From the Cold War to Evan Gershkovich: a new twist in U.S.-Russia prisoner swaps

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published in August 2022. It has been updated with the latest exchange of prisoners.

In a darkened exhibit hall at the International Spy Museum, Executive Director Chris Costa recounts the most dramatic prisoner swap between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

In 1960, the U.S. had limited human intelligence on the ground inside the Soviet Union, and desperately wanted more information on its military capabilities.

"So we had spies in aircraft that could take pictures of the Soviet Union," said Costa.

One of those pilots was Francis Gary Powers, who was working for the CIA and was flying a U-2 spy plane 70,000 feet above the Soviet Union when he was shot down.

The Americans didn't think the Soviets could take down a plane at that altitude, and they didn't expect a pilot would survive such an emergency.

They were wrong on both counts, and the result was high drama at the height of the Cold War.

"Hostage diplomacy"

A complex exchange on Thursday involved the release of more than two dozen people jailed in the U.S., Russia, and four other countries. Those freed included three Americans who were held in Russia — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.

The Russians who were freed included Vadim Krasikov. He was convicted of a 2019 killing in Germany and sentenced to life in prison. The German judges said the killing was ordered by Russian government officials.

"The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy," President Biden said in a statement. "All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over."

While Washington and Moscow have done deals for decades, they