{
  "id": 9806629,
  "title": "‘He’s an idiot.’ Evan Gershkovich says Putin spent more than an hour trying to convince a world leader that the WSJ reporter really was a spy.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/hes-an-idiot-evan-gershkovich-says-putin-spent-more-than-an-hour",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-25T18:00:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/09/25/he-s-an-idiot-evan-gershkovich-says-putin-spent-more-than-an-hour-trying-to-convince-a-world-leader-that-the-wsj-reporter-really-was-a-spy"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russian President Vladimir Putin spent over an hour trying to convince a world leader that American journalist Evan Gershkovich was indeed a spy despite Gershkovich's claims of being a reporter. Gershkovich recounted this incident from his memoir published in The Wall Street Journal. In a subsequent meeting, a world leader who was involved in the prisoner swap told Gershkovich that Putin had spent more than an hour lecturing him on Gershkovich's espionage. When the person questioned Putin about whether he had considered Gershkovich being caught red-handed, Putin responded with a dismissive tone, calling Gershkovich an \"idiot\" and emphasizing that Gershkovich was too obvious. Tucker Carlson, an American television host, also stated to Gershkovich that Putin believed Gershkovich to be a spy. Carlson had discussed Gershkovich's case with Putin during an interview in Moscow, which aired in February 2024. After his release, Gershkovich met Carlson, who recounted an informal conversation between the two and Putin's confusion about the U.S.'s actions in freeing a basketball player rather than a spy. Gershkovich believes the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service) orchestrated his first meeting with Pavel Sergienya, a provocateur and activist with the Ural trade union Solidarity, to convince Putin of his guilt. He believes the agency arranged Gershkovich's arrest in the second meeting, and Putin fully accepted the narrative presented to him. Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony for espionage after being accused of collecting classified information about Uralvagonzavod's operations. He was released on August 1, 2024, as part of a major prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries. Gershkovich has since written a memoir titled \"This Cursed Beautiful Land: A Russian-American Story,\" which will be published by Penguin Random House in late September.",
  "summary": "Russian President Vladimir Putin was convinced that American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was convicted in Russia on charges of spying under the guise of reporting, really was a spy. Gershkovich recounted Putin’s belief in an excerpt from his memoir published in The Wall Street Journal.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Moscow Times",
        "title": "Evan Gershkovich Says His Arrest in Russia Was Carefully Planned FSB Sting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/evan-gershkovich-says-his-arrest-in-russia-was-carefully-planned-fsb",
        "published": "2026-09-25T15:41:59.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "Evan Gershkovich says his arrest in Russia was carefully planned FSB sting",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/evan-gershkovich-says-his-arrest-in-russia-was-carefully-planned-fsb-9791833",
        "published": "2026-09-25T16:48:40.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}