London – Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union, died this Monday (30) at the age of 91, making his mark in the history of politics and independent Russian journalism.
In 1993, he used some of the Nobel Peace Prize money he received in 1990 to buy computers and help found the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia’s most belligerent media outlets and a strong opponent of the Vladimir Putin government and the war with Ukraine.
Journalist Dmitry Muratov, founder and editor of the newspaper, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, along with Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, for defying censorship and persecution.
Leadership Award to Gorbachev
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in October 1990 for its “leading role” in the negotiations, which opened “new possibilities for the world community to resolve its pressing problems of ideological, religious, historical and cultural divisions”.
He was the first and last president of the Soviet Union. The position was established in 1990, when the politician ruled the country for five years as general secretary of the Communist Party (the post was the de facto head of the Soviet state).
Gorbachev was responsible for Perestroika, a series of economic and political reforms that aimed to renew the Soviet system but ultimately led to the dissolution of the entire Eastern Bloc.
When he received the Nobel Peace Prize, he said:
I am optimistic and believe that we can now make the right historical choice together, without missing a great chance at the turn of the century and in the millennium to complete today’s extremely difficult transition to a peaceful world order.
Gorbachev remained committed to the newspaper he helped create, buy computers and help it gain international prestige.
in a video posted by Novaya Newspaper On YouTube in January 2017, Dmitry Muratov It turned out that the newspaper employees jointly owned 76% of the shares, while the remaining 24% belonged to the businessman. Alexander Lebedev (14%) and Mikhail Gorbachev (10%).
One of the original computers is on display at the newspaper’s Moscow headquarters.
Threats to Journalism in Post-Gorbachev Russia
Despite the country being open from the Gorbachev era, the independent journalism he fostered by helping create Novaya Gazeta is living its darkest days in Russia.
The atrocities against the Vladimir Putin regime did not begin with the invasion of Ukraine, and Novaya Gazeta is an example of this.
Since the early 2000s, six journalists and writers of Novaya Gazeta have been killed in connection with their work.
The Nobel Prize awarded to Dimitry Muratov was announced one day after the 15th anniversary of the shooting death of his best-known journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, on 7 October 2006.
Less than a month after the invasion of Ukraine, the newspaper announced the suspension of print editions and website updating, at risk of revoking its license, after receiving the second warning from Russia’s media regulator.
But the government is trying other ways to shut down Novaya Gazeta entirely.
Also Read | Russia wages war on court to cancel Nobel Peace journalist’s newspaper and website registrations
Authorities at the newspaper created the European version of Novaya Gazeta with the help of a fund from Reporters Without Borders to support the press in exile.
Some of those who remained in Russia published a magazine. But both attempts were quickly suppressed by the Putin regime, which blocked access to websites on the country’s territory.
Also Read | The magazine created by the Nobel Peace Prize newspaper to circumvent censorship is blocked in Russia, but is available outside the country
This Tuesday (31), after Gorbachev’s death, the Russian website Novaya Gazeta once again decided to face censorship, publishing texts about the death of the leader.
One of them is the statement of Dmitry Muratov, emphasizing the anti-war vision of the Soviet leader, his commitment to human rights and his love for his wife, Raisa.
“We will always remember: He loved a woman more than her job, put human rights above the state, and valued a peaceful sky more than personal power.
I heard a comment saying that he managed to change the world but couldn’t change his country. Maybe yes.
But he gave an incredible gift to the country and to the world – he gave us thirty years of peace. Without the threat of global and nuclear war. Who else can do this?
Following Gorbachev’s inspiration, Dmitry Muratov donated the prize money he received from the Nobel Foundation, not to journalism, but to children in healthcare.
After the war, the journalist went even further and auctioned off his own Nobel Peace Medal, which reached a record value, in New York.
Proceeds went to refugee children fleeing Russia’s occupation of Ukraine through UNICEF.
Also Read | Russian editor’s Nobel medal smashes record and sells for R$537 million to help children
source: Noticias
