The Russian editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta sold the Nobel Peace Prize medal at auction for $103.5 million.
Muratov was jointly awarded the 2021 Peace Prize for advocating freedom of expression in Russia.
After winning the award, he initially decided to donate the $500,000 to charities, but later chose to auction the prize itself.
Bidding for the 23-carat gold medal began online earlier this month, and as of yesterday it had barely reached half a million dollars. But the auction took a surprising turn, eventually raising more than $103 million. Heritage Auctions, which made the sale in New York, did not disclose who the winning bid belonged to.
According to Muratov, the amount will be donated to Unicef to help children displaced by the war in Ukraine. The United Nations estimates that more than 7 million people have left the country in the last 4 months.
Ahead of the auction, Muratov described the move as an “act of solidarity” with the millions of Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion. And to alleviate the crisis in the neighboring country, he asked other Russian citizens to sell their personal souvenirs. Muratov said that he kept a copy of his medal made of chocolate.
Novaya Gazeta suspended its operations in March 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The suspension was necessary after Moscow ruled that those describing Russia’s actions in Ukraine as “war” would face hefty fines or shutdowns. The Kremlin describes the conflict as a “special military operation”.
In April, Muratov was attacked by mixing red paint and acetone on a train in Russia. “Muratov, this is for our boys,” the attacker shouted, possibly referring to the Russian army.
Picture: Dmitry MURATOV
Muratov is one of the founding journalists of Novaya Gazeta in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since 2000, six newspaper journalists and collaborators have been killed in connection with their work, including investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya.
In a video released by Heritage Auctions, Muratov said, “The most important message today is that people understand that there is a war and we must help the people who suffer the most.” Said.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize with journalist Maria Ressa, co-founder of the online news site Rappler in the Philippines.
Ressa and Muratov are known for publishing investigations that upset their country’s leaders and have become symbols of the struggle for press freedom.
‘This text was originally published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-61875175’
source: Noticias
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