The news of the largest prisoner exchange between the West and Russia since the Cold War brings hope. But we must keep in mind that the people freed are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of political prisoners held in Russia. Furthermore, the deal might serve to embolden the Kremlin, which now knows it can easily take hostages to trade for captured spies and killers. I am a journalist who has focused on Russia throughout my life. So the news of Evan Gershkovich’s arrest came as a huge shock on a visceral level. I was terrified, and I abandoned all plans to ever visit my beloved Moscow, as t…