An artist from St. Petersburg who was arrested in 2022 for protesting against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was included in the biggest prisoner exchange since the Cold War between Russia and the West.
The swap happened on Thursday when 16 people from the US, Germany, and Russia—including the American journalist Evan Gershkovich—were exchanged for eight Russian prisoners, hit men and spies among them.
The deal came after years of complex negotiations between Washington and Moscow, and culminated in emotional scenes as the prisoners walked free on a runway in the Turkish capital of Ankara. The swap was meant to have included Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who died in an Arctic jail before the agreement was concluded.
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US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were on hand to personally welcome the trio of freed Americans when they finally landed back on US soil, while Russian leader Vladimir Putin greeted the returning Russians in Moscow. Vadim Krasikov, the Russian assassin who murdered an anti-Kremlin Chechen fighter in Berlin, was included in the deal.
The Russian artist, Sasha Skochilenko, was arrested for replacing supermarket labels with information about the Kremlin’s assault on the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Russia nearly razed the city soon after invading Ukraine in early 2022. On one label, Skochilenko allegedly wrote, “the Russian army bombed an art school in Mariupol. About 400 people were hiding from shelling in it.” She reportedly wanted to demonstrate how free speech has been curtailed under Putin’s rule.
Skochilenko was filmed smiling, sporting a bright tie-dye shirt, and making heart shapes with her hands during her trial last year. The judge handed her a seven-year sentence last November.
Russian British citizen, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is also a US green card holder, joined Skochilenko in being released. They flew from Ankara to Cologne, landing late on Thursday evening.
Many other Russian artists remain imprisoned in Russia. Anastasia Dyudayeva, also from St. Petersburg, and her husband were found guilty of placing napkins emblazoned with anti-Kremlin slogans in a supermarket. An anime artist from Siberia called Tatiana Laletina was sent to prison for nine years on “state treason” charges for donating $30 to a Ukrainian foundation.