Muratov, Novaya Gazeta to put up Nobel medal for auction to help Ukrainian refugees

MOSCOW. March 22 (Interfax) - The editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, Dmitry Muratov and his colleagues have decided to auction off his Nobel Peace Prize medal and use the proceeds to help Ukrainian refugees.

"Novaya Gazeta and I have decided to hand over my 2021 Nobel Peace Prize medal to the aid foundation for Ukrainian refugees... I would like to hear back from auction houses which would put this world-renowned award up for sale," Muratov's statement on the newspaper's website said.

In the present situation, the news outlet wants to "share with peaceable refugees, wounded and sick children who need urgent treatment something you hold dear and which has value for others." Hence, this decision, it said.

Muratov is the first Russian journalist to have won a Nobel Peace Prize and the first Russian citizen to be honored with this award. He shared the prize with Filipino journalist Maria Ressa at an award ceremony in Oslo on December 10, 2021, "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace," according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.