drew hinshaw

"The room gave off a musty smell—one familiar to anyone who has ever entered a Russian bureaucratic building. On the wall hung a poster of a smirking Putin in a suit and sunglasses along with the word 'Svoy,' meaning: One of our own. Through the window I could see the glowing white and red lights of a KFC," writes WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich.⁠
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"The man in the suit, an investigator, in Russian law enforcement parlance, calmly told me he was charging me with espionage, a crime that carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. 'Do you understand what that means?' he asked.⁠
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"I nodded. An odd sense of relief flooded through me. It's a feeling I've been trying to understand ever since.⁠
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"'If there's anything you'd like to say,' the investigator continued, 'now would be a good time.'⁠
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"I asked again to see the Journal's lawyers. The investigator got up and left me waiting with the agent and another who joined him. The agent who had checked my biography and I started talking. He seemed eager for the chance to speak with an American, especially one he believed to be a spy. I was curious to talk to an FSB agent—and to distract myself from thinking about what would come next.⁠
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"He asked questions about life back home, complained that it took too long for the U.S. to come to the Soviet Union's aid in World War II, and asked whether I thought Ukraine could mount a successful counteroffensive against Russia's invading forces in the current war. Much of our conversation on that night in late March 2023 has been lost to the fog of shock, but one moment remains with me with absolute clarity.⁠
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"'You can't step in the same river twice,' the agent told me deep into the night, as we were preparing to part. 'Your life will be completely different now.'"⁠
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Read the exclusive excerpt from WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich's new book: 🔗 on.wsj.com/4AMGmNI

"I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to being the first associate member of the European Union." @vonderleyen to @MarkJCarney

Read it here first wsj.com/world/europe/c…

The Illegals by @shaunwalker7 (Moscow's fascination with deep-cover agents)
Swap by @drewhinshaw & @JoeWSJ (the age of hostage diplomacy)
The Nord Stream Conspiracy by @bopanc (amazing expose of the Ukrainian bombing)
I know it's a terrible cliche, but they do all read like thrillers, and I recommend them all! 3/end

So good to finally get my autumn reading in order. The first [belatedly] @drewhinshaw @JoeWSJ's gripping dive into the deep cynicism of Kremlin hostage-taking; the second what promises to be a stunning debut by @juliaioffe already up for a national book award, out in UK Oct 23.

"In a major shift in U.S. foreign policy, both political parties now accept that prisoner-trading with the likes of Putin is a game that America must play," @JoeWSJ and @drewhinshaw write: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

New #SpyTalk podcast with hosts @SpyTalker & @MIsikoff #SpyTalk #MSWMedia 🕵🏼‍♀️

Guests: @drewhinshaw & @JoeWSJ

Listen: spytalk.simplecast.com/episodes/insid…

@drewhinshaw and I sat down for an extended interview on @CBS about our new book, SWAP.

@MajorCBS kindly said: “Every page works. This reads like a thriller reads like a novel but it is journalistic reportorial throughout.”

cbsnews.com/video/extended…

I’d thank ⁦@drewhinshaw⁩ & ⁦@JoeWSJ⁩ for the un-putdownable, fascinating “Swap” - if only it hadn’t made the 1.35am alarm these past few days so much harder. Don’t read this book at bedtime if you need your Zzzs before work! But read it, definitely read it.

For years, Moscow's diplomats were met with respect in the West. SWAP: A Secret History of the New Cold War by @drewhinshaw and @JoeWSJ offers a rare glimpse into what Russian diplomacy actually looks like on the inside.
@irinaborogan and me in @cepa cepa.org/article/too-mu…