Veteran human rights defender Oleg Orlov was one of the 16 prisoners freed by Russia on Aug. 1 in a historic exchange between Russia and the West. Orlov, 71, a vocal critic of the invasion of Ukraine, had been imprisoned this year for “discrediting” the Russian army’s actions in Ukraine.
A co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Memorial human rights group, he has said many times that his will was to remain in Russia even as a sweeping crackdown on dissent forced most other critics to leave the country. The Moscow Times spoke to Orlov about his exchange and the challenges faced by Russian human rights defenders who have been forced out of the country but remain committed to continuing their work. The emotions I felt on the day of the exchange were complex.
I'm not sure if it was right for me to be there. In my view, it was unjust and unfair that I was on the [prisoner exchange] list while many people who should have been there were not. It's unfair.
It would have been more just to exchange them. That morning, there was complete confusion about what was happening [due to the transfer from the colony before the exchange] — different scenarios were running through my mind. I thought they might talk to me about opening a new criminal case or demand something else from me.
Then they showed me a decree for my release due to a presidential pardon. Although I hadn't written any request [for a pardon], at that moment I realized I was being exchanged. On the bus [on the way t.