Historic Prisoner Swaps: From Cold War to Present Day

After years of confinement, prisoners in both US penitentiaries and Russian penal colonies are being freed through complex negotiations. These exchanges, involving diplomats from multiple countries, have included a variety of individuals such as spies, athletes, and arms dealers. The recent swap of WNBA star Brittney Griner and arms dealer Viktor Bout highlights the high-profile nature of these exchanges.

After years behind bars in US penitentiaries and Russian penal colonies, prisoners are experiencing sudden freedom, the result of extensive back-channel negotiations between Washington and Moscow.

Occasionally, they see each other on airport tarmacs or historic bridges like Glienicke. Decades of prisoner exchanges have freed spies, journalists, drug dealers, and even athletes.

This Thursday's historic exchange was uniquely complex, requiring months of discussions with multiple nations before planes flew large numbers of prisoners to freedom.

Some notable previous swaps include the Dec. 9, 2022 exchange of WNBA star Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner's conviction for drug charges in Russia and Bout's for conspiring to kill US nationals made it a highly visible and controversial swap.

In another high-profile exchange, ex-Marine Trevor Reed and Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko were swapped in April 2022 amid rising US-Russian tensions.

(With inputs from agencies.)