{"id":8050,"date":"2026-08-01T11:05:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T11:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8050"},"modified":"2026-08-01T11:05:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T11:05:59","slug":"the-stars-a-family-hug-and-the-difficult-road-back-from-russian-detention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8050","title":{"rendered":"The stars, a family hug and the difficult road back from Russian detention"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nPaul Whelan has spent the past two years relishing cutting the grass.\n <\/p>\n

\n It is a task that is, for most, mundane at best. But for Whelan, routine things like mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, and stargazing are privileges that he was deprived of during the more than five years he spent in Russian detention.\n <\/p>

Read more How to watch August\u2019s total solar eclipse safely while protecting your vision<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cI know it sounds silly, but when you\u2019re locked up for five and a half years in places that don\u2019t have grass, and then all of a sudden, you know, you\u2019re at home and you have a yard that doing things like cutting the lawn \u2026 are pleasant again. I often ride around on my little John Deere lawn mower, smoking a cigar, cutting the lawn,\u201d he recounted.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Paul<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nPaul Whelan in his \u201clawn mowing attire.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Courtesy Paul Whelan<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n \u201cYou couldn\u2019t see the stars in prison,\u201d Whelan continued. \u201cAlthough the sky was open, they had searchlights and lights all over the place, so at night you couldn\u2019t see the stars.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cJust being able to, on a dark night, look up and see the stars is something that I had missed,\u201d he told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n Saturday marks exactly two years since Whelan, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, American journalist Evan Gershkovich, Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza and more than a dozen others were freed from Russia in a sweeping prisoner swap.\n <\/p>\n

\n In the two years since they were freed, they have been not only re-adjusting to their lives but also working to help others who are still detained in the country. Whelan and Kurmasheva spoke to CNN about those efforts and their reflections as they approached the anniversary.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u2018I missed so much\u2019\n<\/h2>\n

\n Readjusting to life after Russian detention has not been without significant challenges.\n <\/p>\n

\n Kurmasheva spent almost a year in Russia detention. Although the second year since her release has been \u201ceasy in terms of health,\u201d but \u201cin terms of understanding of what happened to me, I don\u2019t think I will ever forget.\u201d In the first year, Kurmasheva struggled to acclimate after months of isolation, she told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Alsu<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nAlsu Kurmasheva, her husband Pavel Butorin, their daughters, and Diane Foley are seen in this undated photo.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Courtesy Also Kurmasheva<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n \u201cI missed so much with my family. I missed so much what was going on around the world. You know, we are journalists, right? We have this \u2018FOMO, fear of missing out,\u2019\u201d she described.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSuddenly I was away for many months, and so I was slowly going back into all this news and informational environment, and as I was going back deeper, many things would seem very disturbing to me because I missed something,\u201d Kurmasheva explained. \u201cI had to spend some time going back and reading and watching videos to understand why certain things are the way they are.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n It was easier with her family, she said, because they had been making videos of \u201ceverything they tried new without me\u201d and \u201cwhat was happening within the family when I was gone.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSo that big video archive is still there, and we easily go back to rewatch it,\u201d she told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n Since she gained her freedom, she\u2019s been grateful to experience her family\u2019s milestones in person, like her older daughter\u2019s graduation. They never got to see Taylor Swift \u2013 her daughters missed a show because Kurmasheva was freed from Russia the day before \u2013 but the family has seen \u201cgreat concerts\u201d in the two years since.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m so happy to be to be close, to listen to them, to give that hug when they need that the most. That was the biggest thing that we missed,\u201d she told CNN.\n <\/p>

Read more \u2018Trump threw us all a curveball\u2019: South Carolina Republicans are stewing about Lindsey Graham\u2019s old Senate seat<\/a><\/p>\n

\n For Whelan, the challenges have included navigating employment and healthcare.\n <\/p>\n

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\"Paul<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nPaul Whelan in York, Pennsylvania.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Courtesy Paul Whelan<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n His home state of Michigan \u201cdoesn\u2019t provide unemployment benefits,\u201d he said, and \u201cthere are no other state benefits or federal benefits provided for hostages.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou find that you\u2019re kind of out there on your own and fending for yourself, or relying on the kindness of strangers and whatnot,\u201d Whelan told CNN. \u201cThat\u2019s been kind of tough because the government does a lot to get you home, and then they kind of just drop you off at the curb, and you\u2019re on your own.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Whelan has been working with lawmakers on legislation that would use frozen assets from countries that detain Americans, like Russia, to compensate former detainees, he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n He is still able to communicate with some of Russians with whom he was imprisoned \u2013 the ones that are still alive, that is.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cUnfortunately, several of them are dead because they were forced to go to Ukraine and they died in combat operations,\u201d Whelan told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cFor the ones that are either still in prison or have made it home, they\u2019re telling me that the economic conditions are horrible. There are no jobs. They\u2019re worried about being sent to the military,\u201d he continued.\n <\/p>\n

\n Working to help those still detained\n<\/h2>\n

\n Both Whelan and Kurmasheva have been working to try to help those who are still detained.\n <\/p>\n

\n Whelan appreciated receiving letters and cards while imprisoned and also sent dozens of his own, including to CNN. He has used donations to his GoFundMe account to send letters, cards and care packages and put money on prison accounts of people overseas to remind them they aren\u2019t forgotten, he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Kurmasheva also recalled the comfort she got in prison from a letter describing the Christmas market in Prague \u2013 \u201cit was my life for many months there,\u201d she said. \u201cI would close my eyes and imagine myself being free and being on that market.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\"Alsu<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nAlsu Kurmasheva signed cards to send to imprisoned journalists.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Courtesy Also Kurmasheva<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n She has sent dozens of cards to imprisoned journalists in Russia. She has also been working to raise awareness of journalists detained around the world, including American Reza Valizadeh in Iran.\n <\/p>\n

\n There are numerous Americans who remain detained in Russia, including Robert Gilman, Andre Khachatoorian, Olga Jezler, Chuck Zimmerman, David Barnes, Aleksander Antonov, and Stephen Hubbard. Only Hubbard has been designated as wrongfully detained.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cUS officials have raised Stephen Hubbard\u2019s case with Russian officials on multiple occasions, calling for his immediate release,\u201d a State Department spokesperson said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe Trump Administration takes seriously our commitment to Americans abroad and will continue to advocate on behalf of Americans detained in Russia,\u201d they said.\n <\/p>

Read more Fat squirrels, rowdy bears and burned-out rangers: How Trump policies are scrambling America\u2019s national parks<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paul Whelan has spent the past two years relishing cutting the grass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nThe stars, a family hug and the difficult road back from Russian detention - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8050\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The stars, a family hug and the difficult road back from Russian detention - Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paul Whelan has spent the past two years relishing cutting the grass.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8050\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-01T11:05:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f9515d17ec2d4324fde502ab911494b9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"775\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8050#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8050\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"headline\":\"The stars, a family hug and the difficult road back from Russian detention\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-01T11:05:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8050\"},\"wordCount\":1124,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8050#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/e6f67f683f579b6cc57b0dd857085245.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8050#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8050\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=8050\",\"name\":\"The stars, a family hug and the difficult road back from Russian detention - 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