Finally free Photos from the hospital where Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin, and other political prisoners released by Moscow were sent after arriving in Germany
On August 1, 2024, Russia and multiple Western countries carried out the largest prisoner swap of its kind since the end of the Cold War. Thirteen of the political prisoners freed by Moscow were flown to Germany, where they were immediately sent to a military hospital in the city of Koblenz for medical evaluations. The former inmates were issued hospital wear, though it didn’t fit everybody, so some of them stayed in their prison uniforms. Meduza photographer Evgeny Feldman went to the hospital to document his compatriots’ first hours of freedom.
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Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin, and Vadim Ostanin
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza
Ilya Yashin
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza
Sasha Skochilenko and Kevin Lik (right). Not all of the freed prisoners consented to be photographed.
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza
Vadim Ostanin
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza
Kevin Lik
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza
Andrey Pivovarov
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza
Anti-Corruption Foundation Chairwoman Maria Pevchikh, Ilya Yashin, and investigative journalist Christo Grozev. Pevchikh and Grozev arrived at the hospital with bags of clothing.
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza
Navalny allies Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov also came to see the freed prisoners at the hospital.
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza
Evgeny Feldman / Meduza