Vladimir Putin told a head of state that Evan Gershkovich was a spy who operated too openly.
Posted by The Bulwark Daily, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
The Bulwark DailySep 29, 2026
The sources corroborate that Putin told a world leader Gershkovich was an intelligence operative and said he was 'much too obvious,' but the extracted claim's 'operated too openly' is not in the passage, which says only 'a stupid spy,' so the claim departs from the post and is graded unverifiable.
What we found
Supports. Reuters reports Gershkovich's account that Putin 'fully bought into' the narrative that he was a spy, and the Reuters piece cites Putin's February 2024 'caught red-handed' remarks.[1]
Supports. Excerpts from Gershkovich's memoir, as reported by Meduza and the Daily Beast, quote Putin telling a world leader that Gershkovich was an intelligence operative and saying 'He was much too obvious.'[2][3][4]
Context. The quoted Putin remark comes from Gershkovich's own published account, relayed secondhand by outlets, and the Kremlin did not respond; the Meduza and Daily Beast items are lower-credibility or unrated.[1][2][3]
Context. The passage in the post calls him 'just a stupid spy,' and 'operated too openly' is a characterization the post does not make; the closest source wording is 'much too obvious.'
Sources
4 sources: 1 fact-checker, 3 not rated
- 1Evan Gershkovich says his arrest in Russia was carefully planned FSB stingreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2'He's an idiot.' Evan Gershkovich says Putin spent more than an hour ...meduza.io · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 3Raging Putin’s Table-Slamming Meltdown Revealedthedailybeast.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 4Raging Putin’s Table-Slamming Meltdown Revealedyahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Vladimir Putin expressed confusion to Tucker Carlson that the United States would work to secure the release of a basketball player but not a spy.Can’t tell
- Evan Gershkovich was held in Russian captivity for 16 months.True
- Evan Gershkovich spent nearly 500 days in a Russian prison on an espionage charge.True
- Evan Gershkovich was held in a prison cell for 23 hours a day for 500 days.True
- Evan Gershkovich was held in Russian custody for a year and a half before being released in a prisoner swap.True