Once upon a time, there was a famous Soviet film called “Dead Season” starring the talented Lithuanian actor Donatas Banionis. At the end of the film, Banionis’ character, a failed Soviet spy, is exchanged for a failed American spy. That plot had a factual basis: such exchanges took place from time to time between the US CIA and the Soviet KGB.
During the Cold War, such events were also organized at the political level. In 1976, Luis Carvalán, the leader of the Communist Party of Chile, imprisoned in Chile, was exchanged for the persecuted dissident Vladimir Bukovsky in the Soviet Union.
In the first case, it was a spy for a spy; in the second, it was about two politicians, regardless of their views.
Recently, however, there was an unprecedented exchange. Russia released and handed over to the Western side politicians and journalists such as Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsou Kurmasheva, and Evan Gershkovich, who, apart from saying or writing something “wrong,” did not commit any “sin.” Meanwhile, the USA and its allies handed over to Russia spies, hackers, and even Vadim Krasnikov, who was convicted in Germany for murder. By the way, the way Putin greeted the murderer reminded me of the “ceremony” welcoming Ramil Safarov in Azerbaijan.
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Negotiations on the deal had been ongoing for a long time. According to some reports, as a result of that process, Alexei Navalny could also have been released. But he passed away, quite possibly not by accident.
…We also have at least two dozen prisoners in the enemy’s prison in Baku. The Armenian authorities, to put it mildly, are not enthusiastic about releasing them. We probably don’t have an Azerbaijani to exchange. By the way, among the former leaders of Artsakh, Aliyev’s “dungeon” contains only those who could create problems for Pashinyan in Armenia. I think this is not by chance either.
Aram Abrahamyan
