Dmitry Muratov, the Russian editor-in-chief of the independent daily Novaya Gazeta, auctioned off his Nobel Peace Prize gold medal for $103.5 million on Monday to aid children displaced by Ukraine’s conflict.
At a Heritage Auctions sale in New York, the medal was sold to an as-yet-unidentified phone bidder.
Muratov and Filipino journalist Maria Ressa shared the prize in 2021, with the committee honouring both of them “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.”
After the Soviet Union fell apart in 1993, he was one of a group of journalists that created Novaya Gazeta.
It became the only major newspaper left this year to criticise President Vladimir Putin and his actions both inside and beyond Russia.
Novaya Gazeta halted operations in Russia in March, more than a month after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, when Moscow passed laws imposing harsh prison sentences on anybody who criticises the Kremlin’s brutal military assault.
Bidders could buy Muratov’s medal in person or online, with all revenues benefiting UNICEF’s Humanitarian Response for Ukrainian Children Displaced by War.
Muratov was assaulted on a train in April when someone flung oil-based paint mixed with acetone in his face, burning his eyes. Six journalists and associates from Novaya Gazeta have been murdered in connection with their work since 2000, including investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya.
Muratov has dedicated his Nobel prize to their memory.
The acclaimed journalist stated in a video posted by Heritage that earning the Nobel Prize  “gives you an opportunity to be heard.”
The most important message today is for people to understand that there’s a war going on and we need to help people who are suffering the most.
Image Credits: AP
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