CIA gave freed journalist Viagra in his welcome-home kit

Talk about a happy ending.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich says the CIA included Viagra in the recovery kit he received after spending 16 months in a Russian prison.

Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Gershkovich recalled being handed the package on his flight home following the 2024 prisoner swap that secured his release, The Telegraph reported.

The welcome-home provisions came with an unexpected pharmaceutical flourish. Gershkovich said neither he nor those travelling with him could figure out why.

He kept the tablet as a “memento”.

Whisky came with conditions

They also arranged a bottle of High West Campfire whisky after his mother told US officials he would appreciate a drink on the journey.

That, however, was off limits. Gershkovich said the CIA insisted he remain sober for his arrival in Maryland, where then-president Joe Biden was waiting.

The whisky would have to wait.

A reporting trip became a prison ordeal

Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich in March 2023 while he was on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg.

He was accused of collecting military information for the CIA, allegations he, The Wall Street Journal and the Biden administration rejected. His detention became a prolonged diplomatic fight, with the journalist ultimately freed on 1 August 2024 in a major international prisoner exchange.

The harder part of coming home

Gershkovich, who was promoting his memoir This Cursed Beautiful Land, also described how hard it was to adjust to freedom.

Reading, taking notes and playing backgammon had helped give prison life a routine.

“Human beings are adaptable. You create a life,” he said.

After his release, he underwent 16 months of therapy and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.