At a lecture honoring The Moscow Times founder Derk Sauer, The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich argued that exiled journalists can help preserve independent reporting in Russia, The Moscow Times reported.
The outlet said Gershkovich spoke about Russian journalists working abroad and their commitment to independent journalism. It also reported that he discussed his arrest, imprisonment and recovery after returning home. The Moscow Times quoted him as saying the press “will flourish again when the right time comes.” The report framed his point as one of continuity: exile has not ended the practice of independent journalism.
De Balie’s event announcement says Gershkovich was detained in Russia in 2023 and sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony. The U.S. State Department said on Aug. 1, 2024, that he and other detainees were returning from Russia under an agreement involving the United States and allied governments; De Balie described the release as a prisoner exchange.
The lecture took place Saturday, Oct. 31, at De Balie in Amsterdam. De Balie organized the inaugural Derk Sauer Lecture with Het Parool and The Moscow Times. The organization described it as the first in a series centered on press freedom. The venue’s schedule listed a start at 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CET).
In its advance notice, De Balie said the program would cover Gershkovich’s detention, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the country’s prison system.
De Balie said Gershkovich began his journalism career at The Moscow Times, which Sauer founded. The publisher, Independent Media, dates the newspaper’s first daily issue to Oct. 2, 1992. De Balie said Sauer moved the publication to Amsterdam after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The pairing linked the honoree’s media legacy with the speaker’s own start in journalism.
The lecture comes amid pressure on independent Russian media, an issue EconoTimes has also covered in its report on a planned Novaya Gazeta server shutdown.
