Overview of The New Yorker Radio Hour
This episode is a wide-ranging interview with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia in 2023 on espionage charges, spent 16 months in prison, and was later freed in a prisoner exchange. Speaking with David Remnick, Gershkovich discusses the circumstances of his arrest, the reality of daily life in Russia’s Lefortovo prison, the psychological impact of captivity, the death of Alexei Navalny, and the long process of adjusting to life after release. The conversation also centers on his new book, This Cursed Beautiful Land.
Why Gershkovich Was Arrested
A likely prisoner-swap setup
Gershkovich says he does not know for sure why he was targeted, but he believes the arrest was part of a broader Kremlin strategy:
- Putin had publicly instructed the FSB to “catch a spy” or otherwise intensify crackdowns on “traitors.”
- Russia was looking to build its “exchange fund”—a pool of prisoners it could use in future swaps.
- He believes the arrest of an American journalist was meant to be high-profile leverage, especially amid already ongoing negotiations over Americans such as Paul Whelan.
His view of his reporting
When asked whether his work was brave or reckless, Gershkovich calls it a mix of the two. He argues that reporting on Russian military readiness and the war effort was important journalism, even if it carried obvious danger.
Life Inside Lefortovo Prison
A highly controlled but psychologically punishing experience
Gershkovich describes Lefortovo as a place where the Russian state is highly calculated in how it handles prisoners, especially those it sees as politically useful.
- He was not tortured or interrogated extensively after arrest.
- Instead, he was treated as a “package”—someone to be kept healthy and intact for a future trade.
- Guards even checked on him before visits from U.S. diplomats and offered basic care when he injured his knee, reinforcing the sense that his value was transactional.
Daily routine and reading
He contrasts his treatment with that of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who was reportedly captured and killed under brutal conditions. Gershkovich’s confinement was less physically violent but deeply boring, isolating, and draining:
- He could read books, receive letters, and watch TV.
- The prison library was surprisingly rich, with works by dissidents, memoirs, and even Western titles.
- He read authors like Solzhenitsyn and Brodsky, and noted the irony that the prison initially allowed a broad range of books before later removing works by “traitors” or anti-state material.
Prison Culture, Humor, and His Cellmate
Human connection in captivity
One of the interview’s most memorable sections is Gershkovich’s account of his cellmate, an illegal weapons maker with whom he developed a surprisingly strong rapport.
- Their relationship was built on humor and shared cultural references.
- Gershkovich explains that in Russian prison culture, entering a cell properly matters, including why you may need to explain your “crime” before a handshake.
- His cellmate’s reaction to “espionage” was to laugh and joke that it was “just like in Shawshank Redemption”—everyone claims to be innocent.
The prison’s strange openness
Despite censorship, there was also a bizarrely open understanding among prisoners and guards that Gershkovich was being held for a swap. That awareness made the situation feel surreal: dangerous, but also bureaucratic and transactional.
Letters, Lawyers, and Communication With the Outside
A managed but functioning correspondence system
Gershkovich explains that letters to and from prison were allowed, though monitored:
- His lawyers could visit, though those meetings were likely bugged.
- He received letters about once a week and wrote letters on Sunday nights.
- Prison censors stamped correspondence, though the concern seemed to be mainly about escape codes, not ordinary emotional content.
What surprised him
Friends were careful not to use profanity in letters, worried they might not get through. Gershkovich found this both touching and funny, and it showed how uncertain everyone was about the boundaries of the prison system.
Navalny’s Death and the Emotional Low Point
A devastating turning point
Gershkovich says one of his lowest moments came when he learned about Alexei Navalny’s death in prison.
- He had been following reports through the press translated by lawyers’ interns.
- There had been growing hopes for a swap that might include both him and Paul Whelan.
- Navalny’s death forced him to confront the possibility that even if exchange negotiations existed, they did not guarantee safety.
Emotional impact
He describes the aftermath as a kind of haze—lying on his cot, doing little, and trying to process the reality of captivity and political brutality.
Life After Release
Joy, shock, and disorientation
After his release, Gershkovich felt immediate relief and joy, but also deep confusion:
- He could not sleep at first.
- He felt overwhelmed by the number of people, sounds, and demands of normal life.
- He describes the transition as like coming down from the International Space Station—suddenly there is too much stimulation and too much freedom.
Relearning ordinary life
He says prison left him institutionalized:
- He had lost a sense of agency.
- He struggled with making simple decisions.
- He needed therapy, including PTSD-focused treatment, and says it took roughly as long to feel normal again as he had spent in prison.
His Relationship to Russia Now
Mixed feelings, not nostalgia for the regime
Gershkovich says he does not have Stockholm syndrome and does not support the Russian state. Still, he feels a lasting connection to Moscow and Russian culture:
- He made close friends there.
- He grew up with Russian food and culture.
- He misses Moscow itself, though less than he used to.
- He distinguishes between the country and its people and the current authoritarian government.
Would he go back?
He says he could imagine returning only if:
- Putin were long gone
- and the political environment had changed substantially.
Even then, he does not expect Russia to quickly produce a democratic reformer on the scale of Sakharov or Navalny.
Key Takeaways
- Gershkovich believes his arrest was likely part of Russian hostage diplomacy.
- His imprisonment was less about overt torture than about control, isolation, and being preserved for exchange.
- Daily life in Lefortovo was psychologically heavy but occasionally marked by dark humor and human connection.
- Navalny’s death deeply affected him and underscored the brutality of the system.
- Recovery after release was slow and required therapy, structure, and time.
- He remains emotionally attached to Moscow and Russian culture, while being clear-eyed about the authoritarian reality of Putin’s Russia.
Notable Insight
Prison, for Gershkovich, was not only a place of punishment but a place where identity was reduced to usefulness—where the state viewed him less as a person than as an asset in a geopolitical exchange.