Evan Gershkovich

Evan Gershkovich (born October 26, 1991)[1] is an American journalist and reporter at The Wall Street Journal covering Russia. He was detained by Russia's Federal Security Service on charges of espionage in March 2023, marking the first time an American journalist had been arrested on charges of spying in Russia since the Cold War. The White House and media advocacy groups have condemned the arrest.

Evan Gershkovich
BornOctober 1991 (age 31)
EducationBowdoin College (BA)
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • reporter
EmployerThe Wall Street Journal
Websiteevangershkovich.com

Experts have speculated that the motivation behind the order for Gershkovich's arrest was an anticipated prisoner exchange for one or more high-profile Russians imprisoned in other countries. Gershkovich, who remained in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine after his arrest in 2023.[2]

Early life and education

Gershkovich's parents, Ella and Mikhail Gershkovich, separately fled the Soviet Union during a period of mass emigration in the wake of rumors that Jews were about to be exiled to Siberia, ending up in the United States in 1979 and eventually New York City, where they met.[3][4] The couple moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where Gershkovich and his sister grew up speaking Russian at home.[5][6][7][8] Despite the home language, Gershkovich evaluated his level of Russian before his Moscow posting as "quite basic," gaining most of the fluency he now possesses on the ground.[9] Speaking with Russian journalists, Gershkovich recalled making all sorts of slip-ups and mistakes in Russian at the beginning of his Moscow stint; he would accidentally tell people he was "[sexually] aroused" to meet them (instead of "excited") or unintentionally use terms he did not know to be profane.[9]

Gershkovich graduated from Princeton High School, where he captained the soccer team, in 2010.[10] At Bowdoin College, he majored in philosophy and English,[11][12] wrote for The Bowdoin Orient and The Bowdoin Review, and DJ'd for WBOR, the campus radio station. He graduated in 2014.[13]

Career

Gershkovich worked for The New York Times from 2016 to 2017, The Moscow Times from 2017 to 2020, and Agence France-Presse from 2020 to 2022 before moving to The Wall Street Journal in January 2022.[7][12][14] He had lived in Russia for six years prior to his arrest, at the time of which he was based at the Journal's bureau in Moscow and covering the war in Ukraine.[7] He was working in Yekaterinburg when arrested, covering the Russian mercenary military organization Wagner.[12][15]

Arrest

On March 29, 2023, Gershkovich entered a restaurant in Yekaterinburg.[12][16] His phone was turned off two hours later. Lawyers for the Journal were unable to locate him.[15]

Gershkovich was detained by Russia's Federal Security Service under charges of espionage,[17][18][19] marking the first time an American journalist has been arrested in Russia on charges of spying since the Cold War.[7] According to NPR, a court, operating in closed session, ordered Gershkovich held until the end of May while investigations were ongoing.[20] According to Kommersant, he was scheduled to be transferred to Lefortovo prison while awaiting trial.[20] A conviction for espionage could carry a sentence of 20 years.[5][7][21]

A Russian court rejected his appeal against his pre-trial detention on 18 April 2023. The court rejected his legal team's offer to free him on bail of 50 million roubles ($614,000) or put him under house arrest.[22][23][24]

Reactions

The charges were "vehemently denied" by the Journal, and the arrest was criticized by the White House, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Society of Professional Journalists, and other media advocacy groups.[5][12] Within days NATO and the European Union issued statements criticizing the arrest.[25] On April 10, 2023, the US State Department officially designated Gershkovich as "wrongfully detained",[26] meaning his case will be transferred to the office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs.[27]

On 27 April 2023, the Biden administration sanctioned Russia's Federal Security Service and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence organization, accusing them of wrongfully detaining Americans.[28]

Analysis

The Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center's Tatiana Stanovaya said that Gershkovich's coverage of the war in Ukraine is likely what attracted authorities' attention.[16] Reporters Without Borders' Jeanne Cavalier said the arrest appeared to be "a retaliation measure" that was "very alarm(ing) because it is probably a way to intimidate all Western journalists that are trying to investigate aspects of the war on the ground in Russia".[5]

Former US ambassador in Russia John J. Sullivan said the arrest was likely a preliminary move in a desired prisoner exchange and that the fact Gershkovich had been charged with espionage rather than a lesser crime indicated the desired swap would likely be for a high-profile prisoner.[29] Former CIA Moscow station chief Daniel Hoffman agreed the timing of the arrest was "probably not a coincidence" and was likely ordered to gain leverage in a prisoner exchange.[29] Hoffman noted the week before the arrest, the U.S. Department of Justice had indicted Sergey Cherkasov for espionage, asserting Cherkasov was a Russian spy enrolled at Johns Hopkins under the guise of being a student from Brazil.[29] In March 2023, Cherkasov was imprisoned in Brazil for falsifying Brazilian documents, but the U.S. could seek to have him extradited in order to facilitate a prisoner swap.[29] Cavalier also hypothesized Russia would use Gershkovich as a "bargaining chip" for Cherkasov.[30] Another exchange, hypothesized by Andrey Zakharov, would be Gershkovich and Paul Whelan for Maria Mayer and Ludwig Gisch, who were arrested in Slovenia on charges of spying for Russia in January 2023.[31][32] The Moscow Times affirmed that speculation centered on Cherkasov, Mayer, and Gisch.[33]

