Imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter pokes fun at mom's cooking, saying it 'prepared' him for Russian prison food

The Independent Association of Publishers' Employees and Wall Street Journal journalists rally in Washington, DC, on April 12, 2023, calling for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been held in Russia since March 29. — The Independent Association of Publishers' Employees and Wall Street Journal journalists in Washington, DC, on April 12, 2023, called for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been held in Russia since March 29.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

An imprisoned WSJ reporter joked that his mom's cooking "prepared" him for "jail food" in Russia.
Evan Gershkovich sent a letter to his family in his first communication with them since his arrest.
Gershkovich wrote that he was "not losing hope" during his detention at Lefortovo Prison in Moscow.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich joked about the food he's getting in a Russian prison, in his first communication with his family since being arrested in Russia.

Gershkovich wrote in a letter to his family: "Mom, you unfortunately, for better or worse, prepared me well for jail food," he wrote in a letter, per the Wall Street Journal.

"In the morning, for breakfast, they give us hot creamed wheat, oatmeal cereal or wheat gruel. I am remembering my childhood," he continued.

Gershkovich, 31, is the son of Soviet emigrés . The letter was written in Russian, which he speaks at home with his parents, and it was dated April 5.

—Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) April 15, 2023

The journalist, who was raised in New York, was arrested in Russia last month after being accused of "espionage in the interests of the American government."

Even so, in the brief letter to his family in Philadelphia, Gershkovich said he was "not losing hope."

His mother, Ella Milman, said she felt "great joy" when they received his letter. "These are my son's words, not someone else telling me," she told the WSJ. "And his spirit is shining."

TOPSHOT - A picture taken on July 24, 2021 shows journalist Evan Gershkovich. - A US reporter for The Wall Street Journal newspaper has been detained in Russia for espionage, Russian news agencies reported Thursday, citing the FSB security services. "The FSB halted the illegal activities of US citizen Evan Gershkovich... a correspondent of the Moscow bureau of the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, accredited with the Russian foreign ministry," the FSB was quoted as saying. He is "suspected of spying in the interests of the American government" and of collecting information "on an enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex," agencies reported. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP) (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images) — A picture taken on July 24, 2021 shows journalist Evan Gershkovich, a US reporter for The Wall Street Journal newspaper who has been detained in Russia for espionage.
DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Gershkovich is being held in Russia's notorious Lefortovo Prison in Moscow — and is the first American journalist to be arrested in the country on espionage charges since 1986. Gershkovich was covering the Ukraine war before he was detained.

The White House called the charges against him "ridiculous," and the US State Department designated him as "wrongfully detained." His arrest has sparked outcry around the world, and an online #FreeEvan campaign.

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