Freed U.S.-Russian Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva: ‘Our Work Right Now Is to Be a Witness to History’

Alsu Kurmasheva, a longtime writer for the U.S.-funded RFE/RL quality outlet’s Tatar-Bashkir service, became the 2nd U.S. writer to beryllium jailed since Russia’s penetration of Ukraine erstwhile she was detained successful October 2023.

The dual U.S.-Russian citizen, who lives successful Prague, was sentenced to 6.5 years successful situation successful July connected charges of spreading “false information” astir the Kremlin’s warfare successful Ukraine that her household and leader denied. Just weeks aboriginal connected Aug. 1, she was freed successful a historical captive speech betwixt Russia and the West.

Ahead of accepting the Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award successful New York, Kurmasheva spoke to The Moscow Times astir her acquisition successful prison, the captive swap, beingness since being released and raising consciousness for her imprisoned colleagues.

This interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

The Moscow Times: Before your arrest, you worked for Radio Free Europe’s Tatar-Bashkir service, wherever you covered issues facing these Indigenous communities and quality rights. Considering the intensified unit connected Indigenous activism since the invasion, it seems similar this whitethorn person been 1 of the reasons wherefore you were targeted. Would you accidental so?

AK: I've been moving arsenic a writer for Radio Free Europe for much than 20 years. ... I saw my ngo determination to springiness a dependable to the Tatar assemblage who had nary escaped media, nary resources and not adjacent acquisition to openly speak. It's similar centuries of oppression. The Radio Free Europe Tatar-Bashkir work was truly large successful its mission. I loved each infinitesimal and each time of working, I loved each project.

There were amended times successful presumption of property freedom, determination were worse times. During amended times, my vigor shows were connected section FM stations successful Kazan and radical would admit my voice. There were worse times during the Cold War, but I knew astir them lone from books and archives, and the worse times for property state are now. The journalists astatine RFE person ever faced those risks due to the fact that they’re a media institution with much than 70 years of past broadcasting to countries wherever determination is nary property freedom. There person been journalists who person been imprisoned who person been harassed. ... There were definite risks, of course. But cipher would deliberation that the Russian authorities would spell truthful acold arsenic to imprison a journalist, a parent of 2 children, a pistillate successful her autochthonal Tatarstan, successful her autochthonal Kazan wherever radical cognize me.

The different constituent was your U.S. citizenship. 

That was different irony of it. I was kept determination precisely due to the fact that I was an American national and I was a journalist. They were treating maine arsenic a Russian captive — adjacent worse, due to the fact that I didn't person entree to telephone calls with my family, which different inmates had. It's precise important successful situation to person astatine slightest a 10-15 infinitesimal play telephone telephone with your loved ones. We’re not talking astir visits; of course, those were banned. I was fortunate to person visits from a lawyer and I was getting tons of letters.

What is beingness similar successful a Russian women's prison, and did your attraction disagree from that of different inmates? 

Women successful prisons are driven by fearfulness and get nary enactment from outside. If each antheral captive has a woman oregon a woman oregon a parent extracurricular waiting for him, sending letters and sending nutrient packages, women don't person that. Most of them person problems with their families. Most of them don't person husbands oregon boyfriends. And those who person children, the children are either successful orphanages or, successful the champion lawsuit scenario, are being taken successful by their relatives oregon extended family. They can't trust connected anybody other and they trust lone connected themselves.

Any wrongdoing — and by wrongdoing, I mean, you're not making your furniture correctly oregon you don't get up astatine 6 a.m. precisely erstwhile you person to get up, but determination is nary clock, determination is nary way of clip — these ‘wrongdoings’ effect successful punishments, and the punishment is the hold of the sentence. All those things are making a immense interaction connected the affectional and carnal well-being of women.

Another happening is the conditions, astatine slightest successful the situation wherever I was successful Kazan. It's an aged situation dating backmost to the extremity of the 19th century. The conditions were precise bad. There was nary blistery h2o successful wintertime — short, precise abbreviated showers doubly a week. It has a immense interaction connected affectional well-being erstwhile women can't spend to person their basal hygienic standards.

Another happening I've noticed among women prisoners is that they're not consenting to unite, to cooperate. There are idiosyncratic acts of kindness and support, of course, but it's harder for women to combat for their rights successful prison. I instrumentality this arsenic a effect of the [wider] concern successful the state wherever it's harder for women to combat for their rights and enactment their rights. 

Were you capable to marque connections oregon find immoderate benignant of enactment strategy successful this environment?

