May 03, 2023

Journalism Is No Crime


Journalism Is No Crime
Vice President Joe Biden reads over his speech on U.S.-Russia relations before an event at Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia March 10, 2011. David Lienemann, Wikimedia Commons.

The Washington Post reported that President Joe Biden held an informal meeting with the parents of Evan Gershkovich, a journalist who has been detained in Russia on charges of espionage. The meeting took place before the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, where Biden and his wife, Jill, privately spoke with Gershkovich's parents. The content of their conversation has not been disclosed.

During a speech before the dinner, Biden expressed his commitment to bringing the Wall Street Journal reporter home, saying that the US was "working like hell."

"Journalism is not a crime," Biden said. "Evan... should be released immediately, along with every other American detained abroad." The dinner was attended by other individuals with important Russian connections, including Yulia Navalnaya and Daria Navalnaya, the wife and daughter of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as well as basketball player Brittney Griner, who was herself just recently released from a long and unjust Russian detention. At the event, some attendees wore buttons with the words "Free Evan" printed on them.

The US State Department has labeled Gershkovich as "wrongfully detained," which could open up the possibility for an exchange. His lawyers are said to be considering this option, according to  Meduza. Gershkovich has been receiving support from major American media outlets and foreign journalists working in Moscow.

You Might Also Like

Notes at the Front

Notes at the Front

Musicians have not been spared from the criminalization of protest and expression. We also share Ilya Yashin's final words.
The Hygiene Hindrance
  • March 31, 2023

The Hygiene Hindrance

As a strange form of punishment, Alexei Navalny was reportedly placed in a cell with a prisoner who has bad hygiene. 
A Victory for Navalny
  • March 16, 2023

A Victory for Navalny

The Navalny film won the Oscar for Best Documentary at the 95th Academy Awards.
Meduza Declared Undesirable
  • January 27, 2023

Meduza Declared Undesirable

On January 26, Russia’s Prosecutor General declared the popular publication Meduza an “undesirable” organization.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955