 2023. Authorities accused him of collecting "secret information" about a military factory on behalf of the US intelligence agency CIA, without providing evidence. Gershkovich and the US government denied the allegations. A court sentenced the 32-year-old Gershkovich to 16 years in prison in July after a closed-door trial.
Paul Whelan: The security sector executive from Michigan was arrested in Moscow in 2018 while attending a friend's wedding. He was accused of espionage, convicted in 2020, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. The 54-year-old has rejected the allegations as false.
Alsu Kurmasheva: The woman with American and Russian citizenship was arrested in her hometown of Kazan in 2023 while visiting her sick mother. The editor for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, based in Prague, was accused of not registering as a "foreign agent." She was convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military and sentenced to six and a half years in prison. Her family and employer denied the allegations.
Vladimir Kara-Mursa: The man with Russian and British citizenship is a prominent opposition politician. He was arrested in 2022 after criticizing the Russian war in Ukraine. In 2023, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason and other charges. Kara-Mursa considers the case politically motivated. He is a columnist for "The Washington Post" and won a Pulitzer Prize this year. In 2015 and 2017, he fell seriously ill twice from suspected poisonings, which he blames on the Kremlin.
Ilya Yashin: The prominent Kremlin critic received an eight and a half year prison sentence for criticizing the war in Ukraine. Yashin was once a member of the Moscow City Council. He is one of the few well-known opposition activists who have remained in Russia since the start of the war.
Andrey Pivovarov: The 42-year-old was the head of the opposition group Open Russia, which was banned by Russian authorities in 2021. Pivovarov was arrested in the same year after being removed from a plane. In 2022, he was convicted of operating activities for an "undesirable" organization and sentenced to four years in prison.
Oleg Orlov: The human rights activist was found guilty of discrediting the Russian military. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in February for protesting against the war in Ukraine. The 71-year-old is the co-chair of the human rights organization Memorial, which won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sasha Skotchenko: The 33-year-old was sentenced to seven years in prison in November for allegedly replacing price tags with anti-war slogans in a supermarket.
Xenia Fadeyeva, Lilya Chanysheva, and Vadim Ostanin: All three were former employees of offices of the late opposition figure Alexey Navalny. They were arrested after Navalny's political network was banned in 2021. They were later convicted on extremism charges. Fadeyeva, 32, and Ostanin, 47, each received nine years in prison, while Chanysheva, 42, received nine and a half years.
Kevin Lik: The 19-year-old man with German and Russian citizenship was arrested in the southern part of Russia in February 2023. He was accused of taking photos of a military unit and sending them to a "representative of a foreign state." According to court representatives, Lik opposed the war in Ukraine. He was sentenced to four years in prison for treason charges.
Rico Krieger: The German was sentenced to death in Belarus in June on terrorism charges, but was later pardoned.
Demuri Voronin: The political scientist with Russian and German citizenship operated a consulting firm that reportedly worked with journalists. He was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to 13 years and three months in prison in 2023 for treason. Voronin was implicated in the case against Ivan Safronov, who is accused of passing information about Russian military activities to the German intelligence agency.
Patrick Schoebel: The German was arrested at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg in February after allegedly being found in possession of drug paraphernalia containing a cannabis component. He has been in custody since then on charges of drug smuggling.
German Moyzhes: The Russian and German citizen is a migration lawyer who helped Russians apply for residence permits in the EU. He was arrested in St. Petersburg in May. He is accused of treason, but little is known about his case.
Released from the West:
- Wadim Krasikov: Convicted in 2021 for shooting the 40-year-old Georgian national Selimchan "Tornike" C., an ethnic Chechen, in Berlin. The court ruled it an assassination ordered by the Russian security service. The 58-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment. Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted at a possible prisoner exchange for Krasikov this year.
- Pawel Rubzow: One of several individuals arrested in Poland since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine on charges of spying for Russia.
- Roman Selesnew: Son of a Russian parliament member, convicted in the USA in 2017 for a hacking attack on over 500 companies and the theft of millions of credit card numbers, which he allegedly sold on websites. The Russian citizen received 27 years in prison.
- Vladislav Klyushin: Wealthy businessman with Kremlin ties, convicted in Boston in 2023 for fraud. The alleged fraud scheme, worth nearly $100 million, was reportedly based on secret information obtained through a hacking attack on U.S. computer networks. The 43-year-old received nine years in prison. He was arrested in Switzerland and extradited to the U.S. in 2021.
- Wadim Konoschenko: Alleged officer of the Russian FSB, extradited from Estonia to the U.S. last year. Charged with smuggling ammunition and technology to support the Russian war in Ukraine. According to the U.S. attorney's office, he was arrested in 2022 attempting to leave Estonia for Russia.
- Artem Dulzew and Anna Dulzewa: The Russian couple was arrested in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2022 on suspicion of spying. They pleaded guilty to the charges on Wednesday and received 19 months in prison. Their children will also be returned to Russia.
- Mikhail Mikushin: Arrested in Norway in 2022 on suspicion of spying. The Norwegian domestic intelligence agency PST said he claimed to be a Brazilian citizen upon entering the country. Investigators believe he worked under a false identity in Norway for a Russian intelligence agency.
These individuals were part of the prisoner exchange between the United States of America and Russia:
- Evan Gershkovich: The "Wall Street Journal" reporter, arrested in Russia, was one of the individuals released in the exchange.
- Kevin Lik: The 19-year-old German-Russian dual national was sentenced in Russia for treason-related charges, but was ultimately released in the prisoner exchange between the United States of America and Russia.
