The day will surely come when Russia will become a free, normal, civilized European country and I have absolutely no doubt that this day will come. Let us do everything in our power to bring that day closer together,
They are not only hitting us, they are also hitting our families. And they do this on purpose,
Realizing that you have been released because a murderer has been released is difficult,
We were pulled out of prison, put on a bus, loaded onto a plane and sent to Ankara,
Other prisoners who have health issues should have been exchanged ahead of me,
The fact that Alexei Navalny is not with us is a crime committed by Putin, who bears direct responsibility for his murder.”
It encourages Putin to take more hostages,
I don’t view [it] as a prisoner swap, I view the operation as my illegal expulsion from Russia against my will, and I say sincerely, more than anything I want now to go back home,
It’s hard for me not to think that, maybe if these processes had somehow moved quicker – if there had been less resistance – that the Scholz government had to overcome in terms of freeing Krasikov, then maybe Alexei would have been here and free,
I did not believe I would ever see my wife again. I did not believe I’d ever see my family again and this feels really surreal, this feels like a film,
They were given black jail robes,
I was sure I was going to die in prison.”
It is unbearable to think that I am free because I was exchanged for a killer,
They made it clear that my return would block any potential exchanges of any other political prisoners.”
The Russian Constitution bans sending a citizen of the Russian Federation abroad without his consent. As a Russian citizen, I confirm that I do not give permission to be sent outside of Russia.”
I will never make peace with the role of an emigrant,