Things to know about the largest US-Russia prisoner swap in post-Soviet history

WASHINGTON — The US and Russia on Thursday their largest prisoner exchange completed in the history of the post-Soviet Union, a deal involving 24 people, many months of negotiations and concessions from other European countries that released Russians in captivity as part of the exchange.

Here are some things you should know:

The 24 people — some prominent, some not — include a collection of journalists and political dissidents, suspected spies, a computer hacker and a fraudster. Even a man convicted of murder.

Russia has released 16 people, including Evan Gershkovich, Wall Street Journal reporter And Paul Whelan, a security manager from MichiganBoth faced lengthy prison sentences after being convicted in Russia’s highly politicized justice system on espionage charges that the U.S. government called baseless.

The journalist from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was also released by Moscow Alsu Kurmashevaan American and Russian citizen who was convicted in July of spreading false information about the Russian military — charges her family and employer have denied — and Vladimir Kara-Murzaa Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize winner who served 25 years on treason charges widely seen as politically motivated.

The most notorious of the eight people Russia got back is Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted in Germany in 2021 of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years earlier, apparently on orders from Moscow’s security services. It also received two alleged “sleeper” agents held in Slovenia, three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S. and two men returning from Norway and Poland.

That is unlikely.

The US and Russia have previously concluded several prisoner swaps during Russia’s war with Ukraine, including a December 2022 swap in which Moscow releases WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.

But none of these exchanges resulted in a meaningful improvement in relations, especially at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to stop his aggression against Ukraine and Washington continues to send significant military aid to Kiev.

Prisoner swaps have been a rare source of compromise and an alignment of mutually acceptable interests rather than a reflection of something broader. Still, the fact that the countries were able to strike the deal at a time of open hostility is remarkable.

While Thursday’s deal covers the highest-profile Americans held in Russia, including two who have been formally identified as wrongfully detained, several others remain in custody.

The group includes Travis Leake, a musician convicted of drug charges and sentenced to prison; Gordon Black, an American soldier convicted of theft and making death threats; Marc Fogel, a teacher, was also convicted on drug charges; and Ksenia Khavanawho was arrested in Yekaterinburg in February on charges of treason. He was accused of collecting money for the Ukrainian army.

Khavana had returned to Russia to visit family. The owner of the California spa where Khavana had previously worked told The Associated Press that Khavana was actually raising money for humanitarian aid.

In a statement after the deal was announced, Fogel’s family said it was “unthinkable” that he had not been included and urged the Biden administration to prioritize his release.

A senior administration official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of the swap under ground rules set by the White House, said the administration would redouble its efforts to get the remaining Americans home.

In recent years, the U.S. government has used prisoner exchanges to free criminals convicted of serious crimes, including drug and arms dealers and a Taliban drug lord.

The latest deal was no exception, with the US and Western allies agreeing to extradite criminals who had been correctly charged and convicted back to Russia.

The most striking example of this was by far Vadim Krasikovwho was convicted of the August 23, 2019 murder of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen who had fought against Russian forces in Chechnya and later sought asylum in Germany.

When Krasikov was sentenced to life in prison in 2021, German judges ruled that he had acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who had provided him with a false identity, passport and the means to carry out the murder.

Throughout the negotiations, Russia has remained adamant about getting Krasikov back, making it clear that he was at the top of its wish list. Putin hinted earlier this year that he was interested in such a swap to free a “patriot” held in Germany.

In contrast, the Americans and Europeans released by Russia are people the US has identified as being wrongly detained – like Gershkovich and Whelan – or who are generally considered to be detained on baseless charges.

“Deals like this come with tough decisions,” Biden said, but added: “There is nothing more important to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad.”

At the heart of the deal was a man who was never involved: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

When he died in February, officials were discussing a possible exchange between him and Krasikov as a way to satisfy Russia’s relentless demand for Krasikov and free the captured Americans.

Administration officials described Navalny’s sudden and unexplained death as a setback to that effort, but drew up a new plan to present to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Eventually, several of Navalny’s associates were released.

Biden had already announced his commitment to a deal last week, when he said in a speech at the White House in which he announced his plan to abandon his re-election campaign: “We are also working around the clock to bring home Americans wrongfully detained around the world.”

On Thursday, he basked in the success of a diplomatic feat accomplished in the final months of his administration, welcoming the families of returning Americans to the White House. In an apparent dig at the “America First” mantra of Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican nominee, Biden said: “Today is a powerful example of why it is essential to have friends in this world.”

Trump, who has also been concerned with hostage-taking and wrongly detained Americans during his presidency, claimed during the debate with Biden in June that he would release Gershkovich once he won the election.

On Thursday, he criticized the deal by falsely claiming on his platform Truth Social that the US had given Russia money for the deal.

“Are we going to release murderers, killers, or villains? Just curious because we never make good deals on anything, especially hostage exchanges,” Trump wrote.