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Welcome tidings, for once: Massachusetts native and former Marine Robert Gilman is released from Russian custody. {AP 12 August}
https://www.npr.org/2026/08/12/g-s1-138323/former-us-marine-russia
Am grateful the gentleman is being returned home, though he shall, without doubt, bear the scars of this ordeal for the remainder of his life. Nor does he stand alone as the sole American unjustly detained within that wretched country. Any United States citizen insane enough to contemplate travel to Russia would be well advised to exercise the utmost caution. —
FTA: Arrests of Americans have become increasingly common in Russia in recent years. Concern has risen that Russia could be targeting U.S. nationals to use later as bargaining chips in talks to bring back Russians convicted of crimes in the U.S. and Europe. Five other Americans remain imprisoned in Russia with deteriorating medical issues, according to a news release from Global Reach, a group that's been working to free them.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a photo on social media of a gaunt-looking Gilman draped in an American flag and surrounded by his family aboard an airplane.
"While we appreciate this positive step, we are still seeking the immediate return of all other unjustly detained Americans," Rubio stated.
Whilst you are about it, Mr Rubio, you might prevail upon your Russian friends to stop kidnapping Ukrainian children — though that, I suppose, constitutes a separate grievance for another occasion entirely. Welcome home, Robert Gilman. May the years that lie ahead furnish you with some measure of peace, in recompense for all that has been so grievously taken from you.
🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈
