Is This The ‘Second Coming’ Of The US-Russia Detente?

Stephen James Hubbard was around 74 years old, a retired American from Michigan, once living happily with his Ukrainian lover in Cyprus, when he later found himself in trouble with the Russian government. In 2021, according to a New York Times account of his retelling, he moved to the east Ukrainian city of Izium one year prior to the Russian invasion of the Donbass.

He and his girlfriend, named Inna, then broke up. She returned to Cyprus. He stayed in Izuium and was arrested by the Russian military in April 2022, charged with fighting as a mercenary. He was sentenced to roughly seven years in jail in October 2024. He spent the last two years of his life in a Russian penal county when he could have been home with his family.

But lucky for Hubbard, a few years later, the Russians opted to let him go. Why? What did Russia get out of the exchange? What can be hoped for out of the release of an elderly American citizen most of us never knew was in prison, until only a few weeks ago.

Hubbard came home last week thanks, in part, to the efforts of pro-bono Russian and American lawyers working side by side to free him.

U.S. law firm Boies Schiller Flexner and Russian law firm EPAM Law both issued statements on Oct. 21 confirming their work on Hubbard’s release. EPAM specifically reports that its lawyers located Hubbard, helped arrange humanitarian assistance and represented him in Russian courts, including a parole application. Some say it was Hubbard’s religious affiliation that helped. He was Eastern Orthodox Christian, according to his son in a statement posted by EPAM.

“It moves me deeply that the father who introduced me to Russian Orthodoxy has now been released through an act of mercy involving Russia,” wrote his son Joseph Coleman.

“My affection for the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian people is neither recent nor political. It comes from a spiritual conviction, personal experience, and friendships across borders,” he said.

Putin released Hubbard without getting a Russian prisoner in return. It is unclear of this religious affiliation had anything to do with Putin’s sudden feeling of mercy, but according to the New York Times, Coleman, who is a Greek Orthodox priest, wrote a long letter to Putin in September, making a point of his Orthodox faith, similar to Russian Orthodox, and pleading for his father’s release.

“We were glad to contribute to a broader effort that brought Stephen Hubbard home,” said Dmitry Afanasiev, co-founder of EPAM. “His release is a small but meaningful step toward peace and cooperation, and we hope it encourages further progress.”