I spent the past 3 months successful a bigger compartment with 10 different women. I recovered 2 unthinkable young women, 1 was a mathematics student, a assemblage pupil and she was giving maine mathematics lessons successful speech for English. ... It was great. It was distracting for some of us. At immoderate point, months later, she told maine that she was giving maine tasks from her assemblage program, and I was truthful arrogant of myself.

There was different young woman from Morocco. Her French and Arabic were autochthonal and my French and Arabic person been connected a precise basal beginner level for my full life. I recovered it was a large accidental to larn those languages from her. And she was a erstwhile shot coach. So this is however we spent our days erstwhile we didn't person to spell anywhere, exercising and speaking French and Arabic erstwhile we could. Of course, those cases were very, precise unique. 

How often were you capable to person letters from your family?

My ma and I were exchanging accustomed letters done the post, and it took 3 oregon 4 days for them to beryllium delivered. I had precise constricted connection with my husband, Pavel, and my daughters. It was lone imaginable done the lawyers, and the lawyers are not allowed to bring successful immoderate communication. So astir of the clip it was precise abbreviated messages passed connected done the lawyer and nary details. I didn't cognize thing astir the interviews they were doing to rise awareness. I didn't cognize thing astir the advocacy campaign. I would lone get abbreviated sentences like, ‘Alsu, we'll get you out, I'm hopeful.’ That was erstwhile successful a while. I would prevarication down connected my furniture backmost successful the compartment and deliberation for hours astir what it mightiness be.

I'll beryllium honorable with you, for months, the aboriginal looked precise grim, precise sad. I knew what was happening with different cases similar mine. I was truthful fortunate to beryllium getting a quality digest from the volunteers. I inactive don't cognize who was moving connected that, but I'm definite radical volition admit their efforts close present erstwhile I accidental that. ... I knew that the improvement wasn't a affirmative one. I knew that those agelong sentences radical were getting were the aforesaid charges.

I emotion to plan, adjacent if it's a atrocious one. Of course, my program A was to get released. I didn't cognize how. I knew that determination were different salient Americans up of maine who had been successful custody for a longer time, similar Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. I'm definite determination were different ones who we didn't cognize about. The investigators ne'er mentioned the connection ‘exchange’ for a precise agelong time. ... I was hoping that the condemnation wouldn't beryllium that long, that I would service that condemnation and beryllium backmost home. But I didn't know.

Let’s speech astir the captive swap — I'm definite you had small anterior cognition that thing was being planned, and past you're abruptly connected a level with Evan and Paul Whelan…

I knew thing would hap sooner oregon aboriginal successful July erstwhile they abruptly rushed my trial. And past I learned that my proceedings was connected the aforesaid time arsenic Evan's, truthful it gave maine a large hope, actually. When I was being transferred to Moscow, though they didn't archer maine wherever they were taking me, I was, again, precise hopeful. It was similar a concatenation of hope. I was besides precise hopeful erstwhile I saw each the prisoners and Evan and Paul connected the bus, and I thought, ‘Well, this mightiness beryllium it.’

But still, everything was truthful fragile, and I learned that lone erstwhile I came back. I'm truthful thankful to each the governments for their kindness, and for releasing me, for letting maine spell and for accepting me, due to the fact that that meant a lot. If they had near maine down this time, which happened galore times to Paul, I mean, what could I person done? I don't know. I couldn't person done anything, but it would person severely damaged my well-being and my carnal wellness too. My wellness was deteriorating tremendously. I've gone done definite aesculapian procedures since I've been back. All is bully present and volition beryllium amended hopefully, but those 9 and a fractional months successful those conditions conscionable had a immense interaction connected my health.

How has the acquisition of readjusting to beingness been? Were determination things that you didn't expect would beryllium difficult?

Well, if I accidental thing is difficult, it'll beryllium a spot emotional. But each clip I'm facing a trouble of dealing with immoderate benignant of problem, I conscionable crook connected my flashbacks and memory, which is inactive precise fresh, saying ‘This is the quality of the escaped satellite that I'm dealing with this now. And I person ways to lick this problem.’ That helps maine a lot. Really, thing is difficult. But I request clip to process. There person been truthful galore changes globally, successful Europe, successful America, successful Russia. 

I started with my household and my children. I'm not going planetary close now. I truly privation to enactment low-key. This is what I deliberation everybody should bash if you're facing a lot, and you deliberation that you're not going to woody with this immense trauma oregon troubling situation. Just commencement from yourself and your precise adjacent surrounding environment. 

So I'm learning to speech to my children again, due to the fact that they've grown up truthful much, and not lone physically, but mentally. Sometimes the connection they talk sounds similar a overseas connection to me, due to the fact that they're teenagers. They're truthful diligent and truthful supportive. They are teaching maine those words and phrases, which I'm truthful blessed for. And past I effort to usage them, and they say, ‘Mommy, don't.’ You cognize what I mean, right? 

