Prisoner Exchanges: Nothing New To America or Russia, Just the Times Have Changed

There is nothing new to the idea of prisoner exchanges between the United States and Russia. What has changed, however, is the times and political makeup of each country.

The 1950’s

Let’s first go back to the 1950’s if you will. The place is anywhere USA. America just won World War II, and we were producing and manufacturing goods at a pace that made us the richest country in the world. Also babies, yes let us not forget the baby boom.

Every citizen was proud to be an American. We identified with an ideal world and we defended our way of life. We came to the aid of other countries, and defended against tyranny. Our common enemy was the Soviet Union and communism.

So, when Colonel Rudolf Ivanovich Abel (Col. Abel) was arrested as a known Soviet spy, America believed that he should face the ultimate penalty for espionage – death. When James B. Donovan was asked to defend Abel, he was told it was because he was such a good, decent, and honest lawyer. He was an Assistant Prosecutor at Nuremberg, which brought Nazis to trial after World War II. Some of the Nazis Donovan prosecuted were put to death for their participation in crimes against humanity. He was an outstanding member of the bar. The American Bar Association believed such a respected attorney would show the Russian people that Col. Abel was given a proper defense in an American court of law.

Donovan took the case knowing he was going to be revered in the press and by Americans in general. How could he, of all people, defend a communist spy? A person who should just go to the death chamber. New York Supreme Court Justice Miles McDonald telephoned Donovan when he heard that Donovan accepted the case to wish him luck. Judge McDonald said to Donovan, “I hope you know what lies ahead. Since John Adams defended the British soldiers for the Boston Massacre in 1774, no defense lawyer has taken on a less popular client.”

If there was ever a person who saw the writing on the wall for Col. Abel, it was Donovan. When the jury found Col. Abel guilty of espionage, Donovan was afraid the sentence would be death. Although Donovan did not spare Col. Abel from the conviction, he did spare him from the death chamber. Donovan had a theory. Donovan believed that America had spies in Russia. It was only a matter of time before an American was caught. If they held onto Col. Abel, he could be used in a prisoner swap when the time came. The judge hearing the case, Judge Mortimer W. Byers, agreed with Donovan and sentence Col. Abel to 30 years imprisonment. The community (not knowing about the reason for saving Col. Abel from the death chamber) was shocked and disgusted. They believed Col. Abel should be executed and took their dissatisfaction out on Donovan.

It did not take long for Donovan’s theory to come to life. On May 1, 1960, a U-2 spy plan was shot down by a Soviet surface to air missile near the city of Sverdlovsk Oblast in the Ural Mountains. The pilot of that plane, Francis Gary Powers, ejected and parachuted safely to the ground. He was captured and interrogated by the KGB. On August 17, 1960, Powers plead guilty and was convicted of espionage. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment and seven years of hard labor.

U-2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers stands near a U-2 spy plane.

In August 1961, several days after the construction of the Berlin Wall, an economic student by the name of Frederick Pryor, went to East Berlin to deliver a copy of his dissertation to his professor. He also contacted a friend’s sister, an engineer. However, the women had just fled to West Germany. Pryor was arrested on charges of aiding the women’s escape. He was also charged with espionage after they found a copy of his dissertation. The East German secret police arrested Pryor. He was detained and intensively interrogated but not tortured.

By February 10, 1962, Donovan had worked out a deal with Russia and East Germany. They would exchange Col. Abel for Powers. Also included in the swap was Frederick Pryor. Donovan felt bad for Pryor and believed that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Also, other than his dissertation, the Eastern Block had no evidence Pryor was a spy.

So, on February 10, 1962, Donovan stood frozen, scarred, and inpatient with the Russians and East Germans on the Glienicke Bridge. He did not believe they would release Pryor in addition to Powers. Donovan was afraid that once Col. Abel had been exchanged for Powers, the East Germans would hold onto Pryor.

