President Vladimir Putin congratulated Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Putin expressed his congratulations during a speech at the Valdai club, RBC correspondent reports.
He noted that he would present Muratov with a prize for his participation in charity.
“I would like to congratulate you on being awarded the Nobel Prize. <…> You just talked about the hospice. I would give it to you for that, because you are doing such a noble job, it is true, ”the president said.
The fact that Muratov was awarded the Nobel Prize became known on October 8. This is the first laureate from Russia in the last 11 years.
The editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta received the award “for” efforts to defend freedom of expression, which is a prerequisite for democracy and the establishment of lasting peace. ” In addition to Muratov, the Nobel Prize with the same wording was awarded to the Philippine journalist Maria Ressa. In a message from the Nobel Committee, it was said that Muratov “for decades has defended freedom of speech in Russia in increasingly difficult conditions.”
Putin answered the question whether Muratov will get into foreign agents after the Nobel Prize – the Nobel Prize will not give the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta immunity, but if he does not give a reason for recognition as a foreign agent, he will not be included in the register, Putin says
Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last week, will not be declared a foreign agent in Russia unless he “violates Russian law” and “gives a reason for this,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of Russian Energy Week.
“If he hides behind the Nobel Prize as a shield to do what he violates Russian law, then he will do it deliberately in order to attract attention to himself or for some other reason,” the president added.
Muratov shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Filipino journalist Maria Ressa. The award was presented to them for “efforts to protect freedom of expression, which is a prerequisite for democracy and the establishment of lasting peace.”
Muratov, commenting on the award, said that this was the merit of Novaya Gazeta and those Russian journalists “who died defending the right of people to freedom of speech.” October 7 marks the 15th anniversary of the murder of Novaya’s correspondent Anna Politkovskaya; the person who ordered the murder was never found. The editor-in-chief of Novaya has promised to transfer part of the money from the prize (it is about $ 1.14 million) to the Krug of Kindness charitable foundation.
The Kremlin has already commented on the award of the Nobel Prize to Muratov. President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the award, congratulated the journalist and said that the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta “is committed to his ideals, he is talented, he is brave, and, of course, this is a high mark.”
