Evan Gershkovich, 34, recounts his 16-month detention in a Russian prison following his March 2023 arrest in Yekaterinburg. The Wall Street Journal correspondent describes the psychological toll of incarceration, including nightmares triggered by the sound of jangling keys. He details the conditions of his cell and the political climate under President Vladimir V.

Putin, describing Russia as an "open-air prison." Gershkovich was seized by Federal Security Service agents while dining with a source and later sentenced to 16 years based on an anonymous claim linking The Wall Street Journal to the C. I. A.

He was released in a major U.S.-Russian prisoner swap brokered by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. His new book, "This Cursed Beautiful Land," aims to document the broader experience of the Russian people under autocratic rule. Despite his release, he continues to grapple with the psychological aftermath of his captivity, stating that while they did not break him as a human, the experience left deep scars.