 The Wall Street Journal's Conti said a guilty verdict for Gershkovich was always expected. The conviction rate in Russia for these kinds of cases is over 99%. But it was the speed of the trial that has caught people's attention and led to speculation that Russia may be open to doing a swap. Conti again. There's a number of years of history of Russia taking individuals to use as leverage to swap for Russians who have been incarcerated in various locations.