It’s rare for Russian criminal hackers to land in U.S. prisons and even rarer for them to get out early. But two of the eight Russians released in Thursday’s prisoner swap with the U.S. are seasoned cybercriminals. It is believed to be the first time the U.S. has released international hackers in a prisoner exchange, according to cybercrime experts and a review conducted by NBC News. The two convicted Russian hackers, Vladislav Klyushin and Roman Seleznev, are in their early 40s. Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP - Getty ImagesThat was true for the men released Thursday.

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Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Vladislav Klyushin, Klyushin, Seleznev, Todd Carroll, “ It’s, ” Carroll, ”, “, “ I’m, Natalia Kolesnikova, Philip Reiner, they’ve, Vladimir Putin’s Organizations: U.S, Kremlin, Wall, ., NBC News, FBI, Getty, Institute for Security, Technology Locations: U.S, United States, Russia, Russian, Sverdlovsk Regional, Yekaterinburg, AFP, Sion , Switzerland, Seleznev, Maldives