Uncommon Knowledge
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U.S. citizen Robert Woodland could be facing over a decade in a Russian prison after being detained in Moscow on drug trafficking charges.
Woodland was arrested last week and charged with the “illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, manufacture [and] processing” of illicit drugs, The Moscow Times reported on Tuesday. The charges carry a prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years.
Police accused Woodland of intending to sell drugs after he was purportedly found in possession of 4.5 grams of mephedrone, a synthetic narcotic. A Moscow court indicated that he would be detained in the capital city until at least March 5.
Woodland, 32, was born in Russia’s Perm region and holds dual U.S.-Russian citizenship. He was adopted by an American couple at the age of 2 but moved to Russia three years ago, shortly after locating his birth mother.
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Woodland attended school in the upstate New York town of Saranac Lake, according to NBC News. After moving to Russia, he settled in Dolgoprudny, a town just north of Moscow.
Woodland had at one point worked as an English teacher but was unemployed at the time of his arrest. A court document obtained by NBC indicates that investigators believe “criminal activity is his main source of income” currently.
A lawyer for Woodland requested a house arrest instead of imprisonment. Authorities turned down the request over concerns that Woodland might flee and a lack of medical evidence that would preclude his detention.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow via email on Tuesday.
In a 2020 profile published by the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, Woodland said that his life “just turned upside down” and he was “drawn to Russia with terrible force” after meeting with his birth mother and two sisters.
“I always understood that I was Russian, but I didn’t do much to learn the history of my homeland,” Woodland said. “Now I’m here. I’ve decided to stay in my home country forever.”
Woodland is not the only American being detained in Russia. While problematic at any time, U.S. diplomatic efforts to free American prisoners are particularly difficult at the moment because of strained relations caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Biden administration is attempting to win the freedom of prisoners that include former Marine Paul Whelan and journalist Evan Gershkovich, both accused of espionage by Russia, and teacher Marc Fogel, who is imprisoned on drug trafficking charges.
In 2022, two high-profile and controversial prisoner exchanges led to the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who had been detained in Moscow on marijuana possession charges, and former Marine Trevor Reed, who was accused of drunkenly assaulting a Russian police officer.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.