Reporter Evan Gershkovich is the first American reporter arrested for espionage in Russia since the Cold War. The newspaper and the U.S. State Department vehemently deny the allegation.
Reporter Evan Gershkovich is the first American reporter arrested for espionage in Russia since the Cold War. The newspaper and the U.S. State Department vehemently deny the allegation. Credit: Youngstown Press Club


A Wall Street Journal editor visited Youngstown last month to raise awareness about Evan Gershkovich, a reporter who has spent the past 11 months in a Moscow prison.

Russian security officers pulled Gershkovich out of a restaurant in Yekaterinburg nearly a year ago, on March 29, 2023. Since then, he has been confined to a small cell for 23 hours a day at Lefortovo prison.

The Russian government accuses Gershkovich of espionage, but it has not charged him. He is the first American reporter arrested for espionage since the Cold War. President Joe Biden, the U.S. State Department, and The Wall Street Journal vehemently deny the allegations and have called for the reporter’s release.

Gershkovich, 32, is the American-born son of Soviet emigres and was raised in Princeton, New Jersey. (His name is pronounced Gersh-KO-vich.) He joined the financial news site in 2022. He wrote stories about everything from the Russian economy’s struggles after the country invaded Ukraine to artillery shortages, crowded nightclubs and military families.

Working full-time to raise awareness of the arrest of Evan Gershkovich

Since the arrest, Paul Beckett, the WSJ’s Washington bureau chief, has worked full-time to raise awareness about Gershkovich’s detention. Beckett spoke at an event sponsored by the Youngstown Press Club. Speaking at DeYor Performing Arts Center in downtown Youngstown, Beckett urged attendees to learn all they can about Gershkovich and to post on social media with the hashtag  #IStandWithEvan.

Beckett warned that the detention threatens press freedom. He said the WSJ and other major news outlets now cover Russia from Berlin, Warsaw, and other places outside of Russia.

He said Russia and other countries–notably Iran–arrest Americans to make a point. 

He called Gershkovich’s arrest a calculation on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s part, “a way to gain leverage over the United States.”

Gershkovich is one in a series of Americans arrested in Russia in recent years. WNBA star Brittney Griner spent 10 months in prison there in 2022 before being exchanged for an arms dealer.

“Our interest is in getting Evan back,” Beckett said. “The government’s interest is how to deter this.”

Beckett is speaking at events across the country about Gershkovich. The WSJ has made stories about the reporter and stories he wrote from Russia free to read.

Life in prison

Beckett said two Russian lawyers regularly visit Gershkovich in prison. That work could be dangerous, he said, “and we are grateful to them.”

Gershkovich can send and receive censored letters from his solitary confinement. He and his father have used letters to play a yearlong game of chess, Beckett said. The reporter and his sister often quote lines from the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” in letters to each other.

The detention has raised issues most people don’t think about, Beckett said. For one: Who monitors the Gmail account?

Lori Factor, president of the Youngstown Press Club, said the event put a spotlight on “dangerous threats to a free press” and how they can weaken journalism. She said the club prides itself on supporting press freedom.

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