Hugs & Tears: Princeton’s Evan Gershkovich Is Home

PRINCETON, NJ — Wall Street Journal reporter and Princeton native, Evan Gershkovich, landed on U.S. soil late Thursday night after being freed from Russian prison in a historic prisoner swap.

Gershkovich was detained in Russia on March 2023 while reporting in Yekaterinburg, and charged with espionage.

The prisoner swap also included Paul Whelan, a former marine and corporate security executive from Michigan; Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist from Radio Free Europe and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post contributing columnist.

The flight carrying Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva arrived at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington at 11:37 on Thursday, following a journey from Turkey, where the prisoner swap took place.

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Gershkovich’s parents were present to greet him at the airport.

“All four have been imprisoned unjustly in Russia: Paul for nearly six years, Vladimir since 2022, Evan since March of 2023, and Alsu since October of 2023,” President Biden said in an address.

“Russian authorities arrested them, convicted them in show trials, and sentenced them to long prison terms with absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever. None.”

Last month, Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison after a quick trial and conviction, that Washington regarded as a sham. He had pleaded not guilty.

Just before his release from Russian prison, Gershkovich made a bold proposal.

While filling out a mandatory clemency form addressed to Vladimir Putin, Gerhkovich asked if he could interview the Russian President after being freed.

“The last line submitted a proposal of his own: After his release, would Putin be willing to sit down for an interview?” WSJ reported.

Russian authorities allowed Gershkovich to leave with the paper he penned during detention, the letters he wrote and the “makings of a book he labored over” the Journal said.

Hundreds of journalists, including friends and colleagues, were at the airport waiting to catch the first glimpse of the freed Americans.

The son of Soviet emigres who settled in New Jersey, Gershkovich moved to Russia in 2017 to work for The Moscow Times before being hired by the Journal in 2022.

He graduated from Princeton High School in 2010 and then attended Bowdoin College.

Kathie Foster, Acting Superintendent, Princeton Public Schools released a statement saying the district was relieved and delighted at the news of Gershkovich's release.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ12), said it was a relief to see those imprisoned unjustly return home to their loved ones.

“It is wonderful to see the release of journalist and Princeton native Evan Gershkovich, along with several other American citizens wrongfully detained overseas. I join all of America in welcoming Evan home after a grueling 16 months of unjustified imprisonment in Russia. A graduate of Princeton High School, Evan is a beloved former resident of New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District and we are so relieved he is safely on his way home,” Watson Coleman said in a statement.

“It is an immense relief that those unjustly imprisoned will be reunited with their loved ones. I am grateful to the Biden-Harris administration, the State Department, and our international allies for working to ensure the success of this prisoner swap and bringing Evan home!"

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