Gershkovich was seated in a near-empty restaurant interviewing a labor union boss from a nearby tank factory when a squad of masked men—all members of the Russian security service, the FSB—charged in and dragged him outside into an unmarked van.
Details of Gershkovich’s arrest and subsequent sixteen-month detention in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison are described in his newly released memoir, This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-American Story (Penguin Random House, 2026).
During his incarceration, where he was held on trumped-up espionage charges, Gershkovich continued reporting, documenting “a life in Russia that few Westerners will ever experience: its sprawling prison system, with its own vocabulary and customs—and surprising pockets of humanity.”
As well as describing his five hundred days behind bars, Gershkovich sheds more light on the events leading up to his arrest and the extraordinary, international prisoner swap that led to his release in August 2024.
A full interview with Evan Gershkovich, who majored in English and philosophy, is planned for the Winter 2027 issue of Bowdoin Magazine.
