Portraits of detainees in the Russia-West prisoner exchange
A major hostage exchange between the United States and Russia saw the release of American and Western citizens detained in Russia in exchange for killers...
A major hostage exchange between the United States and Russia saw the release of American and Western citizens detained in Russia in exchange for killers, spies, and hackers from Moscow who were serving heavy sentences in Europe. This exchange was driven by Kremlin pressure, which had long sought the return of Vadim Krasikov, a GRU agent, the Russian intelligence agency responsible for offensive operations abroad, who was serving a 25-year sentence in Germany for the murder of a dissident.
Following the refusal of the German authorities to return Krasikov, Moscow intensified its pressure tactics. It arrested an ex-Marine and later a journalist, both accused of espionage without concrete evidence, and sentenced them to long prison terms. This escalation highlighted Russia’s determination to secure Krasikov‘s return.
Washington had been working on an agreement that initially included Alexei Navalny, the prominent Russian opposition leader. However, as revealed with emotion in a press conference by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Navalny passed away before the deal could be finalized. Sullivan also dismissed any direct connection between the exchange and the ongoing war in Ukraine, emphasizing that the agreement was primarily aimed at resolving detention issues rather than influencing the conflict. Continue
U.S. citizens released by Moscow
EVAN GERSHKOVICH – Wall Street Journal journalist sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage in July. He was the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War. www.freegershkovich.com | Wikipedia
PAUL WHELAN – Former Marine who spent nearly six years in Russian prisons after his arrest in Moscow in December 2018. He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison on espionage charges. Wikipedia
ALSU KURMASHEVA – Russian-American journalist sentenced to six and a half years in prison after being found guilty of disseminating false information about the Russian military. Wikipedia
German citizens released by Moscow
RICO KRIEGER – Sentenced to death in Belarus in June after being accused of terrorism and mercenary activities, he was granted clemency by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on July 30. Wikipedia
KEVIN LICK – Eighteen-year-old Russian-German citizen. He was sentenced for high treason in December 2023 on charges of photographing and filming equipment and personnel at the Maikop garrison in Russia. According to Moscow, he intended to provide the information to German intelligence. Memopkz
DIETER VORONIN – Sentenced to 13 years and 3 months for aiding Ivan Safronov, a former journalist and advisor to the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos accused of treason, in his cooperation with the German federal intelligence services.
HERMAN MOYZHES – Lawyer, arrested earlier this month on charges of treason for helping Russian citizens obtain residence permits in Europe.
PATRICK SCHOEBEL – Arrested in January at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg for carrying a bag containing cannabis gummy bears.
Russian opposition figures released by Moscow
VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA – Prominent Russian opposition politician and human rights defender, sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason after publicly criticizing Moscow’s war in Ukraine. He is a permanent resident of the United States and holds dual citizenship of Russia and the United Kingdom. He was initially arrested in 2022, shortly after an interview with CNN in which he criticized President Vladimir Putin’s “regime of killers.” Wikipedia
OLEG ORLOV – Former head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization ‘Memorial.’ He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for denouncing Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine. Wikipedia
ILYA YASHIN – A close ally of Alexei Navalny, sentenced to eight years and six months for spreading ‘false information’ about the Russian military in December 2022. Wikipedia
LILIA CHANYSHEVA – Former collaborator of Navalny’s organization, 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. Wikipedia
ALEXANDRA SKOCHILENKO – Russian artist sentenced to seven years in prison in 2023 after replacing price tags with anti-war messages in a supermarket in St. Petersburg as an act of protest. Wikipedia
KSENIA FADEEVA – Collaborator of Alexei Navalny, sentenced to nine years in prison in December 2023 after being found guilty by Moscow of organizing the activities of an extremist group. Upi
VADIM OSTANIN – Another former collaborator of Alexei Navalny’s foundation, sentenced to nine years in prison on extremism charges.
ANDREI PIVOVAROV – Opposition activist and human rights defender, former leader of the now-banned Open Russia movement. He was sentenced to four years in a penal colony in July 2022. Wikipedia
Russi released by the West
VADIM KRASIKOV – Former high-ranking FSB colonel, he was serving a life sentence in a German prison after being convicted for the murder of former Chechen fighter Zelimkhan ‘Tornike’ Khangoshvili, which occurred in 2019 in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten. According to German investigators, Krasikov acted on behalf of Russia in what was described as “a daytime execution.” Wikipedia
VADIM KONOSHCHENOK – Accused by the U.S. government of conspiracy for his role in a global money laundering and procurement network on behalf of the Russian government. Wikipedia
VLADISLAV KLJUSHIN – Businessman sentenced to nine years in prison in Boston last year for his role in what U.S. authorities described as “an elaborate hacking-to-trade scheme,” which netted approximately $93 million through securities transactions based on stolen confidential business information from U.S. computer networks. Wikipedia
ROMAN VALERYEVICH SELEZNEV – Scammer and credit card hacker, he was serving a 27-year sentence in the United States. Wikipedia
ARTEM DULTSEV – Russian spy who was living undercover in Slovenia, where he was arrested and pleaded guilty.
ANNA DULTSEVA – Russian spy who was living undercover in Slovenia, where she was arrested and pleaded guilty.
MIKHAIL VALERYEVICH MIKUSHIN – Russian spy arrested in Norway in 2022. He was working at the University of Tromsø, in the Arctic Circle, posing as a Brazilian researcher. Wikipedia
PAVEL RUBTSOV – Russian spy living in Poland, where he posed as a Spanish journalist named Pablo Gonzales. He was arrested in February 2022. Al-Jazeera