Things to Know About the Largest US-Russia Prisoner Swap in Post-Soviet History

The 24 people — some prominent, some not — included a group of journalists and political dissidents, suspected spies, a computer hacker and a fraudster. Even a man convicted of murder.

Russia has freed 16 people, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, who faced lengthy prison sentences after being convicted in Russia’s highly politicized legal system of espionage charges that the U.S. government has said were unfounded.

Moscow also freed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen who was convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military, charges her family and employer denied.

Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva arrived late Thursday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where they were greeted by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Russia also freed Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who was serving 25 years for high treason, widely believed to be politically motivated.

The most infamous of the eight individuals Russia has recovered is Vadim Krasikov, convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on the orders of Moscow’s security services. It has also received two alleged sleeper agents who were imprisoned in Slovenia, three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S. and two men returned from Norway and Poland.

A breakthrough in US-Russia relations?

It’s unlikely.

The United States and Russia have already made several prisoner swaps during Russia’s war with Ukraine, including a December 2022 swap in which Moscow released WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.

But none of these exchanges have led to a significant warming of relations, especially at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to end aggression against Ukraine and Washington continues to send Kiev significant military support.

Prisoner exchanges were a rare source of compromise and mutually acceptable interests, rather than a reflection of something broader. Still, the fact that countries were able to strike a deal at a time of open hostility is remarkable.

The Americans left

While Thursday’s agreement covers the most high-profile Americans held in Russia, including two who were formally deemed to have been wrongfully detained, several others remain there.

The group includes Travis Leake, a musician convicted of drug possession and sentenced to prison; Gordon Black, an American soldier convicted of theft and threats to kill; Marc Fogel, a teacher also convicted of drug possession; and Ksenia Chavana, arrested in February in Yekaterinburg on charges of high treason and raising money for the Ukrainian military.

Khavana returned to Russia to visit family. The owner of a California spa where Khavana previously worked told The Associated Press that Khavana was actually raising funds for relief efforts.

In a statement after the deal was announced, Fogel’s family said it was “unthinkable” that he was not included and urged the Biden administration to prioritize his release.

A senior administration official, who briefed reporters before the exchange on condition of anonymity in line with rules set by the White House, said the administration would redouble efforts to allow the remaining Americans to return home.

Participant imbalance

In prisoner swaps over the past few years, the U.S. government has released criminals convicted of serious crimes, including drug and arms traffickers and a Taliban drug lord.

The latest deal is no exception, as the US and Western allies agreed to hand over to Russia criminals who were found to have been properly charged and convicted.

The most high-profile example is the case of Vadim Krasikov, convicted on August 23, 2019 for the murder of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen who fought against Russian troops in Chechnya and later sought asylum in Germany.

When sentencing Krasikov to life imprisonment in 2021, German judges found that he had acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who issued him a false identity, passport and provided him with the means to commit the murder.

Throughout the negotiations, Russia has remained adamant about getting Krasikov back, making it clear that it was at the top of its wish list. Putin suggested earlier this year that he was interested in such a swap to free the “patriot” held in Germany.

Meanwhile, the Americans and Europeans released by Russia include people the U.S. has said were wrongly detained — like Gershkovich and Whelan — or who were generally considered to be held on unfounded charges.

“Deals like this come with tough choices,” Biden said, but added: “Nothing is more important to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad.”

It could have included Navalny

A key role in this agreement was played by a man who never took part in it: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

At the time of his death in February, officials were discussing a possible swap with Krasikov that would seek to satisfy Russia’s ongoing demands for Krasikov and release imprisoned Americans.

Administration officials described Navalny’s sudden and unexplained death as a setback for those efforts, but they have developed a new plan that they presented to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Eventually, several of Navalny’s associates were released.

All politics

Biden announced his commitment to the deal last week when he said in an Oval Office speech announcing his plan to drop out of reelection: “We are working around the clock to bring home Americans wrongfully detained around the world.”

On Thursday, he reveled in the success of a diplomatic feat in the final months of his administration, welcoming the families of returning Americans to the White House. In an open dig at the “America First” mantra of former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump, Biden said: “Today is a powerful example of why it’s so important to have friends in this world.”

Trump, who also had a history of hostage-taking and wrongly detaining Americans during his presidency, said during a June debate with Biden that he would fire Gershkovich as soon as he won the election.

On Thursday, he criticized the deal, falsely suggesting on his website Truth Social that the U.S. had given money to Russia for it.

“Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious, because we never get a good deal, in anything, but especially in a hostage swap,” Trump wrote.