LOS ANGELES.–Stuck in Russian prison facing trial for espionage, 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has very little chance to getting out Russia anytime soon. Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinberg March 29, 2023 by Russia’s Federal Security Service [FSB], accused of spying for the CIA, collecting data on Russia’s military manufacturing. Wall Street Journal denies Gershkovich worked for the CIA or any other U.S. or foreign spy agency but was on assignment covering the Russian-Ukraine War. Why Gershkovich was in Yekaterinberg some 1,000 miles east of Moscow isn’t known, certainly hasn’t been explained by the WSJ or State Department. Russian authorities say Gershkovich spied for the CIA on Russia’s arms manufacturing industry in one of Russia’s biggest military hubs. White House says it’s doing everything to get Gershkovich out.
Early on in the Ukraine War, Biden officials successfully swapped out 32-year-old WNBA star Brittney Griner from a Russian gulag, exchanging her for high value Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. But at the time of the exchange Dec. 8, 2022, it was only 10 months into the Feb. 24, 2022 start of the Ukraine War. Griner was caught at a Moscow airport, traveling to play Russian basketball, with cannabis-laced vape cartridges violating Russia’s strict drug laws. Yet the White House and State Department claimed that Griner was unlawfully detained, despite breaking Russia’s drug laws. So, when it comes to Gershkovich, it’s a whole different situation, being a U.S. journalist reporting working for the WSJ’s Moscow bureau. Gershkovich had no Russian approval to travel some 1,000 miles from his WSJ Moscow bureau, allegedly on a completely different assignment.
Gershkovich faces an uncertain future in the Russian courts where the Kremlin has made a strong case against him for spying. Spying carries up to 20 years in a Russian penal colony, unless diplomatic relations change at some point between the U.S. and Russia. President Joe Biden, 81, has all but declared war on the Russian Federation, all to back Ukraine’s border dispute with the Russian Federation. So, when it comes to U.S.-Russian relations, Biden ended decades of diplomacy, détente and arms control, leaving the U.S. in a state of war with the Kremlin. How’s the State Department supposed to have back channels for negotiating a prisoner swap, when there are no channels at all? What’s Biden’s plan to deal with attacks in the Red Sea on commercial shipping when he’s a war with the Kremlin? No one at the White House and State Department figured these things out.
State Department officials confirmed that Russia rejected any proposal to win the release of Gershkovich Dec. 5, 2023. “Russia’s latest move toward a sham trial is, while exposed, deeply disappointing and still no less outrageous,” said Emma Tucker, the WSJ’s Editor-in-chief. Instead of hurling insults at the Kremlin, wouldn’t Tucker be better off biting her tongue to prevent burning bridges with the Kremlin? “Journalism is not a crime. Evan’s case is an assault on free press. We had hoped to avoid this moment and now expect the U.S. government to redouble efforts to get Eve released,” Tucker said, in another feckless statement. How does it help Evan’s cause when she denounces Russia’s judicial system. Wouldn’t Tucker help Evan more by keeping her thoughts about a free press and sham trial to herself? Tucker knows that Russia has no free press.
When it comes to getting Evan out, Biden should stop insulting 71-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin who holds all the cards. With Biden at war with the Kremlin, he has the choice to continue the war or move the conflict to the peace table where Ukraine and Russia can reach a mutually satisfying conclusion to the two-and-half-year-old war. “We would welcome them engaging seriously with us to obtain the release of Evean Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, but so far we have see them reuse to take us up on our proposals, and we hope that they will change the way they’ve handled this going forward,” said State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller. What doesn’t Miller or the State Department get that the U.S. is at war with the Russian Federation in Ukraine? All normal channels for resolving disputes have been ended by Biden’s proxy war against the Kremlin.
If the WSJ or State Department wish to get U.S. detainees out of Russian jails, Biden needs to move the Ukraine conflict to the peace table to negotiate an end to the conflict. Putin makes a truce overture yesterday, as a preliminary demand for ending the conflict, obviously subject to continued discussions and negotiations. Instead of welcoming the opportunity to end the conflict, Ukraine’s 46-year-old President Voldymyr Zelensky called Putin’s proposal “insulting:” and “manipulative,” not the kind of response inviting dialogue. Then, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Putin is in no position to dictate terms of any peace deal. Well, with that belligerent attitude, how can anyone at the White House claim they’re working on getting U.S. detainees out of Russian jail? Putin’s recent offer was meant as a starting point, not as an outrageous demand to peace on his terms.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