See also

References
  1. Bella, Timothy (April 8, 2023). "Evan Gershkovich adored life in Russia. Now, the reporter waits in prison". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  2. "The 100 Most Influential People of 2023". Time. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  3. Bernstein, Elizabeth. "Essay | A Tense Wait for an Imprisoned Son". WSJ. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  4. Cramer, Philissa. "Gershkovich, Blume among Jews on Time's 'Most Influential' list". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  5. Grantham-Philips, Wyatte. "Who is Evan Gershkovich? What we know about WSJ reporter arrested by Russia for espionage". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  6. Joe Parkinson; Drew Hinshaw (March 31, 2023). "Who Is Evan Gershkovich? WSJ Reporter Loved Russia, the Country That Detained Him". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q117353778. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  7. "Russia arrests WSJ reporter on espionage charges". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  8. "Spit Thrice For Good Fortune". Hazlitt. February 14, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  9. "«Привет, я очень возбужден». Как американец русский язык учил". Цех.
  10. "Princeton High Graduate Evan Gershkovich Detained in Russia". TAPinto. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  11. "What is the American journalist Evan Gershkovich detained by the FSB known for?". Коммерсантъ (in Russian). March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  12. Michaels, Daniel; Salama, Vivian (March 30, 2023). "Biden Administration Condemns Detention of Wall Street Journal Reporter". WSJ. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  13. "Evan Gershkovich '14 Detained in Russia (March 30, 2023)". Office of the President. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  14. Flood, Brian (March 31, 2023). "Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia hailed by colleagues for charisma, courage". Fox News. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  15. "Russia arrests US journalist Evan Gershkovich on spying charge". BBC News. March 30, 2023. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  16. Victor, Daniel; Grynbaum, Michael M. (March 30, 2023). "Russia detains a Wall Street Journal reporter, accusing him of espionage". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  17. Russia detains Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich on suspicion of spying Archived March 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine Reuters, Andrew Osborn and Felix Light, March 30, 2023
  18. Russia arrests US journalist Evan Gershkovich on spying charge Archived March 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine Paul Kirby, BBC News, March 30, 2023
  19. Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia on spying charges Archived March 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine Sarah Dean, Anna Chernova and Julia Horowitz, CNN, March 30, 2023
  20. "Russia arrests 'Wall Street Journal' reporter, accusing him of espionage". NPR. March 30, 2023. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  21. Naylor, Aliide (March 30, 2023). "Russia arrests Wall Street Journal reporter for 'spying'". The Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  22. "Evan Gershkovich: US journalist arrested in Russia appears in court". BBC News. April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  23. "Russian Court Rejects Wall Street Journal Reporter's Appeal for Release from Detention on Espionage Charges – The USA Telegraph". theusatelegraph.com. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  24. "Russian court upholds detention of US reporter Evan Gershkovich". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  25. Cheslow, Daniella; Norman, Laurence (April 3, 2023). "U.S. Allies Demand Russia Release Evan Gershkovich". WSJ. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  26. Garrity, Kelly (April 10, 2023). "State Department designates WSJ reporter as 'wrongfully detained". Politico. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  27. Wright, George (April 10, 2023). "Evan Gershkovich: US says journalist is wrongfully detained in Russia". BBC News. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  28. "U.S. imposes sanctions on Russia and Iran for wrongful detention and hostage-taking of American citizens". April 27, 2023.
  29. Cullison, Alan; Strobel, Warren P. (March 31, 2023). "U.S.-Russia Rift Complicates Case of Arrested Journal Reporter". WSJ. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  30. Law, Tara (March 30, 2023). "The Real Reason Russia Charged a WSJ Reporter With Espionage". Time. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  31. "Арест журналиста WSJ Эвана Гершковича в России. Что рассказали Би-би-си те, кто с ним общался". BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  32. Walker, Shaun (March 24, 2023). "The 'ordinary' family at No 35: suspected Russian spies await trial in Slovenia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  33. Kozlov, Pyotr (March 31, 2023). "Hostage, Signal or Revenge? Spotlight on Russia's Reasons for Arresting WSJ Reporter". The Moscow Times. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
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