Evan Gershkovich (Virtual Event)
Description
In March 2023, a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, Evan Gershkovich met with a union boss connected with a Russian tank factory. A Wall Street Journal journalist, he sat with his source in an empty restaurant in an industrial city 900 miles east of Moscow. A squad of masked agents charged in, blindfolded Evan, and dragged him into an unmarked van. The agents were from the FSB, Putin’s powerful security service, and the successor to the Soviet-era KGB.
Sentenced for sixteen years on false espionage charges, Evan was held for nearly sixteen months, mostly in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison. He was released on August 1, 2024, in an international prisoner exchange.
More than a prison memoir, This Cursed Beautiful Land is an extraordinary, deeply reported chronicle of a misunderstood people and their Russian land—marked at once by stunning beauty and a haunting history.
“Propulsive . . . a taut thriller.”
—Patrick Radden Keefe, #1 New York Times bestselling author of London Falling
Evan Gershkovich is a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal based in Berlin. Born in New Jersey to Soviet émigrés, he lived in Russia for over five years before his 2023 arrest. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Economist, and Foreign Policy. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2025 as part of an investigative team for The Journal. He is the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship.
Guest Host: To be announced
Promotional Partner: International Affairs Forum
Event Details
The livestream will begin with a slideshow at 6:50 p.m. Please note this slideshow will have no audio. The programming will begin at 7:00 p.m., a great time to test your audio. If you have any problems please double check the troubleshooting tips in your confirmation email. If that still doesn't help email marketing@nwstc.org. Please make sure your browsers or mobile apps are up to date before joining the livestream.
Virtual attendees may participate in the Q&A via moderated chat. You must be logged into YouTube via a Google account to chat, or email questions to marketing@nwstc.org.
FAQs
- I can't watch this live, will it be available after it airs?
The replay will be available to watch using the same link above after the live show processes.
- How do I turn on closed captions?
Closed captions are not available for the live event. Closed captions will be available when the encore video is published.
- How do I participate in the author Q&A?
Guests can ask the author a question by YouTube's chat feature or by emailing markeitng@nwstc.org before 8 p.m. the night of the event. You can use any Google account to participate in the YouTube live chat on desktop.
- I hear no audio!
Audio doesn't begin until 7:00 p.m. Double check to see if your audio is muted on your device and on YouTube by clicking the icon that looks like a speaker when you hover over the video.
Agenda
- 6:50 pm
Pre-Show Slideshow
Learn about our upcoming events and education programs!
- 7:03 pm - 8:00 pm
Author Conversation with Host
Conversation begins with the featured author and host.
- 8:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Author Q&A
Author answers questions from the audience.
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