Evan Gershkovich on the background of the arrest in Russia: The FSB set a trap

In the spring of 2023, Evan Gershkovich, an experienced journalist of an American daily, went to Yekaterinburg - a city that is one of the key centers of the Russian defense industry. Its goal was to collect materials for an article about military production in Russia. While working, he met twice with the head of the trade union of one of the local factories.

During the second meeting, which took place at a popular steakhouse, Gershkovich's interlocutor unexpectedly handed him hand-copied data tables. According to the source, they were supposed to concern the production of Russian tanks.

Arrested in front of everyone

As Gershkovich was taking notes on the information he was conveying, he suddenly heard the sound of marching. Surprised, he looked up and saw a group of masked men approaching his table. "I was terrified - had I endangered my informant? However, I was immediately overcome with panic. I instinctively tried to hide the papers between the bench and the wall," the journalist recalls in the published fragment of his book "This Cursed Beautiful Land."

The men took action without hesitation. Gershkovich was brutally dragged from behind the table, handcuffed, and a black bag was placed over his head. He was then taken to a van, where he was choked and beaten in the stomach during interrogation.

The FSB trap and Putin's decision

Only after his release did Gershkovich learn what exactly the FSB's plan was. It turned out that the Russian services had prepared an "emergency plan" - if the operation in Yekaterinburg failed, they intended to detain the journalist during his next trip, this time to Siberia.

According to Gershkovich, both meetings with the informant were carefully planned by the FSB to convince President Vladimir Putin that the American journalist was a spy. “Putin, it seems to me, completely believed this narrative,” writes the reporter.

16 years in prison and prisoner exchange

Evan Gershkovich became the first American journalist to be arrested in Russia on espionage charges since the Cold War. The court sentenced him to 16 years in a penal colony. Only in August 2024 was he released as part of a high-profile prisoner exchange between the East and the West.

The journalist emphasizes that before leaving for Russia, he and his editorial team were aware of the risk. It was agreed that he should not accept any documents from sources. However, during the meeting in the steakhouse, the informant handed him the papers, contrary to previous arrangements.

Gershkovich has covered the detentions of other Americans in Russia over the years, as well as attacks on Russian journalists. However, as he writes, the correspondents believed that foreigners were in a sense protected - they could be expelled from the country, but not arrested. His case showed that this unwritten rule no longer applies.

The Kremlin has not officially commented on Gershkovich's latest revelations. In one of the interviews given in February 2024 to the American journalist Tucker Carlson, President Putin stated that the reporter was "caught red-handed" while collecting secret information. Gershkovich himself, his editorial team and the US government strongly deny the allegations of espionage.