Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov congratulated Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. He has been honored as an advocate for freedom of speech and independent journalism. The laureate himself said that this event is a merit of the newspaper and colleagues who died for freedom of speech. He will direct part of the cash payment to journalism and the treatment of children with SMA. Dmitry Drize, political commentator for Kommersant FM, joins in the congratulations.
Dmitry Muratov and Filipino journalist Maria Ressa were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “efforts to defend freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” First of all, I still want to say a few words about Maria Ress. She is a consistent critic of the President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte (the one who performed in our Valdai Club). She wrote a lot about the war against the drug mafia, which went down in history, and numerous executions without trial or investigation. At home, several criminal cases were instituted against her at once, including on receiving money from the CIA.
As for the Russian reaction to the decision of the Nobel Committee, we can say that, on the whole, it is positive. Dmitry Muratov said that this award is common, and he dedicates it to his deceased colleagues.
Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta
We have one point of view in the editorial office that, firstly, this is an award to the newspaper, and first of all to those people who gave their lives for fulfilling their professional duties. These are Igor Domnikov, Yura Shchekochikhin, Anya Politkovskaya, Nastya Baburova, Stas Markelov and Natasha Estemirova. These are the people who, in fact, received this award, but the Nobel Committee simply does not present it posthumously, so I am not the proper beneficiary.
Peskov congratulated Novaya’s editor-in-chief on receiving the award and called him a brave and talented person who is committed to his ideals.
Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the president
Talented, he is brave. Of course, this is a high assessment, we congratulate him.
This is the first Nobel Peace Prize in the modern history of Russia. Mikhail Gorbachev received it in 1990, that is, back in the USSR. The Nobel Committee puts freedom of speech ahead of the coronavirus pandemic, climate issues and global warming. And even the struggle of blacks for their rights is not a priority for the award. It is even more important that the Nobel Committee (and behind it one can risk saying the so-called collective West) is not indifferent to the processes that are taking place both in Russia and in Asia. In those regions that claim leadership in the modern world. And this very leadership must be civilized in the first place. At the same time, the collective West is quite correct and does not want to take any drastic steps, primarily in a political context.
As for the figure of Dmitry Muratov, why is he, and not Navalny or Tikhanovskaya and other worthy people, whether or not he is embedded in the current power system. After all, a journalist is not a “gold piece” to please everyone – his job is to write the truth. This will be more important than any policy. This is what the Nobel Committee singles out as the main thing. As mentioned above, freedom of speech is a prerequisite for democracy and lasting peace. And what Muratov and Ress chose, well, that’s what the Nobel Committee decided, and in this case it doesn’t matter how different members of the public react to it. So we congratulate Dmitry Andreevich with a well-deserved award.
Read the opinions of political observer Dmitry Drize – exclusively on the Kommersant FM Telegram channel.
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