The United States, Western allies and Russia exchanged 24 prisoners on Thursday in the largest exchange of detainees since the Cold War.
The exchange that took place in Türkiye freed three important Americans who had been detained for months or even years.
In exchange for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsou Kurmasheva, Russia received eight prisoners who had been detained abroad.
Germany also received 12 prisoners held in Russia.
The prisoner exchange involved not only the US, Turkey, Germany and Russia, but also Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus.
Here’s what we know about the Americans and Russians released in the exchange.
Gershkovich
An American whose parents emigrated from Russia, Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg during a reporting mission. He has worked for The Wall Street Journal since 2022.
Gershkovich was accused of collecting state secrets about the Russian military on behalf of the US government and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.
The US, his employer and press freedom groups said he was unfairly detained and lobbied for his release for months.
Whelan
The former Marine has been detained in Russia since 2018 and was considered unfairly detained by the US government.
Whelan served in a Marine reserve unit and deployed to Iraq in 2004. After his retirement from the military, he joined the security firm Kelly Services.
Whelan has traveled the world and was in Russia in 2018 for a friend’s wedding when he was detained and accused of espionage.
He was later sentenced to 16 years in prison and transferred to a penal colony. Whelan has been the subject of several negotiations over the years, but became frustrated after other prisoner swaps between the U.S. and Russia did not include him, including a deal that freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in 2022.
Kurmasheva
Kurmasheva is a journalist who had Russian and American citizenship, but lived in Prague, Czech Republic, with her husband and two daughters.
She wrote about Tatar and Bashkir minority groups in Russia’s Volga-Ural region.
Kurmasheva traveled to Russia in May 2023 to care for her sick mother.
She was temporarily detained in June 2023 and then arrested in October of that year.
In July, she was sentenced to more than six years in prison for spreading false information.
Vladimir Kara Murza
British-Russian citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza, who also holds an American green card, has long been an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He was detained in April 2022 after he began speaking out about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Kara-Murza is an opinion writer for The Washington Post, where he writes about Russia and frequently criticizes Putin and Kremlin policies.
Vadim Krasikov
Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin, was detained in Germany following his conviction for the death of a former Chechen separatist commander in Berlin in 2019.
Speculation has been rife for months that Putin wanted to secure his release in exchange for a prisoner exchange, potentially involving Whelan or Gershkovich.
Krasikov was a high-ranking officer in Russia’s Vympel special forces unit in the Federal Security Service.
Krasikov is also suspected of being behind the murder of a Russian businessman in Moscow in 2013, but the case was later dropped.
Other freed Russians
According to several reports, here are the other freed Russians.
Artem Dultsev It is Anna Dultseva were detained in Slovenia on charges of espionage. Both were linked to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. The pair pleaded guilty on Wednesday.
Mikhail Mikushin was arrested in 2022 in Norway on espionage charges and accused of spying for Russia.
Pavel Rubtsov was detained in Poland in 2022 and accused of spying for Russia and serving as a military intelligence agent under the guise of being a journalist.
Roman SeleznevA Russian hacker and credit card fraudster was sentenced to 27 years in prison in the US following his arrest in 2014.
Vladislav Klyushina Russian businessman, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2023 in the US in a hacking scheme.
Vadim Konoshchenok was detained in Estonia in 2022 and charged in the US in 2023 with smuggling American technology and equipment to the Russian military and government.
Germans freed
Thursday’s prisoner exchange also freed 12 German and Russian activists detained by Russia.
According to several reports, they were:
Dieter Voronina Russian-German citizen and political scientist detained in 2021.
Kevin Likewho was born in Germany but moved to Russia and was arrested in 2023, aged 16, on charges of taking photographs of Russian troops.
Rico Krieger, a German sentenced to death in Belarus on terrorism charges. He was accused of planting explosives near a railway line to support Ukraine and confessed to the crimes in a choreographed video.
Patrick Schoebela German accused of transporting cannabis gummies to Russia and detained in February.
Herman Moyzhesa Russian-German lawyer accused of helping Russian citizens obtain visas for the European Union.
Ilya Yashin, a prominent ally of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He was sentenced to more than eight years in prison in 2022 for spreading fake news.
Lilia Chanyshevaa Russian opposition figure and Navalny ally who was arrested in 2021.
Ksenia Fadeevaanother Russian opposition figure and Navalny ally arrested in 2021.
Vadim Ostaninan opposition figure and Navalny ally arrested in 2021.
Andrey Pivovarova human rights activist who founded the disbanded Open Russia movement and was sentenced to four years in prison in 2022 for leading an “undesirable organization.”
Oleg Orlova human rights defender sentenced to more than two years in prison in February.
Sasha Skochilenkoa Russian anti-war activist and artist who was arrested in April 2022.
Other Americans still in Russia
Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania, is still in Russian custody. He was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to 14 years in prison on drug smuggling charges.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gordon Black returned to Russia in early May to visit his girlfriend. He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in June on charges of stealing money from his girlfriend and making threats to her.
Old US Marine Robert Gilman was sentenced to more than four years in prison for attacking a police officer while drunk in 2022.
Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelinaof Los Angeles, is on trial on charges of financing Ukraine’s military following her arrest earlier this year.
David Barnesfrom Texas, was arrested in 2022 and sentenced this year to 21 years in prison on charges of abusing his children.
Roberto Woodlandan American citizen adopted from Russia, was arrested in January and sentenced to 12 years in prison on drug charges.
Eugene SpectorBorn in Russia but later moving to the US, he was sentenced to four years in prison on bribery charges in 2021.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
