American journalist Evan Hershkovich spent 16 months in a Russian prison on espionage charges. He came to Russia to write about Putin's regime, and eventually he himself became a figurehead in the Kremlin's political game. In the memoir "This Cursed Beautiful Country" Hershkovich tells about the arrest by the FSB, life in Portovo, waiting for release and the consequences of imprisonment. Behind bars he read War and Peace, kept a diary and tried to deal with the uncertainty. "Sometimes I just freeze, unable to rethink all of this," the journalist writes about life after his release. How Russia turned a journalist into a bargaining chip in a big political game and what was left with him after 16 months behind bars - read in League. net. Photo: EPA / And also Kedno.

American journalist Evan Hershkovich spent 16 months in a Russian prison on espionage charges. He came to Russia to write about Putin's regime, and eventually he himself became a figurehead in the Kremlin's political game. In the memoir "This Cursed Beautiful Country" Hershkovich tells about the arrest by the FSB, life in Portovo, waiting for release and the consequences of imprisonment. Behind bars he read War and Peace, kept a diary and tried to deal with the uncertainty. "Sometimes I just freeze, unable to rethink all of this," the journalist writes about life after his release. How Russia turned a journalist into a bargaining chip in a big political game and what was left with him after 16 months behind bars - read in League. net. Photo: EPA / And also Kedno.