Yeah, similar the Gen Z language.

I'm not backmost connected TikTok conscionable to larn that, I don't privation to. They said that they volition beryllium giving maine that information. I'm trying to recognize wherefore they're acting a definite way, and I'm truly arrogant of them. They were champions of my advocacy campaign, and Bibi was the look of my advocacy campaign. I'm truly proud. She learned truthful much. I'm supporting her successful her acquisition and her curiosity to larn much astir Russia and the world. She's taking a planetary authorities people and economy, which is great, which is precise earthy for our family, and I'm truly supporting her. This is what I'm focusing on, connected my children and family.

From there, I'll leap into your question astir what is next. I'm dilatory going into, I wouldn't telephone it advocacy, but alternatively enactment of families of my imprisoned colleagues ... due to the fact that I cognize precisely what they're going through. Every greeting they aftermath up — astir of them can't slumber — and the lone thought that goes done their caput is ‘What other I tin bash for my loved one? Who other tin I speech to?’ And past there’s that feeling that adjacent my hubby described to maine erstwhile I came back, wherever they bash a lot, they bash astir everything, and inactive the doors are closed. ... I conscionable privation to enactment them, due to the fact that journalism is not a crime, and nary writer should beryllium successful prison.

The astir worrying concern is with our Belarusian colleagues successful Belarus, Ihar Losik and Andrei Kuznechyk. Ihar has been incommunicado for 4 years. Vladyslav Yesypenko is successful Russian-controlled Crimea, helium hasn't seen his woman and small girl for 3 years. And determination is Farid Mehralizada successful Azerbaijan, a salient economist and writer who was detained six months ago. Again, a precise akin lawsuit to mine, wherever they detained journalists not connected journalism charges, but fundamentally it is for journalism and for doing their occupation well.

You're receiving CPJ's International Press Freedom Award, and you are taking a basal for property freedom. I've been a writer for astir 10 years, and it seems similar each year, it conscionable gets worse and worse astir the world.

Well, you're precise right. Free journalism, nonsubjective journalism, is much important than ever. Who if not The Moscow Times, and who if not RFE/RL, knows that? We journalists, our enactment is ever much important erstwhile determination is trouble, erstwhile determination is uncertainty.

I don't deliberation it's clip for america to beryllium affectional and to instrumentality sides close now. I deliberation professionally we should enactment with immoderate administration, with immoderate regime, successful immoderate governmental situation. When politicians and diplomats resign, this is wherever our beardown assemblage comes in. We shouldn't destruct immoderate bridges, we shouldn't physique immoderate walls. This is much important.

Of course, I wasn't reasoning of immoderate awards. My biggest grant has ever been serving my audience, their feedback. I've done truthful for much than 20 years. I was delivering uncensored, nonsubjective accusation to my Tatar assemblage successful Tatar and Russian languages. Our enactment astatine RFE/RL was precise highly valued by our audience. That's the astir important grant you tin receive. But I'm highly honored to person the CPJ award, the International Press Freedom Award, arsenic it volition beryllium truthful instrumental successful raising consciousness of imprisoned journalists successful Russia. I believe, and I mightiness beryllium mistaken, that determination are much than 20 journalists imprisoned successful Russia close now. Journalism is not a crime. They should beryllium released.

Our enactment close present is to papers what is happening and to beryllium a witnesser to history. That's important. These times volition beryllium over. Sooner oregon later, they volition beryllium over. We cognize from history. And everybody should bash what their ngo is and what they are expected to do. 

You person done a batch of enactment to beforehand Tatar connection and culture. My favourite anecdote was from our article that said you narrated a fashionable Tatar-language course, and truthful galore radical conscionable cognize you by your dependable due to the fact that they studied that way. Moving forward, bash you deliberation you'll proceed to beryllium a dependable for that community? 

I got dozens of letters successful situation from radical saying that they started learning Tatar aft I was arrested due to the fact that they recovered that project. Well, it warmed my heart. It meant the satellite to me.

Whatever I volition beryllium doing, my individuality volition enactment with me, my Tatar individuality and who I am. The Tatar assemblage is dispersed each astir the world. There's a large Tatar assemblage successful the United States. I volition beryllium blessed to service them arsenic well… I truly don't cognize what I'm going to bash [yet], but I decidedly privation my dependable to beryllium heard by a wider assemblage and wider audience. I privation to stock my acquisition and my vision. I'm definite I volition enactment connected to my assemblage always, 1 mode oregon another, for sure.

Not acceptable to enactment today?
Remind maine later.