Study Group with Ann Simmons

When Journalism Becomes a Crime

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many Western journalists became the target of intimidation and verbal and physical attacks while trying to report on the war that the Kremlin kept insisting wasn’t a war. Some were forced to leave the country; others were pulled out by their news agencies. The real chilling effect came with the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be charged with spying in Russia since the Cold War. 

His jailing was followed shortly afterward by that of Alsu Kurmasheva, a U.S-Russian dual national journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She spent more than nine months locked up in horrific prison conditions, denied phone calls with her family, visits from U.S. consular officials, and proper medical care. In July 2024, Alsu was convicted in a secret trial of "spreading false information" about Russia's military and sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. She was released last August as part of a mass prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia that included Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and several Russian political dissidents. 

Alsu joins us to examine how to report in Russia when journalism becomes a crime and how the threat of retaliation influences reporting from this country.

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OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.