In Moscow's Shadows 157: No Crime and Much Punishment: the Gershkovich Case and recent books on Russia's prisons

With Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years on what I consider wholly spurious espionage charges (and I explain why I think this), it's a suitable moment first to consider the likely reasons but also what kind of experience faces him in the Russian prison camp system.That leads me on to discuss three recent books of relevance:Vladimir Pereverzin's The Prisoner. Behind Bars in Putin's Russia (Gemini, 2024)Jeffrey Hardy's The Soviet Gulag. History and Memory (Bloomsbury, 2023)Barry Lewis's Gulag. A photographic journey into the darkness of Stalin's prison camps (Fistful of Books, 2024)The Eurasian Knot podcast I mentioned with Anna Arutunyan and me talking about our book Downfall is here.The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show