Imprisoned reporter writes home: 'My mother's beef prepared me for Russian prison'

Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkowitz has been arrested on charges of espionage. Photo: AFP

An American reporter imprisoned in Russia said his mother's cooking prepared him well for the porridge served to him for breakfast by prison guards.

In his first letter after his arrest and charges of espionage Evan Gershkovich told his family that he «doesn't lose hope.»

The Wall Street Journal, the newspaper for which Gershkovich works in Russia, has published excerpts from a letter that its correspondent sent to his parents in Philadelphia. The letter was written in Russian and dated April 5.

“Mom, you, unfortunately, for better or for worse, prepared me well for prison food,” he wrote. “In the morning, for breakfast, we are given hot wheat, oatmeal or wheat porridge. I remember my childhood.”

The Russian Security Service arrested Gershkovich on March 29 while he was on a business trip in Yekaterinburg in Russia's Ural Mountains. Last week, he was formally charged with espionage. He denies the allegations.

Gershkovich, 31, is a respected reporter and officially accredited by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His parents emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1979, and Mr. Gershkovich grew up speaking Russian at home.

In the letter, he also told his parents that he loved them and did not lose hope. see them again soon.

«I want to say that I do not lose hope,» he wrote. «I'm reading. I'm exercising. And I'm trying to write.»

Protesters in Washington demand Gershkovich's release. Photo: Getty < p>Mr. Gershkovich is being held in the notorious Russian Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, where the Kremlin sends its most high-profile prisoners before they stand trial. People who have been to prison say he will be held in near total isolation, although he will have access to the prison library.

So far, only Mr. Gershkovich's lawyer has seen him. He is not allowed to see friends, relatives, or American diplomats, although he confirmed in his letter that he received «care.» a bag containing slippers, toiletries, T-shirts and socks.

His mother, Ella Milman, told the Wall Street Journal that she was overjoyed when she received the letter.

&# 34 These are my son's words, not someone else's to me,” she said. «And his spirit shines.»

Mr. Gershkovich is the first American journalist to be imprisoned by Russian authorities and charged with espionage since 1986. The US government has demanded his immediate release, but analysts believe the Kremlin may want to use him as a pawn for future prisoner exchanges.