If your intentions are nefarious, and you don’t have a legitimate excuse for whatever it is you’re planning to do, just invent one. And if you can deflect the guilt onto the very person or country you are targeting . . . well, so much the better.
Case in point: Vladimir Putin’s political hostages.
Yes, the same ones I write about every Sunday, including today. There are hundreds, possibly even thousands, of them scattered throughout Russia and its allied countries (such as Belarus). But the ones that make the headlines — the Evan Gershkoviches, Paul Whelans, Brittney Griners, Vladimir Kara-Murzas — are of the greatest value to Putin.
They are exchangeable.
As an example, Brittney Griner — a well-known American basketball star — was swapped for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. And Gershkovich, Whelan and Kara-Murza were among the 16 hostages exchanged for eight Russians being held in various countries in 2024, including convicted professional assassin Vadim Krasikov.
Fortunately, there haven’t been any such high-profile cases of late (that I know of). But, if Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev is to be believed, we may be seeing a resurgence in the near future. In fact, the groundwork is already being laid in Moscow.
On Friday, well-known pro-Kremlin military blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk, his wife, and three others were arrested in Montenegro on suspicion of spreading Russian influence in order to destabilize the government as part of Putin’s ongoing hybrid war in Europe.
In response, Medvedev has urged Russians to avoid traveling to Europe, warning them that they would be vulnerable to arrest as a result of what he called the growing anti-Russian sentiment.
Of course, he neglected to mention the reason for any such wave of anti-Russian feeling — the war against Ukraine — but said that Europe had declared “open season” on Russians.
Writing on Telegram, as well as Russia’s new MAX social media platform, he said:
“In effect, a hunt has been declared on all (I emphasize, all) Russians”; and added that it would be “foolish for our people to go traipsing around European countries, even with good intentions and important objectives. Any Russian could potentially become a target. Neither visas, nor invitations, nor any other guarantees offer protection. Anyone can be arrested, especially if they speak the truth about Western countries, the EU, and the Bandera-style neo-Nazi regime. They welcome onlyy ‘relocating scum’ [Russians who have moved abroad] — and even that is only temporary.” [Kyiv Post, October 9, 2026.]
Obviously, what Medvedev broadcast to his people is a perfect description of a scenario that plays out in Russia with alarming frequency; he simply switched roles. But there is method in his madness, because he went on to state that Russia should:
“ . . . expand its pool of detainees available for exchange. It is now quite likely that we will need to replenish the exchange pool with European and American morons to get our own people out. There is no other way: when living with wolves, one must howl like a wolf.” [Id.]
A “pool of detainees available for exchange” — that is what all of the American and other prisoners currently rotting in the Russian penal system are to Putin. Currency. Collateral. Personal property with barter potential. And Medvedev just admitted that that is the sole reason for their incarceration in the first place!
The U.S. State Department currently has a Level 4, “Do Not Travel” advisory in place for Russia. But there are those, such as diplomats, journalists, and others with legitimate reasons to be there. And they are in serious jeopardy.
Medvedev’s presentation may lack a certain je ne sais quoi — calling people “scum,” “morons,” and “a pool of detainees” is not exactly the height of diplomacy — but his warning should be taken seriously. We are on the verge of a second Cold War . . . if it hasn’t already begun.
Just sayin’ . . .
Brendochka
10/11/26
