Evan Gershkovich says his arrest in Russia was carefully planned FSB sting
Gershkovich says the FSB used two meetings with a source to build a spy case and secure Putin’s approval for his arrest.
- The Wall Street Journal published an extract from Evan Gershkovich's book "This Cursed Beautiful Land" on Friday, detailing how the reporter was arrested in Russia in 2023 as the victim of an elaborate FSB sting operation.
- While reporting on Russian military production in Yekaterinburg, Gershkovich met a factory union contact who attempted to "thrust the papers into my hands" at a steakhouse, which he now identifies as an elaborate entrapment scheme.
- Although Gershkovich believed foreign correspondents enjoyed an "unspoken rule" of immunity from arrest, masked men from the Federal Security Service quickly seized him at the table, subjecting him to violence while being transported.
- Gershkovich later learned the FSB had a "backup plan" to arrest him in Siberia if the Yekaterinburg operation had failed, confirming the arrest was pre-planned by authorities to secure approval.
- Gershkovich, then 31, became the first U.S. reporter arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War; he was sentenced to 16 years before being freed in an East-West prisoner swap in August 2024.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Vladimir Putin was convinced that the American journalist Evan Geršković, who had been convicted in Russia on charges of spying under cover of preparing the material, was indeed a spy, and Geršković himself described it in a piece of his memoirs published in The Wall Street Journal.
The Moscow Times
Evan Gershkovich Says His Arrest in Russia Was Carefully Planned FSB Sting
U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich, in his first detailed published account of his arrest in Russia in 2023, says he was the victim of an elaborate sting operation by the FSB security service.
The American journalist describes in his book for the first time how he was arrested in a restaurant - He was preparing an article about Russian military production
An excerpt from WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich's upcoming book on his 2023 arrest and imprisonment in Russia and his investigation into why he was targeted (Evan Gershkovich/Wall Street Journal)
Evan Gershkovich / Wall Street Journal: An excerpt from WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich's upcoming book on his 2023 arrest and imprisonment in Russia and his investigation into why he was targeted — In an exclusive excerpt from his new book, ‘This Cursed Beautiful Land,’ Evan Gershkovich searches for answers about his arrest while reporting in Russia
Evan Gershkovich tells how a fake meeting in Yekaterinburg triggered an FSB operation, bringing it to 16 years in prison and a delicate international exchange. Read more Details on the capture and exchange of prisoners of the American journalist on News.it.
Journalist reveals how he was arrested by Russian authorities while preparing an article for the Wall Street Journal about Russian military production
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Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources are Center, 43% of the sources lean Right
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