Donovan wrote the following in his personal memoir, “As to Frederick Pryor, Schischkin argued at length that Pryor should be released to his family in Vogel’s ‘law office’ in East Berlin. I flatly refused to agree to Pryor’s release in any location in East Berlin.” It was finally agreed that Pryor would be released at the Friedrichstrasse border point, or Checkpoint Charlie (a crossing point between East and West Berlin) simultaneously with the Powers-Abel exchange. Not until Donovan heard of Pryor’s release did he release Abel for Powers.

Later that week, America heard of the exchange. The person revered by America for defending Col. Abel, was made into a nation hero when he delivered Powers and Pryor back on American soil.

The Year 2023

Now, let us move onto the current year 2023. America is now a divided nation. Despite our accomplishments and achievements, we are divided and dismissive. We cannot celebrate together as a nation. Instead, we celebrate separately, as a shell of our former greatness. Let us now turn to our two prisoners held in Russian captivity like Pryor and Powers.

On or about February 17, 2022, Ms. Brittney Griner approached an unidentified person and purchased two cartridges of hash oil. Later another set of facts said Ms. Griner allegedly packed hashish oil in her bag, likely in the form of a vape. According to TASS and the prosecutor, the cartridges contained a total of .702 grams of the substance. No matter what the penalties for the amount of hash oil she had purchased, or even if the substance was legal or illegal, the fact is that Ms. Griner was detained by Russian authorities and charged with drug trafficking and possession. On July 7, 2022, Ms. Griner pled guilty to the charges. “I’d like to plead guilty, your honour. But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law,” Ms. Giner said, speaking English which was then translated into Russian for the court. On August 5, 2022, she was sentenced to nine (9) years in prison by the Russian court. It caused U.S. officials to worry that Ms. Griner’s arrest was motivated by use of a “bargaining chip” in its war in the Ukraine. Does this sound familiar?

Meanwhile, in an American prison sat Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trafficker dubbed the Merchant of Death. Bout served 10 years of a 25 year sentence in a U.S. maximum-security prison. He was convicted on charges of terrorism hinged on an alleged plot to supply weapons for Colombian guerrillas to shoot down American aircraft. On or about December 8, 2022, Bout was released as part of a prisoner exchange for Ms. Griner.

Ms. Griner was released from custody and returned to the United States and Bout returned to Russia. Prior to her release, the Biden administration attempted for months to make a deal with Russia to free Griner. The deal included freeing Bout for Griner and another American, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. However, the deal was not meant to be for Whelan and only Griner was released for Bout. Mr. Whelan continues to sit in a Russian prison serving his sentence.

Turn now to March 2023, Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal is arrested in Russia. He was arrested while covering news from Russia, Ukraine, and former countries of the Soviet Union. Mr. Gershkovich is, of course, accused of espionage. This makes him the first American journalist detained in Russian on such charges since the Cold War.

It is unknown what plans Russia has for Mr. Gershkovich. However, the writing is clear and the picture is bleak. Does Russia plan to use Mr. Gershkovich to exchange more prisoners? Does Russia and Putin want reassurance the U.S. will not assist the Ukrainians in their “illegal war” as Putin calls it? If so, will the U.S. play along or will the U.S. let Mr. Gershkovich and Mr. Whelan sit in a Russian prison?

One thing is certain. Above is a picture of Mr. Gershkovich in a glass both in a Russian courtroom. If any American, Democrat or Republican, can view this picture and believe that America is not being belittled, if any American can see that picture and not stand together as a country, then I don’t believe nothing can save America.

We use to draw lines in the sand in the 1950’s. As Americans we knew that no matter where you lived, no country would attack us or kill our people. Today, however, the lines are not drawn in the sand but in the division between ourselves. We cannot seem to draw that line and stand with our fellow Americans, even when that something means freeing one of our own. Instead, each side takes up their talking points, neither right or wrong, just divisive. We have become a binary country; yes or no; democrat or republican.

In the end, Pryor and Powers were released without incident. No one looked toward the political ideology of Pryor or Powers, just that they were Americans. We owed it to them because they were Americans, not democrats or republicans. Americans that remain hostages in Russia today should be given the same honor. They are Americans first and foremost. If we cannot see that, then we cannot jump the smallest hurdle as a nation.