In order to aid children who were impacted by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov has chosen to sell off his Noble Peace Prize medal. The journalist, who won the coveted prize in 2021, stated that all of the auction’s revenues would support UNICEF’s efforts to aid the kids who were uprooted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Muratov started and played a significant role in the Russian daily Novaya Gazeta before it was shut down as a result of his criticism of the government.
Muratov’s goal is to ‘give the children refugees a chance for a future’ and he has already given the organisation the $500,000 monetary prize that comes with winning the Nobel Prize.
In an interview with Associated Press, he said, ‘We want to return their future’.
‘It has to become a beginning of a flash mob as an example to follow so people auction their valuable possessions to help Ukrainians’, Muratov said in a video released by Heritage Auctions.
Following the invasion of Crimea in 2014, Muratov was a harsh opponent of the Russian government. Last year, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Philippine journalist Maria Ressa. ‘It’s a very bespoke deal. Not everyone in the world has a Nobel Prize to auction and not every day of the week that there’s a Nobel Prize crossing the auction block’, said Joshua Benesh, the chief strategy officer for Heritage Auctions.
Benesh further stated that the current crisis and the admirable goal of the auction may enhance interest among prospective bidders, which may raise the medal’s worth.
‘I think there’s certainly going to be some excitement Monday. It’s such a unique item being sold under unique circumstances … a significant act of generosity, and such a significant humanitarian crisis’, Benesh said.
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