Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov received the Peace prize for "efforts to protect freedom of opinion, which is a condition for democracy and peace."
On June 21, an auction took place in New York where a gold Nobel medal worth $10.000 per weight of the material went under the hammer for $103.5 million. "It has to become a beginning of a flashmob as an example to follow, so people auction their valuable possessions to help Ukrainians," Dmitry Muratov commented on his decision.
"The medal was sold to an unidentified phone bidder. The auction in New York City was spirited, with lots of applause and bidders egging one another to increase the total. Muratov was seen recording videos of the bidding screen and those in the room," The Guardian.
Muratov will transfer the money from the sale to UNICEF, which, in turn, will distribute the amount to care for Ukrainian children who were forced to flee Ukraine, saving their lives from the war. Earlier, Muratov said he would donate $500.000 to the children of Ukraine who became orphans because of the war. The philanthropist called the donation purpose "is to give the children refugees a chance for a future."
In March 2022, after another warning from Roskomnadzor, the newspaper ceased to exist, as journalists were under the threat of Putin's persecution for the truth. A few days earlier, the newspaper had also been forced to announce the removal of all articles that called the war — a war, but not a "special operation" as deceitful Kremlin censorship requires.
