Dmitry Muratov, editor of the recently closed Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, has sold the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to war-torn Ukraine. The price of the medal has reached a record 10 crore 35 lakh dollars in the auction.
The entire proceeds from the sale will be spent through UNICEF on displaced children in Ukraine. The auction took place in New York on Monday, the auction house Heritage Auctions said in a statement. Incidentally the day was World Refugee Day. News AFP.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Muratov’s newspaper sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government over the operation. The Kremlin warned him about this and at one point the newspaper closed last March.
According to AFP, the auction price of Muratov’s medal has so far surpassed all records for the sale of the Nobel medal. Earlier, the Nobel laureate was sold at auction for a maximum of 5 million.
“With the help of the Novaya Gazeta staff, Muratov allowed us to sell his medal,” Heritage Auctions said in a statement. He hopes the money will have a positive effect on Ukrainian refugees.
Muratov, co-founder of Novaya Gazeta, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 jointly with Filipino journalist Maria Reser.
