What does freedom feel like after five years in a Russian prison cell?
A year ago, on 29 December 2019, prisoners were exchanged with the self-proclaimed ‘LPR’ and ‘DPR’. Among the Ukrainians who returned home were journalist Stanislav Aseyev, tanker Bohdan Pantiushenko, and human rights activist Andriy Yarovoi. Four months earlier, on 7 September, Crimeans Oleg Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko were released from Russian colonies. We spoke to the former prisoners about their first year of freedom.
Writing
Conversations that trust silence more than exposition.
Direction
Restrained approach lets survivors control their own narratives.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sentsov became an international cause célèbre during his imprisonment, with directors from Pedro Almodóvar to Agnieszka Holland campaigning for his release.
The title's bitter irony becomes clear: 'a good year' measures freedom in months, not the decades these men expected to lose.
UA
