Muratov receives congratulation on Nobel Peace Prize from Russian govt
MOSCOW. Oct 8 (Interfax) - Russian government press secretary Boris Belyakov congratulated Novaya Gazeta Editor-in-Chief Dmitry Muratov on behalf of the government on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021.
"This is a worthy appraisal of his talent, high professionalism, faithfulness to his convictions, and what is particularly important, his human qualities," Belyakov told journalists.
He mentioned the fact that, apart from his professional duties, Muratov is actively engaged in charity work, particularly helping children with serious diseases.
"This deserves respect. We congratulate him on the deserved award," Belyakov said.
Earlier in the day, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov also welcomed the Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Muratov.
It was reported earlier that Muratov and Maria Ressa of the Philippines were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021.
Ressa and Muratov "are receiving the Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia," , the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Muratov "has consistently defended the right of journalists" and that freedom of expression and freedom of information "are crucial prerequisites for democracy and protect against war and conflict."
"He has consistently defended the right of journalists to write anything they want about whatever they want, as long as they comply with the professional and ethical standards of journalism," it said.
Muratov was born in Kuibyshev, currently Samara, in 1961 and graduated from the Kuibyshev State University. At different times, he worked for the newspapers Volzhsky Komsomolets and Komsomolskaya Pravda. He also worked as a special correspondent in Chechnya from 1994 to 1995. He is one of the founders of Novaya Gazeta and is currently its editor-in-chief.
Maria Ressa is 53, she was born in Manila. When Maria was a child, her mother and she moved to the United States, where Maria studied and got her bachelor's degree from Princeton University. She later returned to her home country and continued her education at University of the Philippines Diliman.
Together with other journalists, Ressa in 2012 co-founded Rappler, an online news service for investigative journalism, which she still heads.
"As a journalist and the Rappler's CEO, Ressa has shown herself to be a fearless defender of freedom of expression," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in its statement.
She also worked as a CNN correspondent in the Southeast Asia region for nearly two decades.