Russia Detains American Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva

Facts

• Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Prague, has reportedly been detained after visiting family in the Russian city of Kazan.¹
• The US-funded broadcaster said Kurmasheva was arrested for failing to register as a foreign agent. Kurmasheva reportedly traveled to Russia on May 20 for a family emergency.²
• The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), citing outlet Tatar-Inform, said Russia is accusing Kurmasheva of 'deliberately conduct[ing] a targeted collection of military information' in order to 'transmit information' to foreign sources, as well as being part of 'information campaigns discrediting Russia.'³
• Russia in 2020 designated RFE/RL as a foreign agent. Kurmasheva was previously briefly detained in June, when her passports were confiscated.⁴
• Kurmasheva’s charges carry a maximum sentence of five years. RFE/RL stated that the dual US and Russian citizen was detained Oct. 18 while awaiting the return of her passports.⁵
• This follows Russia’s detention in March of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested and accused of spying.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Reuters, ³The Moscow Times, ⁴VOA, ⁵RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty and ⁶CBS.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by PBS NewsHour. Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin continues to undermine media freedom in order to bury the truth about his war on Ukraine. Journalists have always been censored but now they’re being detained on erroneous charges. True Russian democracy will never be achieved without a free press informing its citizens about what’s happening.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by RT. RFE/RL was created by Washington to spread Cold War, anti-communist propaganda in the USSR and its Eastern Bloc allies. These operations have continued after the fall of the Soviet Union, and individuals working for such foreign agents are allowed into Russia assuming they abide by a legal process. Kurmasheva failed to take part in her basic legal requirements and has consequently — and clearly — violated Russian law.

Predictions