Washington D.C. – Washington Examiner, March 21, 2025
One year ago was my fifth month of detention in a horrible, small, freezing prison cell in Kazan, Russia. I was sick and feverish, spending most days on a top bunk, which was slightly warmer and had a bit of sunlight, so I could read books and letters when I had the strength. All the prisoners were sick too, and we ran out of pain medication. I had one lemon left from a food package sent by friends before Christmas. I nibbled on it sparingly, trying to make it last as long as possible.
I tried keeping warm by wrapping up in two layers of grey, smelly blankets, but it was never enough. It was way below zero outside, and we had a small space heater that was broken more often than it worked. I couldn’t write letters to my loved ones, not that they would be sent anyway, because the pen in our cell was frozen solid.
Five months later, my picture was everywhere as I stepped off a plane to reunite with my family after nearly a year in a Russian prison. I’m a journalist with the American news organization Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who was detained by Vladimir Putin for nothing more than the so-called crime of having an American passport and doing my job. The deal that brought me home was mindbogglingly complicated: It featured 26 people from seven countries, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Every day since, I’ve been overwhelmed with gratitude as strangers from every part of the world stop and wish me and my family well.
