Putin must let his hostages go

Russia’s latest outrageous detention of an American citizen crystallizes President Vladimir Putin’s role as a pariah.

The latest hostage, Evan Gershkovich, is a reputable, 31-year-old Wall Street Journal correspondent with the proper credentials to be working in Russia. The Kremlin’s shady “espionage” claim against him provides another repressive Moscow moment — of which there have been many of late, including crackdowns against internal criticism and understandable draft evasion.

The nation’s FSB security agency, formerly the KGB that Putin once served, dubiously asserts that on instructions from the U.S., Gershkovich "was collecting information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, which constitutes a state secret." Reports on social media show he was taken out of a restaurant in Yekaterinburg with a sweatshirt covering his head. He could face up to 20 years in prison. 

President Joe Biden, asked by reporters what his message to Putin was regarding Gershkovich, said bluntly: “Let him go.” That’s a simple bottom line that even U.S. elected officials who oppose Biden can and should support to present a united American response. State Department language over the weekend was standard and appropriate. Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed "grave concern over Russia’s unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist” in a personal exchange with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to a department readout.

The Biden administration must champion Gershkovich's release alongside that of Paul Whelan, a former United States Marine and security businessman held by Russia since 2018. Two years ago, Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison after an espionage conviction. Blinken restated to Lavrov the demand for Whelan’s immediate release.

Wall Street Journal editors noted that Gershkovich's arrest came “days after his byline was on a revealing and widely read dispatch documenting the decline of the Russian economy.” That’s Gershkovich’s job. His employer credibly concludes: “The Kremlin doesn't want that truth told.” Because that's uncomfortable. Russia’s economic decline is largely driven by Putin’s isolation from much of the world in reaction to his inexcusable war against neighboring Ukraine. Even with China’s recent diplomatic signals of solidarity, Putin does not deal from strength when it comes to a provocative act like this.

Brittney Griner, the American basketball star released in December after the Russians held her for most of 2022, voices moral support. Griner had been convicted by a Russian court of attempting to smuggle narcotics into that country. Sentenced to a penal colony for nine years, she was released only after the U.S. agreed to Russian demands to release Viktor Bout, an international arms smuggler.

Unprovoked and arbitrary aggression against countries and individuals has become Putin’s brand. If he wants Russia to rejoin the community of nations, releasing both Gershkovich and Whelan would be a start. For now, pressure needs to come from wherever the U.S. and the West can muster it.