Archive · 25 Sep 2026
Gershkovich Describes Alleged FSB Sting Behind His 2023 Arrest
Evan Gershkovich is an American reporter who was arrested in Russia in 2023.
He says Russian security officers planned the arrest as a trap.
He was reporting on military production and met a factory union leader in Yekaterinburg.
At their second meeting, the source gave him papers about tank production.
Gershkovich says masked officers then arrived and arrested him.
He says they covered his head, put him in a van and hit him while asking questions.
A Russian court later sentenced him to 16 years in prison for espionage.
He was freed in a prisoner swap in August 2024.
Russia says he was caught gathering secret information, but Gershkovich and others strongly deny that.
Evan Gershkovich says the FSB planned his 2023 arrest during reporting meetings in Yekaterinburg.
He says a source unexpectedly handed him papers about alleged tank production before masked officers arrested him.
Gershkovich describes being handcuffed, hooded, placed in a van, punched and questioned.
He was sentenced to 16 years for espionage before release in an East-West prisoner swap in August 2024.
Russia says he was caught collecting confidential information, while Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government deny he was a spy.
- Who
- Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was arrested by Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB.
- What
- Gershkovich says his arrest was an elaborate, planned FSB sting during a reporting assignment.
- When
- The arrest occurred in 2023; he was released in an East-West prisoner swap in August 2024, and his account was published on September 25.
- Where
- The arrest took place during a meeting in Yekaterinburg, Russia; he says the FSB also had a backup plan involving Siberia.
- Why
- Gershkovich says the operation was intended to make Russian President Vladimir Putin believe he was a spy and secure approval for his arrest.
Gershkovich and Supporters
Russian Authorities
Nature of the arrest
Gershkovich and Supporters
Gershkovich says the FSB staged an elaborate sting, arranged meetings with a source and planned to have him arrested.
Russian Authorities
Russian authorities accused him of espionage; Vladimir Putin said he was caught red-handed while collecting confidential information.
What the documents meant
Gershkovich and Supporters
Gershkovich says the source unexpectedly handed him papers with hand-copied figures about tank production, contrary to prior safety plans.
Russian Authorities
Russian authorities treated his actions as the collection of confidential information, according to Putin’s account.
Whether he was a spy
Gershkovich and Supporters
Gershkovich, The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government strongly deny that he was a spy.
Russian Authorities
Russia prosecuted and sentenced him for espionage, reflecting its position that his activities were criminal.
- Reporter
- Evan Gershkovich
- Employer
- The Wall Street Journal
- Arrest
- 2023, in Yekaterinburg, Russia
- Sentence
- 16 years in prison for espionage
- Release
- August 2024, in an East-West prisoner swap
- Accused agency
- Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB)
- Russian position
- President Vladimir Putin said Gershkovich was caught collecting confidential information