What’s next for released Russian political prisoners?

Last week, the US pulled off the biggest prisoner exchange with Russia since the Cold War. 

Twenty-six people in total were released, including 24 adults and two children, in a complex deal that involved several European countries, as well. 

A number of them were Americans convicted in Russia on trumped-up charges.

When President Joe Biden announced the prisoner exchange last week from the White House, he said that Americans can be proud that the government works relentlessly to free US citizens unjustly imprisoned around the world.

“But it also says a lot about us that this deal includes the release of Russian political prisoners,” he said, adding, “They stood up for democracy and human rights. Their own leaders threw them in prison, the United States helped secure their release as well.”

Now, many of those Russian political dissidents are stuck in exile. But some of them say that won’t stop them from speaking out against Russian President Vladimir Putin or continuing their political activity. 

One of the most prominent people released was Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza.

At a press conference last week in Germany, he said, “I was certain I was going to die in Putin’s prison. I did not believe I [would] ever see my wife again, I did not believe I [would] ever see my family again. This feels really surreal, this feels like a film.”

Kara-Murza and the others said they were thankful to be free.

But Ilya Yashin, another prominent Russian opposition politician, said that he was conflicted about the exchange.

“I’ve said publicly that I didn’t want to be part of an exchange,” Yashin said.

He added that he doesn’t see this as an exchange — but rather, that he was “illegally expelled from Russia against his will.”

He said, “I will never accept the role of an immigrant. My goal is to return to Russia.”

Irina Borogan is an expert on Russia’s security services with The Center for European Policy Analysis.

“Yashin’s position [has] always been that Russian politicians should be in Russia, the opposition should be inside Russia. But right now, you can’t do a lot from Russia, and especially if you are an opposition politician, you will be put in prison and you will die there like Alexei Navalny did.”

Navalny was a harsh critic of Vladimir Putin, and the most-prominent Russian opposition figure. He died in February, while serving his prison sentence.

Borogan said that politicians stuck in exile can accomplish a lot, but she also said that being flung out of your country has an emotional impact.

“You are deprived of your family, you are deprived of your many friends, you are deprived of your motherland, you are deprived of your familiar environment like streets, names, language, cultural landscape.”

Borogan said that it’s harder for politicians in exile to connect with their constituents who remain in Russia.

Mikhail Fishman, a presenter with TV Rain, an independent Russian media network, said he faced a similar problem when he left Russia in March of 2022, shortly after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“I knew that what I did mattered more when I was at home, because I was part of this story, we were in this together. And since I left, the major question for me was, ‘Who am I? Why am I even talking? Why would anyone listen?’ Because I am not part of this story anymore. I am safe.”

Fishman said that for many Russians, the divide between those inside the country and those outside is stark.

Someone speaking from the safety of Berlin, London or Washington doesn’t have as much credibility.

Another challenge is that reaching people who remain in Russia is becoming more difficult.

“Everyone’s political life is outside; [it] is reduced to staying on YouTube, which is, we have to mention, now half-blocked in Russia, and that’s not much.”

YouTube is one of the most-important platforms where opinion makers speak directly to Russians without being censored.

Over the last week, Russian authorities have begun to crackdown on YouTube, by forcing internet providers to severely slow down playback speeds.

But despite the challenges of life in exile, Fishman said he believes that the politicians released in the exchange will be heard and can lead the opposition.

“Politically speaking, for the first time, since the war started actually, we heard a united voice of the opposition, and a voice that holds moral ground, a voice that has moral credibility to speak out.”

Fishman said that dissidents who suffered at the hands of the Kremlin gained a lot of political capital. And they’ve already begun to set the agenda for the Russian opposition in exile.

They’ve spoken out against the war in Ukraine, and they said they’ll advocate for the political prisoners who remain in Russia. They’re also spreading a message of hope.

They include people like Kara-Murza, who, during the press conference on Friday, described his departure from Russia.

A state security officer escorting him on the plane, he said, had a message for him.

“The moment our plane was taking off, he told me, ‘Look out the window; it’s the last time you’re seeing your motherland.’ And I turned to this guy and I laughed. Once again, I told him, ‘Look man, I’m a historian by education. I don’t only feel, I don’t only believe, I know that I will be back in my home country, and it will be much quicker than you think.’”