Life After a Russian Prison: NPR's Consider This: NPR

TOPSHOT – U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris watch as American-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva embraces her husband Pavel Butorin and their daughters Miriam Butorin and Bibi Butorinasas at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1, 2024.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

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ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

TOPSHOT – U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris watch as American-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva embraces her husband Pavel Butorin and their daughters Miriam Butorin and Bibi Butorinasas at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1, 2024.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

It has been more than three weeks since the United States and Russia completed the largest prisoner exchange since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Shortly after the news broke that three American prisoners were on their way home, President Biden called the release an “incredible relief” at the White House.

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was one of these prisoners and talks about what life was like in a Russian prison and how she is adjusting to life at home.

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This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink, with sound engineering by Andie Huether, editing by Sarah Handel and Courtney Dorning, and executive producer Sami Yenigun.