>
I'm glad he is home.  Also, fellow Americans: Don't enter Russia!
"detained by Russian border patrol police in April 2022 after crossing from Poland into Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave which is territory governed by Moscow" >

How dumb do you have to be to illegally cross the Poland/Russia border?
Article says he was in Poland for a music festival. Makes no sense at all. >

It made no sense till the music festival part… that I get… drugs… drinking… bad decisions can be made… >

The guy looks stable enough to be a spy, but maybe US soldiers just have a thing for Russian prison. >

Always liked that Richardson fella, and now even more so. >

I am really curious to know why he was arrested by Russian border police after just going from Poland to Kaliningrad on a vacation and then held for the majority of a year there. What was his crime? >


I am really curious to know why he was arrested by Russian border police after just going from Poland to Kaliningrad on a vacation 

He crossed the Polish-Russian border, so the border police being involved is quite normal in this case. To explain a bit; there is no physical border between Poland and Kaliningrad - as in, you do not have to stop at a checkpoint and get searched like other international borders, but there are still rules that apply to who can cross into Russia and who cannot.
An American, like Taylor Dudley, is not allowed to enter Kaliningrad without a full official Russian visa, and the US is not one of the 53 countries whos citizens are eligible to apply for a temporary Kaliningrad eVisa.
My guess on this case is that Taylor likely met people at a music festival in Poland and decided to go with them to Kaliningrad, even though he did not have a Russian visa and he was arrested for it. Clearly they judged it to be an honest mistake, as they released him without fanfare in under a year - even though he's a US Navy vet whom they could likely justify was some kind of spy, etc. >

Still, most countries would just deport you for that. Not imprison you for a year or more >

Russia is not “most countries” it seems lol, even as a Canadian I have zero appetite to even consider going to Russia within the next 20 years at minimum lol. >

Yeah no kidding. I was simply trying to point out how bad of a country they are and people are replying like I'm not aware >

Now let’s see what bullshit the GOP can come up with as to why this isn’t good enough and how Joe Biden should have done more >

Actually,  if you read the reports, it was Gov Bill Richardson and his non -profit, The Richardson Center for Global Engagement,  that stepped up and forged this release >

But also, stellar work to Bill and his organization! >

Wonder what the catch is? This isn't the same guy they've been talking about who was arrested on espionage right? >

different guy.  this guy crossed the border into Kaliningrad from Poland for some reason and was picked up by a police patrol. >

I mean I kind of always wanted to go to Kaliningrad myself,  having looked at it on the map and snooped around on Google Earth.  Forbidden fruit, and what not. >

I'm sure you can visit, you just need to get a visa and enter legally.
but I wouldn't recommend it right now LOL >

Yeah,  not this week. I'll keep this on my list of "Places I want to see, but my US passport will get me killed". >

Haven’t personally been, but a close relative had to cross through there somewhat recently (long story). 
He said that outside of the city itself, the surrounding area is still covered in WW2 scars/ruins/etc and there is little to no population outside of the main city/satélite settlements. 
The whole region was depopulated of native Germans at the end of WW2, and only somewhat replaced with Russians (and other soviet nationalities) during the following decades. It’s still largely empty. >

I had no idea kaliningrad was so far away from mainland russia >

It should be annexed back to Poland. Imagine that! >

Lol pls no.
Kaliningrad, first of all, used to be Germany (Königsberg) and was absorbed into Russia following the end of WW2. 
During the Cold War, Khrushchev offered to transfer it to Lithuania, which was at the time deep inside the Iron Curtain. Lithuania didn’t want it because they had a bit of foresight that there were a lot of Russians living there at that point and they didn’t want to undermine their own nationality with those of their nominal overlords at the time.
The area was never Poland, for at least several hundred years at this point. There are neither polish nor German people living there anymore as the area was totally depopulated during WW2. >

Cool but Russia just annexes shit that doesn’t belong to them so it’s all fair game. >

Yea and look at all the problems it’s caused…
If Poland were to take it over, they’d either have to deal with an influx of Russians that don’t like them or would have to deport them. Neither option sounds fun. 
Leave Kaliningrad be. >


would have to deport them

e.g ethnically cleanse it >

Ok. So now that this guy is released. Where are all the shout outs of happiness from the Republicans for
Bringing him back?? >

Knew they would let him go as soon as they milked the whole "Britney Griner was released for the merchant of death" thing. Russia wanted to drag their feet on this to rile up the Americans and sow divisiveness. >

Interesting he traveled to poland for a music festival. I wonder who the bands were to travel from usa to poland to see! >

It's a music festival. Anything's good while drunk and/or high. >

Cool.  I am happy to see this.