Vladimir Kara-Murza thought he'd die in a Siberian prison. A secretive prisoner swap granted him freedom

As Vladimir Kara-Murza faced a row of guards clad in black balaclavas and lined up against a prison wall in Moscow, the 42-year-old remained baffled at the fate that awaited him. 

It was Aug. 1.

He had been in a Russian prison for more than two years, but in the previous five days he became convinced he would either be hastily executed or that Russia's courts would extend the 25-year sentence he was already serving for treason and spreading false information.

It wasn't until Kara-Murza was led onto a coach bus parked outside, and peered through the dim lighting at the other passengers onboard, that he was able to piece together what was happening.

"In every row, I see more men in black balaclavas covering their faces … but next to each of them I saw a friend, a colleague, a fellow political prisoner," he told CBC News this week, during his first interview with Canadian media.

"That was the moment I realized what was going on, because there could only be one reason why all of us would be on the same bus together."

The group was en route to the airport, and eventually to Turkey, where they would be freed in the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

On Aug. 1, after years of political negotiations involving several countries, including the United States, Germany and Poland, Kara-Murza was freed from Russian prison along with 15 others, including Canadian-U.S. citizen Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

In exchange, Russia received eight of its citizens convicted abroad, including Kremlin hitman Vadim Krasikov, who gunned down a former Chechen militant in Berlin in 2019.

Kara-Murza, who also holds British citizenship and was granted honorary Canadian citizenship while imprisoned in Russia, is currently on a whirlwind tour of Europe, visiting five countries in 10 days, to meet with lawmakers and supporters. 

He spoke to CBC News in Berlin, where he also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who played a key role in negotiations. 

During the hour-and-half interview, Kara-Murza recounted his arrest, the months he spent in solitary confinement and the surreality of freedom. 

Long before Kara-Murza was arrested on April 11, 2022, outside of his home in Moscow, the father of three had been a high-profile target of the Kremlin.

An author and journalist, he frequently travelled abroad, speaking with politicians in the West — including in Canada's Parliament — about the need for sanctions against Russian human rights abusers.