Former NPR Moscow correspondent on WSJ reporter held in Russia: Probably in wrong place at wrong time
Former NPR Moscow correspondent Lucian Kim discusses the plight of his friend Evan Gershkovich, who is being held in Russia on espionage charges widely considered dubious.
The Russian government arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich last week, slapping him with espionage charges widely considered preposterous. But there are unanswered questions surrounding the controversial capture, with the most important being: Why him?
Many have speculated that the 31-year-old reporter New Jersey native was arrested so Russia could offer him up in a prisoner swap, while some feel it’s the latest example of Russian President Vladimir Putin using Americans as leverage to pressure the West and deter the U.S. from helping Ukraine in its war effort. He could have simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time, and others believe the Kremlin probably insists Gershkovich violated its strict journalism laws, which are so over-the-top that many America news organizations don’t bother sending reporters to Russia any longer.
Lucian Kim, a Global Fellow with the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and former NPR Moscow correspondent, struck up a friendship with Gershkovich in 2019. Kim noted that there simply aren’t many American journalists left in Russia and the Wall Street Journal reporter probably stood out for seeking the truth. Gershkovich came to the WSJ after prior stints at the Moscow Times, Agence France-Presse and New York TImes.
"Evan is a fluent Russian speaker because of his family background, and he was traveling around the country and was interested in sensitive issues as a reporter," Kim told Fox News Digital.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russian officials on espionage charges that are widely considered bogus. (Fox News)
"He was interested in Russia's war effort and how the economy was doing. He was interested in public sentiment. How were people reacting to all these body bags coming back? And these were, of course, sensitive issues," Kim continued. "I think from the point of view of the Russian security services, he might have been in some places which might have made him look suspicious in terms of building a case against him. That's just speculation."
Gershkovich has formally appealed his detention, according to Russian state media.
In March 2022, Russia took censorship to new heights when it enacted a new law that would send journalists to prison for up to 15 years for spreading "false information" about the country’s invasion of Ukraine the previous month. The law was announced as Putin scrambled to control the narrative and many pointed out that anything that didn’t coincide with the Kremlin’s messaging could be deemed "false information." The laws are so harsh that reporters aren’t even allowed to refer to the invasion as a "war," and several news organizations such as The New York Times pulled its reporters from the country as a result.
New York Times reporter Michael Schwirtz, another friend of Gershkovich's, said the ordeal has left him unable to sleep.
"It's just awful," he told Fox News Digital. "I haven't been sleeping, and so many of Evan's friends are going through the same thing. It's hard to imagine what he's enduring right now. And, of course, there's a little bit of guilt, too. You know, we always talked about this being a possibility. I didn't have this conversation with Evan specifically, but, with my colleagues at The Times… We were all aware that this danger existed, and my colleagues persisted in going, Evan persisted in going, and this is what happened. It feels terrible."
As he sits in prison in Moscow, his friends have encouraged supporters to send emails to FreeGershkovich@gmail.com for him to read. By law, the messages must then be translated into Russian before he can see them.
Schwirtz could only guess as to why his friend was targeted by Russia, but he surmised it was more that he was an American journalist who could fetch a high price than anything particular about the nature of his work.
"It seems as if basically the Kremlin just decided at this moment to trash its longstanding policy of not going after Westerners and start treating American journalists the same way it's treated its own journalists for years," he said.
Until he was abruptly arrested last week, Gershkovich had been regularly traveling to Russia to put a spotlight on issues inside Putin’s country. His work, which can be accessed by anyone as the Wall Street Journal removed the paywall, reveals stunning truths about the nation and certainly didn’t shy away from calling the invasion of Ukraine a war. Gershkovich, whose parents emigrated from the former Soviet Union, has always loved and admired the Russian people, according to his friends and colleagues, while still reporting critically on its authoritarian government at great personal risk. He admired the local punk rock scene in Moscow and played soccer there as well, a sport he excelled at in his youth.
The last piece Gershkovich wrote before being arrested, "Russia’s economy is starting to come undone," took brutal jabs at the way Putin’s war has devastated revenue.
