How biggest Russia-West prisoner swap since Cold War shows Iron Curtain really is back
The prisoner swap between the West and Russia is a reminder of the very real difference between freedom and tyranny
For anyone thinking that any future peace in Ukraine would mean relations between the West and Russia could return to normal, the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War is a clear demonstration that Putin’s regime is every bit as tyrannical as that of the communists who once occupied the Kremlin.
Heading east were people like Vadim Krasikov, a colonel in the Russian FSB secret service, who shot dead a Chechen man in a park in Berlin in 2019, in what a court found had been a “state-ordered murder”. Heading west were journalists and political dissidents – people who said things Putin didn’t like or who could be used as bargaining chips, like opposition activist Ilya Yashin and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Gershkovich, an American, had been sentenced to 16 years in prison on false charges of spying, while Yashin, a Russian, received eight-and-a-half years for criticising the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha and denouncing Russia’s invasion.
Their release is a diplomatic triumph for Joe Biden’s US administration; for Putin, however, there is little to celebrate.
During the Cold War, such exchanges took place on the Glienicke Bridge, which became famous as the ‘Bridge of Spies’. This time the venue was Ankara airport, but the message was the same: there is a sharp divide between the two sides and it’s easy to see who is right and who is wrong.
The consequences for Russia will be increasingly serious. The rule of law no longer applies and that means added risks for those thinking of doing business there – anyone involved in a dispute with a Putin ally is unlikely to get a fair hearing in court. High-profile prisoner exchanges like this serve as a warning that anyone who goes to Russia could also be seized as a hostage for future swaps.
The West’s sanctions have damaged Russia’s economy but some trade still continues. However, as power-mad as the communist dictators of old, Putin is clearly intent on building a new Iron Curtain. Walled off from the free world, he may discover that Russia’s economy, and his power, will only diminish.
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