Statement by the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko, adopted on 14.10.2021, published on 18.10.2021

Photo: Dmitry Muratov / Photo by Alexander Kazakov / Kommersant

The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Dmitry Muratov “for his efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace” is an award to a Russian citizen, a public figure, editor-in-chief of an opposition newspaper and a member of the Yabloko party. Certainly, this is a prize to the [murdered] journalists of Novaya Gazeta – Yuri Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkovskaya, Natalya Estemirova, Igor Domnikov, Stanislav Markelov, Anastasia Baburova, but not only to them.

This is a prize for a meaningful direction in journalism, politics, public life, the direction that addresses the essence of events, traces their connection with the life of society and bears responsibility for every word spoken and written.

It is a shame how the “alternative Nobel Committee” in the Russian segment of the Internet reacted to this event.

The storm of hatred and persecution that fell on Dmitry Muratov from the fanatical admirers of Alexei Navalny, who had no doubts that the prize should have been awarded to him [Navalny], and accused the Nobel Committee, which had not done it, of cowardice and venality, is shameful.

We see that many simply do not understand the essence and scale of what is happening: the historical meaning is the connection and continuity with Andrei Sakharov and Mikhail Gorbachev, the global meaning is that the prize to Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa this is an assessment of Real Journalism at the very moment when the institution of high-quality media, together with the institution of investigative journalism, is deformed under the pressure of populism, fake news and post-truth.

Instead, it is discussed at a “highly intellectual level” (at least by people taking the posts that oblige to such a level) how the KGB-FSB corrupted the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee in order not to give Alexei Navalny the prize, and Maria Ressa is not remembered at all, because it does not fit into this “conspiracy theory”.

We express our support and gratitude to Dmitry Muratov and all the journalists of Novaya Gazeta. They absolutely deserve this Nobel Prize.

Grigory Yavlinsky,

Chairman of

the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko