Russian journalist auctions Nobel Peace Prize medal and raises £84 million – for Ukrainian refugees | World News
A Russian journalist, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, sold his medal for £84 million – and donated the money to Ukrainian refugee children.
Dmitry Muratov, editor of Russia’s Novaya Gazeta, a scathing critic of the Kremlin, was jointly awarded last year with journalist Maria Ressa of the Philippines.
But on Monday – on World Refugee Day – his medal went up for auction and raised a staggering amount.
Previously, the highest amount ever paid for a Nobel Prize medal was $4.76 million (£3.83 million) in 2014, when James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, brought home gave him the Nobel Prize in 1962, sold it.
The full purchase price of the medal will be beneficial UNICEFUkraine’s humanitarian response to displaced children,
Heritage Auctions, which carried out the auction, said in a statement.
Mr. Muratov, who was awarded the award in October 2021, helped found Novaya Gazeta and was the publication’s editor-in-chief when it closed in March amid Kremlin control of journalists and a dissenting public. politics after the Russian invasion. Ukraine.
It was Mr Muratov’s idea to auction his prize, after it was announced that he would donate a accompanying £407,000 cash prize to charity.
The idea of the donation, he said, “is to give refugee children a chance for a future”.
Gold Medal 23 carat Pic AP
Melted, the 175 grams of 23-carat gold contained in Mr Muratov’s medal would be worth around £8,000.
He said he hopes the sale will “become the start of a flash mob, setting an example for everyone to follow for people to auction off their valuable property to help others.” Ukraine”.
And he added that those are important international sanctions imposed against Russia does not prevent humanitarian aid, such as rare diseases drugs and bone marrow transplants, from reaching those in need.
The United Nations estimates that around 8 million people have been forced to leave Ukraine – many of them children
Mr. Muratov and Maria Ressa, each receiving their own medals, were honored for their battles in defense of freedom of expression in their respective countries, despite being hit by harassment. government and even death threats.
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Mr. Muratov has been very critical of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the war launched in February that has forced nearly 5 million Ukrainians to flee to other countries for safety, creating the largest humanitarian crisis in Europe. since World War II.
Independent journalists in Russia have come under intense scrutiny by the Kremlin, if not entirely by the government.
Since Putin came to power more than two decades ago, nearly two dozen journalists have been killed, including at least four who used to work for Mr. Muratov’s newspaper.
In April, Mr. Muratov said he was attacked with red paint while on a Russian train.
Since its founding in 1901, there have been nearly 1,000 Nobel Prize recipients honoring achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and the advancement of peace.
