An unidentified Kremlin official is responsible for the imprisonment of a Russian journalist, according to Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal.

Despite being imprisoned in Russia, Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal continued to report. On Thursday, his work was published, showcasing his talent as an author rather than the focus of a story.

Gershkovich wrote a first-person account detailing the man behind the Kremlin spying operation that led to his ordeal and was present when he was released.

"In 2023, I was arrested by Russia's security forces for espionage, becoming the first foreign correspondent charged with this crime since the Cold War. Despite my arrest, I continued to report, and after my release, I set out to identify the person responsible and learn more about the spy unit that carried out the orders."

Gershkovich, who worked with other Wall Street Journal reporters during his 500-day imprisonment, reported that the "man behind the curtain" was Lt. Gen. Dmitry Minaev, head of Russia's Department for Counterintelligence Operations, or DKRO.

Gershkovich wrote that Putin's opaque wartime regime is at the very core of the story of how Russia's autocratic system became entangled in a broiling conflict with the West.

Gershkovich, an American-born journalist with Russian immigrant parents, became infamous worldwide after being accused by the DKRO of being a CIA agent, despite a lack of evidence. Despite the absurdity of the claim, Russia held him indefinitely.

In March 2023, he was arrested in Yekaterinburg, the fourth-largest city in the country, while reporting. He was later transferred to the Moscow prison Lefortovo, known for its history of executions during the Great Purge under Stalin and its current role in isolating dissidents and suspects.

Gershkovich wrote that he realized the strength of the mysterious force that had deprived him of his liberty at Lefortovo.

The DKRO, a secretive organization, is crucial to Russian President Vladimir Putin's repressive regime and is responsible for actions such as the arrest of Gershkovich, Whelan, and Griner. These actions were taken to create leverage for the retrieval of figures like convicted Russian hit man Vadim Krasikov and arms dealer Viktor Bout.

On Aug. 1, Gershkovich, Whelan, and others were released in a large, intricate prisoner exchange between the United States, Russia, and Germany, with Minaev present.

Gershkovich, who turned 33 in October, received significant media attention throughout his imprisonment and was even mentioned by President Biden during his State of the Union address earlier this year.

He was convicted of spying charges in a closed court in July and sentenced to 16 years in prison, an expected result. Now, less than five months later, he's reporting again, and journalists online exulted in seeing their colleague's name in print where it belonged.

Gershkovich reported that DKRO officials are highly compensated and considered the Kremlin's "most elite security force." He also revealed that two of his reporter colleagues were stalked while working in Vienna and Washington as intimidation tactics.

The DKRO has arrested hundreds of Russians on spying, collaboration, and treason charges to suppress opposition to the Putin regime. Additionally, the Wall Street Journal reported that the DKRO was responsible for a purge of the nation's defense ministry during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, arresting officials for corruption. Intelligence officials also warned that the DKRO is planning malicious actions abroad to aid the war effort.

The report stated that Putin's primary focus is on internal matters, particularly spies within Russia.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a former Russian intelligence officer described an extraordinary twist: The president formed a counterintelligence committee to search for collaborators among counterintelligence agencies, who were in turn searching for collaborators among ordinary Russians.