American Xenia Karelina was released from Russia in prison swap
American Xenia Karelina, who was arrested last year while visiting a Russian family, was released in prison exchange.
- The US and Russia conducted their largest major prisoner swap since the Cold War on August 1, 2024.
- Exchange Freed Freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva have won custody of Russia.
- The complex negotiations involved the Biden administration, Russia and five other countries, with Turkey serving as a neutral place for swaps.
A year ago, Russia and the United States carried out the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan from Russian custody.
The August 1, 2024 deal was the culmination of months of backdoor negotiations between former President Joe Biden’s administration, the Russian government, and five other countries’ governments, and has been one of the most important diplomatic operations between Russia and the West in decades.
In total, the historic swap included the release of 16 previously detained in Russia in exchange for eight people held in the US, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. Turkey was a neutral country where swaps took place.
Who was released from Russian custody in the swap?
More than dozens of people have been released from Russian prisons and labor camps. Some of them are Russian custody activists or prominent opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The deal also released five German citizens from Russian custody, three American citizens and one US resident.
The three Americans were Whelan, a former US Marine, Gershkovich, a journalist, and Ars Krumasheva, a Russian-American journalist.
The last famous prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States took place more than two years ago when American basketball player Britney Griner was swapped for the infamous Russian weapons dealer Victor match. He was held in American prisons for 12 years after being convicted of supporting terrorist groups conspired to kill Americans and supply anti-aircraft missiles. Griner was arrested in February 2022 after being sentenced to nine years in a drug smuggling prison, claiming that Russian customs officials had discovered a steam-covered cartridge containing oil derived from cannabis in their luggage.
Who is Paul Whelan?
Born in Canada and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Whelan worked as a police officer for over a decade before joining the US Marine Corps reserves. He was discontinued by the Marines after being found guilty in a special court battle that attempted to steal more than $10,000 at Al Assad Air Force Base in Iraq.
He was arrested during a visit to Russia in December 2018 and charged with spying that he and his family firmly denied. He was sentenced to 16 years of hard work at a work camp. At the time of his arrest, Whelan was head of global security at Borgwarner, a Michigan-based car supplier.
Who is Evan Gerschkovich?
Ghakovic, a US citizen of New Jersey, was detained in Russia in March 2023 and lived and worked in the country as one of the Moscow reporters for the Wall Street Journal. He was a former citizen of the Soviet Union and was certified by the Russian Foreign Ministry for his time as a domestic journalist.
His arrest came at a time when tensions between the West and Russia during the war grew a year after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. At the time, the Kremlin was cracking down on opposition activists, independent journalists and civil society groups, but USA Today reported earlier. By the time of his release he had been in custody in Russia for 17 months.
Who is Ars Krumacheva?
Kurmasheva is a Russian-American journalist and worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which was funded by the US during his detention.
She was detained in June 2023 while visiting Russia due to a family emergency for failing to register a US passport with Russian authorities. Authorities confiscated her US and Russian passports, preventing her from leaving, and then detaining her again in October 2023, denying her as a foreign agent. Kurmasheva and her employers have long denied the charges, called for detention and politically motivated charges. The major human rights and media watchdog organizations have called the arrests of Kurmasheva and Gershkovich and arrested some of the long-standing crackdowns on Russian independence and foreign media.
A few months later, Russian authorities began a third investigation into journalists to “spread false information” about the Russian military, convicted in July 2024.
Who is Vladimir Kara Muruza?
Former journalist and well-known opposition figure Kara Muruza was also part of the 2024 prisoner swap. Although he was born in Russia, he has double citizenship with the UK and is a US green card holder. He is a contribution columnist for the Washington Post.
Kara Muruza has been jailed on treason charges since 2022, spreading misinformation about the Russian army he rejected. In 2023, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was poisoned twice in 2015 and 2017. Kara Muruza claimed that both were attempts to assassinate using the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok, putting him in a coma. The Kremlin denied involvement. According to his Washington Post Bio, media investigations by Bellingcat and insiders and the officials of the Russian Federal Security Agency who were behind the addiction have been identified.
Contributions: Kinsey Crowley, Christopher Cann, Margie Cullen, USA Today Network.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA Today. You can contact her kapalmer@usatoday.com And with x @Kathrynplmr.
