A court in Russia has reduced the jail sentence for a United States soldier who had been convicted of theft and making threats of murder, following an appeals process.
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black was jailed in 2024 for three years and nine months following his arrest in Vladivostok in Russia’s far east where he had visited his girlfriend who accused him of stealing from her and threatening to kill her.
While a regional court initially upheld the full sentence, the 9th Court of Cassation granted a partial reduction on Monday, cutting his sentence by seven months, Russian state news agencies reported.
Newsweek has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
An appeals court in the Far East city of Vladivostok reduced U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black’s prison sentence by seven months.https://t.co/tOeBUTO41U
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) April 7, 2025
Why It Matters
Black is among a handful of Americans still held in Russian prisons, widely seen as bargaining chips in Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s negotiations with the West.
The court case was reported widely by Russian state media while international outlets, such as Euronews, noted that the reduction in the sentence was a sign of thawing ties between Russia and the U.S.
What To Know
Without the permission of his commanders, Black, 34, flew to Vladivostok in April 2024 to see his girlfriend, Alexandra Vashchuk, whom he had met while in South Korea. He was arrested on May 2 after Vashchuk had accused him of stealing 10,000 rubles ($116) from her and threatening to kill her.
At his trial in June 2024, he pleaded not guilty to making death threats but admitted he was partially guilty of taking the money. A court in Vladivostok sentenced him to three years and nine months in a penal colony in Blagoveshchensk in the Amur region.
His defense team had sought a full acquittal on the charge of making murder threats and a lesser penalty for the theft conviction. The latter request was partially granted, and his sentence was reduced to three years and two months.
Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican and then-chairman of the U.S. Foreign Affairs Committee, said in May 2024 that he was “deeply concerned” by the arrest posting on X, formerly Twitter, that Russia “has a long history of holding American citizens hostage.”
Although Russian media did not report that any U.S. lobbying had taken place, Euronews was among outlets that noted how the reduced sentencing comes as President Donald Trump seeks a better relationship with Moscow.
Russia freed another U.S. citizen, Kalob Byers, in February after detaining him at a Moscow airport for carrying cannabis-laced gummies.
Last year, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were among those freed from Russia as part of a massive prisoner swap. Gershkovich and Whelan were accused of espionage by Russian authorities, a charge they and the U.S. government had consistently denied
U.S. Army soldier Gordon Black, who was detained on suspicion of theft, appears in court in the far eastern city of Vladivostok on June 6, 2024.
PAVEL KOROLYOV/Getty Images
What People Are Saying
Russian news agency Tass reported that the verdict from a district court in Vladivostok, from June 6, 2024 “regarding the convict Black Gordon Chris will be changed.”
What Happens Next?
Tass said that Black will serve his sentence in a general regime colony and that when asked whether his defense would appeal the decision, the lawyer did not answer.
Meanwhile, several Americans remain jailed in Russia, including dual national Ksenia Karelina and retired teacher Stephen Hubbard.
Update 04/07/25, 9:47 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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