Evan Gershkovich spent 16 months imprisoned in Russia before his release in a high-profile prisoner exchange brokered by U.S. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Now residing in Berlin, the former Moscow correspondent for The Wall Street Journal has spoken publicly for the first time about his experience, detailing the physical and psychological challenges he endured and reflecting on the broader environment of repression in Russia.

Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 while reporting in Yekaterinburg, an industrial city in the Urals, where he was interviewing a local union official. Agents from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested him on charges of espionage—accusations he and U.S. officials have consistently denied. His detention marked the first time since the Soviet era that an American journalist was accused of spying in Russia. The case against him hinged primarily on a document containing three brief sentences alleging he was affiliated with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), based on an anonymous source.

During his imprisonment, much of it in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, Gershkovich was aware from the outset that his arrest was politically motivated and intended as leverage in negotiations for the release of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian national convicted of murder in Germany. He described the arrest as both a traumatic shock and a calculated move consistent with the Russian regime’s approach to foreign correspondents. Although he avoided the harshest forms of torture reportedly used in Russian prisons, he experienced lasting psychological effects including nightmares, panic attacks, and emotional distress triggered by reminders of his confinement.

In discussions about his time behind bars, Gershkovich spoke of the camaraderie he developed with fellow inmates, including a cellmate who later died fighting in Ukraine. He also recounted the impact of the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny in custody in February 2024, an event that profoundly affected him during ongoing negotiations for his release.

Following a complex, multilateral swap involving 24 prisoners across seven countries, Gershkovich was freed and returned to the United States in July 2024. His release coincided closely with President Biden’s announcement that he would not seek re-election. At the airport, Gershkovich greeted Biden in a moment reflecting the exchange's diplomatic significance.

Since his return, Gershkovich has undergone therapy and gradually resumed work as a journalist. He has published a memoir titled “This Cursed Beautiful Land,” which explores not only his captivity but also the wider experience of Russian citizens living under an increasingly autocratic regime. He highlighted sentences handed down to political analysts, protesters, and even cultural figures as evidence of Russia’s tightening controls.

Despite the ordeal, Gershkovich maintains a complex relationship with Russia. A son of Soviet Jewish émigrés, he moved to Moscow in 2017 to connect with his heritage and family roots. While not currently willing to return under President Vladimir V. Putin’s leadership, he expressed hope for a future when Russia might open up again.

Gershkovich lives in Berlin with his Russian girlfriend, Masha Borzunova, also a journalist who supported him during his imprisonment. He continues to engage with journalism, although the interview with Putin he requested as part of his release conditions never materialized. Reflecting on his experience, he acknowledged feelings of guilt over benefiting from a swap that released a convicted assassin, underscoring the human costs interwoven with international diplomacy in tense U.S.-Russia relations.