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After spending more than nine months in a Russian prison for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian military, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva discussed her experience at an Institute of Politics Forum on Tuesday evening.

Kurmasheva, who was released in August as part of a prisoner swap, recalled the psychological torture she experienced, including forced sleep deprivation, denial of access to basic necessities, and the withholding of letters and other communication with the outside world.

“The whole system is created to deprive the person of dignity,” Kurmasheva said. “It’s a matter of days, not even a month, that people go absolutely insane.”

The forum was moderated by IOP fellow Ann M. Simmons, a former Moscow bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. The event interwove a discussion of the increasing dangers of working as a journalist in Russia with Kurmasheva’s story.

Prior to her arrest in June of 2023, Kurmasheva worked as a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reporting on ethnic minorities in Russia. At the time of her arrest, however, she was on a trip visiting family.

While at the airport to board her flight back to the U.S., Kurmasheva heard her name over the loudspeaker at a Russian airport and immediately locked herself in the bathroom to gather her thoughts, she recalled during the forum.

“Just get me out of here and find me,” Kurmasheva said she messaged her coworkers at the time.

She was initially sentenced to six-and-a-half years in Russian prison, but was ultimately released in August 2024 as part of a large-scale prisoner swap that included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul N. Whelan.

According to Kurmasheva, she kept her sanity by taking “mandatory” one-hour walks, practicing yoga and learning new languages from her cellmates. Though there were limited materials, she also read everything she could.

“I didn’t have access to particular books I wanted, but I read everything,” she said. “There were times when I didn’t have books. I read ingredients on the food packages.”

Kurmasheva also said that she received letters from around the world — from friends, family, and even strangers who found her and her journalism project an inspiration.

“If there were no letters, if I didn’t have a family, if I didn’t have people who loved and waited for me and supported and fought for me — very easily, very easily, I would have gone insane,” she said.

Despite everything she endured, Kurmasheva said she holds no grudges against the guards at the prison, pointing out that they were only acting on the information they were given.

“Everybody is a human being, right?” she said “It’s the same world we’re sharing and it’s very small, but we look at it from different angles.”

When asked by an audience member about whether journalists should risk reporting from Russia, Kurmasheva said that the issue is complicated.

“It is very important to be there and tell the story from inside, but it is very dangerous right now,” she said. “We can’t possibly ask any journalists to travel there because it’s a prison term.”

In an interview after the event, Simmons spoke about strategies used by journalists to cover Russia. For instance, some journalists are based in other foreign capitals and often travel to Russia to report.

“It’s challenging, but I really do feel that it still needs to be done because Russia is a story,” Simons said. “All roads lead to Russia when it comes to news.”

“We’ve got to be on the ground, we've got to be aware, we've got to be engaged with Russia,” she added.