The purpose of the sale is to distribute the proceeds to refugee children from Ukraine
Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, is auctioning off the medal he received when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for donating to children displaced by the war in Ukraine.
The journalist was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2021, along with his Filipino colleague Maria Resa “for their efforts to defend freedom of expression”.
In late March, the Novaya Gazeta newspaper announced that it was suspending its online and print publications in Russia until the end of the war in Ukraine.
The auction house Heritage Auctions undertook the sale of the medal and the auction is expected to be completed tonight at midnight in Manhattan (local time, 07.00 on Tuesday, Greek time). In the morning, the highest bid was $ 550,000. Proceeds will go to the Unicef ​​program for children displaced by the war in Ukraine.
Muratov was a member of the group that founded the Novaya Gazeta in 1993, after the fall of the USSR. Before closing, the newspaper was the last to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Novaya Gazeta is best known for its investigations into corruption and human rights abuses in Chechnya. These investigations cost the lives of six of her associates, including journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was assassinated in 2006. Muratov dedicated the Nobel Peace Prize to their memory.
“This newspaper is dangerous for people’s lives,” he told AFP in 2021.
In a video released by Heritage Auctions, the journalist states that the Nobel Prize “gives you a chance to be heard”.
“The most important message today is that people understand that there is a war going on and that we need to help those who are suffering the most,” he said, referring in particular to “refugee children”.
In early April, Muratov was attacked inside a train in Russia by a stranger who covered him with a mixture of paint and acetone, causing him to burn his eyes.
