And now, America's number one show on pop culture and politics. This is the Michael Medved

show. And another great day in this greatest nation on God's green earth, and it is a great day, and it is the greatest nation, which just got three of its citizens of our beloved countrymen released from the living hell in Russian prisons. Amazing. A huge prisoner swap, which is a triumph

for all concerned. I don't know if it's a triumph for Vladimir Putin or how much he was

personally concerned. But the truth of the matter is that three American citizens, yes, including the Wall

Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and Paul Whelan, the Marine who was arrested in Russia,

claiming that he was spying on them. And he out was back in 2018. So he's been in prison for five and a half years.

And these are not American country club-style prisons.

These are the kinds of Russian death camps that calls the desk of Alexei Navalny.

And by the way, there are three Russians who were imprisoned because of their ties to Alexi Navalny.

They are being released and they are getting the hell out of Russia.

And there's a total of three American citizens being released.

Evan Gershowitz, Al-Zu Karmashava, who is a Russian-American,

and Paul Whalen. There are six other Western prisoners, mostly German, four political prisoners

and human rights advocates, and three Russians with ties to Alexei Navalny. And there's 24 prisoners who were

exchanged, including eight Russians. So as deals go, this is a very good deal. There are eight

prisoners being released who are being held in the West for various crimes including Vadim Krasikov,

who assassinated a Chechen separatist in Berlin. He is being released. This was a complicated

deal that involved countries all over Europe, very much Germany, Slovenia,

Norway was involved. And this again goes to the whole idea that NATO and alliances and working

together with other countries is tremendously important.

Axios is reporting that the U.S. was pushing to include former Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny,

in a prisoner exchange, before he died under mysterious circumstances in February.

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