Gershkovich Gives Inaugural Derk Sauer Lecture
The former Wall Street Journal reporter spoke in Amsterdam on what would have been the 74th birthday of the founder of The Moscow Times.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Media
Evan Gershkovich delivered the inaugural Derk Sauer Lecture at the De Balie cultural center in Amsterdam, organized with Het Parool and The Moscow Times. The lecture was held on what would have been the 74th birthday of Sauer, who died last year after a sailing accident.
Why it matters
The lecture honors the founder of The Moscow Times, who helped relocate exiled Russian media outlets to the Netherlands after Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It highlights the continued effort to preserve independent journalism outside Russia.
Gershkovich was held for 16 months in Russian detention after a 16-year espionage sentence, while The Moscow Times has operated since its founding by Sauer in 1992. Russia's conviction rate is cited at around 100%, but the source does not detail how this figure was calculated.
The players
Evan Gershkovich
A journalist who was detained in Russia for 16 months after his arrest in 2023 and later released in a prisoner swap, and who previously worked for The Moscow Times.
Derk Sauer
The founder of The Moscow Times in 1992, who facilitated the relocation of exiled Russian media outlets to the Netherlands and died last year following a sailing accident.
The details
Gershkovich, a former Moscow correspondent who worked for The Moscow Times from 2017 to 2020, was arrested in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 and released in an August 2024 prisoner swap. Russia reportedly intended to use him as a bargaining chip for an exchange with Washington.
Timeline
March 2023: Gershkovich arrested while reporting in Yekaterinburg.
2022: Exiled media outlets relocated to the Netherlands after the invasion of Ukraine.
August 2024: Gershkovich released in a prisoner swap.
September: Gershkovich's memoir, "This Cursed Beautiful Land," released.
November 1, 2026: Inaugural Derk Sauer Lecture held in Amsterdam.
The Big Picture
The relocation of The Moscow Times, TV Rain and Meduza to the Netherlands following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine created a diaspora of independent Russian journalism. The Derk Sauer Lecture now institutionalizes remembrance of that effort, with the source projecting that independent journalism principles will flourish again when the right time comes.
Readers following Russian news can better understand how independent outlets operate from abroad when Russian authorities restrict domestic reporting. The lecture series offers an ongoing forum for the topic.
The takeaway
Independent journalism persists beyond national borders when journalists and institutions preserve its principles in exile. The Derk Sauer Lecture is one example of how the memory of that work is being carried forward.
Further reading
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Source note: This article includes information reported by The Moscow Times.
