‘We spent the last three days searching for her’ Freed Russian political prisoners’ loved ones react to their release

Russia released 16 political prisoners on Thursday in the largest swap of its kind since the Cold War. The prisoners included U.S. and German citizens, but even more of them were Russian citizens jailed for opposing the Putin regime or the war in Ukraine. Below, Meduza has translated some of the first reactions from relatives and partners of these now-exiled Russians.

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Nadezhda Skochilenko

Mother of anti-war artist Sasha Skochilenko, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for replacing price tags at a grocery store with anti-war stickers

I’m just an ordinary person — I didn’t know anything in advance or even while the exchange was going on. Several days ago, when Sasha disappeared from the remand prison, I started to worry: there had already been speculation that they might open a new case against her. I want to see her as soon as possible. This entire time, I’ve been worried not only about my daughter but also about the other prisoners. For example, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has major problems with his health and has been sentenced to 25 years. I was glad to see him in the footage from Ankara.

Sofia Subbotina

Sasha Skochilenko’s girlfriend

Friends, thank you very much for your congratulations. Unfortunately, it’s physically impossible for me to respond to everybody who’s writing to me right now, but I certainly will later. Dear journalists, I’ve received very many interview requests this evening. Unfortunately, I can’t do that right now. I’ve hardly slept at all since Sasha disappeared from the remand prison on Monday evening. We didn’t know anything about the exchange until the last minute, and we’ve spent the last three days searching for her in every remand prison in Moscow (and beyond). And we’ve been terribly worried. Right now, I need to relax and recuperate a bit. Sasha and I will be very glad to talk with everybody a bit later.

Raisa Tyurikova

Mother of Russian opposition politician Andrey Pivovarov

Andrey called me [from Ankara] from a phone number that was labeled “Germany.” I was walking to the train at that moment. He said, “Mom, everything is fine so far, we’re hoping for the best.” So everything seems to be fine for now. […] To be honest, I was waiting for him to return to our apartment in a month, on September 2. There was a month left [until his release], but now everything’s unclear — at least from my perspective. Maybe this is for the best, who knows. In any case, I hope I’ll see him soon.

Tatyana Kasatkina

Wife of human rights activist Oleg Orlov

Oleg called [and said] they were flying from Turkey to some other country. I don’t know exactly where, because there was a bad connection, but it sounds like they’re going to Cologne. He was speaking very quickly; evidently, they only gave him the phone for 30 seconds. He called and said, excitedly, “Tanya, do you have any idea what’s happening?” He said, “Everything’s fine, I’m flying over Europe now.” On one hand, I’m happy that he’s free now, but on the other, how is he supposed to live in a foreign country? I have mixed feelings. But I’m mostly glad that he’s free, of course.

Viktoria Lik

Mother of Kevin Lik, the youngest person ever to be convicted of treason in Russia

He called me and said that on Saturday, he was taken to Arkhangelsk accompanied by special forces, then flown to Moscow, where he was sent to Lefortovo. Now they’re in Ankara. He said he spoke to Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, [Vladimir] Kara-Murza, and saw [Ilya] Yashin, [Sasha] Skochilenko, and others.