Moscow has released former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman this Tuesday, who had been imprisoned in Russia since 2022, after Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a pardon for “humanitarian reasons.” The serviceman suffers from health problems, according to U.S. officials. The White House and the State Department had urged Moscow to release Gilman, 32, so he could receive medical treatment in the United States.
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Gilman, who served in the United States Marine Corps from August 2019 to August 2020, was traveling by train when he was detained in January 2022 in the Russian city of Voronezh, according to Lebson. Russian state media reported that he had been arrested for allegedly kicking a police officer while under the influence of alcohol.
Gilman had been held in a prison in Voronezh, about 550 kilometers south of Moscow. The exact circumstances of his health condition are unclear. However, Eric Lebson, strategy director of Global Reach, an advocacy group representing Gilman’s family, told Reuters last week that, at the end of June, the American had been transferred from the prison hospital to the psychiatric ward of a civilian emergency hospital, where he exhibited a state similar to catatonia, diagnosed as a “dissociative stupor.”
U.S. officials indicated that this Tuesday Gilman was traveling on a State Department plane bound for Washington-Dulles airport. A U.S. official who spoke with Gilman said he was able to walk and hold a conversation. “All things considered, he seems to be in good condition,” the official said.
U.S. sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said four doctors would evaluate Gilman during the flight. His mother, Nina, was also on board.
Upon arrival at the airport, Gilman is expected to be received by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Deputy National Security Advisor Sebastian Gorka, who had worked for his release along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump; the U.S. special envoy for hostage response, Adam Boehler; and other officials.
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Subsequently, Gilman is likely to be transferred to a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas, where he will receive medical treatment, according to officials.
Conflicting versions
His father, Vladimir Gilman, who emigrated from Russia to Massachusetts, stated in an opinion piece published in The Boston Globe in October 2024 that the accusations were false. According to the family’s version, the former serviceman had fallen ill when the incident occurred and accidentally kicked the officer. The police officer was not injured, dropped the charges, and did not present evidence during Gilman’s trial, he wrote.
Robert Gilman was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. He was one of at least 10 U.S. citizens known to be imprisoned in Russia.
U.S. officials have said that a senior Russian official, Yuri Ushakov, informed Trump’s advisers last week that Putin had agreed to sign a decree to pardon Gilman for “humanitarian reasons,” within the framework of the friendship between the Russian leader and the U.S. president.
The release was the result of intense negotiations between U.S. and Russian officials over the weekend. According to U.S. sources, Washington did not exchange any Russian prisoners in return for Gilman’s release. “It is a goodwill gesture,” one official said.
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