Evan Gershkovich, 31, is an American citizen whose parents are from the Soviet Union.
He grew up in Princeton, New Jersey and graduated from Princeton High School in 2010.
Gershkovich studied philosophy at Bowdoin College in Maine, where he played soccer and graduated in 2014.
His relationship status is unknown.
Why was Evan Gershkovich in Moscow?
Gershkovich has lived in Moscow since 2017 and worked as a journalist.
The statement from the FSB confirmed that Gershkovich worked with press accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Moscow’s Lefortovo District Court ordered the arrest of 31-year-old American journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges and remanded in pre-trial detention until May 29
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said Gershkovich used his journalistic credentials as a cover for “activities that have nothing to do with journalism.”
He is the first American reporter to be arrested in Russia on espionage charges since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.
What does Russia say about Evan Gershkovich?
In the photo: Gershkovich in Russia. The Federal Security Service said Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg as he allegedly tried to obtain classified information
On March 30, Putin’s spokesman said: “There was already a statement from the FSB.
“All I can say is that, as far as we know, he was caught in the act.”
He did not elaborate on why he was caught in the act.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “What an employee of the American edition of The Wall Street Journal did in Yekaterinburg has nothing to do with journalism.
Unfortunately, it is not the first time that the status of “foreign correspondent”, a journalistic visa and accreditation has been used by foreigners in our country to cover up activities that are not journalism.
“This is not the first well-known Westerner to be “grabbed by the hand.”
Russian independent journalist Dmitry Kolezev said: ‘He understood this well, but he was sure that since he was not doing anything illegal, everything would be limited to ordinary surveillance and perhaps some form of intimidation.
“It turned out much worse.
“Evan is a very brave fellow, a good journalist, not a spy at all.”
What is Evan Gershkovich’s work history?
Evan Gershkovich is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering Russia, Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.
He began his journalism career at the New York Times, where he worked as a news assistant for nearly two years.
He then worked as a reporter in the Russian capital for The Moscow Times, an English-language news website, until 2020.
Gershkovich took a position as a reporter with the AFP news service before joining the Wall Street Journal in 2022 as their Moscow-based reporter.
His work can also be found in The New York Times, The Economist, MIT Technology Review, Foreign Policy and Politico Europe, among others.
He has been a guest on BBC, NPR, Deutsche Welle and France 24, among others.
Yekaterinburg was reportedly working on a story about the private military company Wagner before his arrest.
His latest Wall Street Journal article, published March 28, reported on Russia’s declining economy.
In the same month, he wrote about Bakhmut’s front lines in Ukraine, Russian aggression against US planes, and protests in the country of Georgia.