"The opening months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year drove an increase in oil and natural-gas prices that brought a windfall for Moscow. Those days are over," Gershkovich wrote alongside colleague Georgi Kantchev.
"The country’s biggest exports, gas and oil, have lost major customers. Government finances are strained. The ruble is down over 20% since November against the dollar. The labor force has shrunk as young people are sent to the front or flee the country over fears of being drafted. Uncertainty has curbed business investment," they continued before quoting a former Russian Central Bank official who said "Russia’s economy is entering a long-term regression."
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Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's imprisonment in Russia on spying charges has caused international outrage. (Wall Street Journal/Screenshot)
Gershkovich’s other recent work includes reports headlined "Russia makes a habit of harassing U.S. Planes, Pentagon says," "Artillery shortage hamper’s Russia’s offensive in Eat Ukraine, Western officials say," "Putin’s war rhetoric rallies Russian border town, but nerves fray," and "Russians in Moscow mourn Ukrainians killed in war."
But Russia has maintained that Gershkovich was arrested for espionage, not violating its laws against free press. Kim pointed out that Gershkovich’s reporting duties took him to remote regions of the country that could be used to frame him. He was arrested in Yekaterinburg, a city 900 miles east of Moscow.
"The fact that he’s being charged with espionage is very serious… as a foreign correspondent traveling outside of Moscow, you always pick up the attention of the local security services. And I think especially in the climate now, the Russian security services are paying an especially large amount of attention to what foreign correspondents are doing," Kim said.
"As far as we know, it was actually his second trip to the city of Yekaterinburg, which is in the Ural Mountains. There is a defense industry there. There's a large tank factory north of Yekaterinburg," Kim continued. "So, the fact that he was there asking questions about public sentiment towards the Russian war effort… that put him in a place that he was not used to and could be used against him because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
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Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since 1986 when U.S. News and World Report correspondent Nicholas Daniloff was detained. Daniloff was released without charges 20 days later in a swap for a Soviet Union’s United Nations mission who was being held by the FBI. Unless the Biden administration is able to swap Gershkovich for an asset coveted by Putin, he is likely facing a trial that will be held behind closed doors and would almost certainly result in a conviction and lengthy prison sentence.
As Gershkovich’s freedom hangs in the balance, Kim believes it’s crucial that everyone remembers why he was in Russia in the first place.
"The fact that he is charged with espionage by the Russian security services has no bearing on reality. Evan is a journalist," Kim said.
Last year, WNBA star Brittney Griner spent nearly 10 months in a Russian prison for having vape cartridges with cannabis oil inside her luggage. She was eventually sent home when she was swapped for Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death."
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Brittney Griner, in red, on the tarmac as Viktor Bout, with the envelope, walks by. (AP)
"The espionage case is a whole different ballgame, and it might hint to what kind of trade the Russians are hoping to make," Kim said.
President Biden has called on Russia to release him, and his administration has said it will do everything possible to bring him home, as well as imprisoned U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. The Wall Street Journal has also defended Gershkovich and called for his freedom.
"The Wall Street Journal demands the immediate release of our colleague, Evan Gershkovich, a distinguished journalist who was arrested while reporting in Russia. We know what’s going on in the world because of the fearless reporting of journalists like Evan. Evan’s case is a vicious affront to a free press, and should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world. No reporter should ever be detained for simply doing their job," a Wall Street Journal spokesperson said.
Russian state news has reported that Gershkovich was ordered to be held in custody until May 29.
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The Wall Street Journal’s editor-in-chief Emma Tucker condemned the detainment of Gershkovich on Monday in an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, but shared she is "cautiously reassured" by reports he is not being mistreated.
Tucker said they've heard unverified reports from a Russian government group that has allegedly been to the Lefortovo prison and seen Gershkovich.
"We're cautiously reassured by their reports, which are that he's well, he's joking, he's eating. He's not being mistreated. But… we can't verify these reports. What we really want is to have our own eyes on Evan so that we can report back to his family that he's OK and he's not being mistreated," she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.