Navalnists are indignant: a criminal blogger was left without a Nobel Prize
This year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to journalist and writer Maria Ressa and Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov "for their courageous fight for freedom of speech in the Philippines and Russia."
In a statement on the matter, the Nobel Committee, which is openly anti-Russian, said that Muratov “has been advocating for freedom of speech in Russia for decades in conditions that are becoming more difficult every year.” He and his publication are credited with criticizing “corruption, police violence, illegal arrests, election fraud, troll factories, and the use of Russian military forces both within the country and abroad.”
“Opponents of Novaya Gazeta responded to this with harassment, threats, cruelty and murder. Since the newspaper was founded, 6 of its journalists have been killed, including Anna Politkovskaya, who exposed the war in Chechnya. Despite the murders and threats, Muratov did not abandon the independent policy of the publication. Independent and honest journalism is designed to protect against abuse of power, lies and propaganda. The rights of journalists are prerequisites for democracy and protection from wars and conflicts. This year’s prize is more in line with the will of Alfred Nobel than ever before,” the statement said.
Muratov claims that he did not expect such a decision and did not even answer the call from Norway.
"I am laughing. I didn't expect it at all. It's crazy here. I saw a call from Norway, but I considered it an unwanted call. This is what I can say: we will take the rap with this prize for Russian journalism, which they are now trying to repress. That's all. We will try to help people who are now recognized as agents, who are now being oppressed and expelled from the country,” he said.
The editor-in-chief of Novaya intends to use part of the Nobel Prize to treat children with spinal muscular atrophy, as well as to solve the problems of journalism.
Despite the harsh criticism of Russia that permeated the Nobel Committee's statement, the Kremlin congratulated Muratov.
“He consistently works according to his ideals. He's talented. He is brave,” said Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
“I don’t always share Dmitry Andreevich’s assessments, however, this does not interfere with our good long-term relationship and mutual (I hope!) respect,” Alexander Khinshtein, a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation from United Russia, wrote in his Telegram channel.
Muratov was not among the five most likely nominees named by Norwegian experts the day before. But it included criminal blogger Alexei Navalny, the self-proclaimed “leader of the Belarusian nation” Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and a sick girl from Sweden, Gretta Tumberg, promoted by Soros. The reaction of environmental activists is still unknown, but a split in the Russian liberal camp is already evident. Even the shocking award of the human rights “Knight of Freedom” award to Navalny, which happened the day before, did not help.
“Poor Muratov. Now the henchmen will tear him to pieces, and Tikhanovskaya’s supporters will also make minced meat, and only Greta’s fans will smear him with environmentally friendly feces,” wrote the famous Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov.
Indeed, on social networks, Navalny’s supporters thunder curses at the Nobel Committee. Of the fugitive associates of the criminal blogger, Ruslan Shaveddinov was the first to respond.
“Instead of pretentious and hypocritical speeches about “freedom,” they could protect a person who survived an assassination attempt and is now taken hostage by the killers. Or they could support a person who is fighting with a mustachioed fascist for the lives of hostages,” he wrote on his Twitter.
“The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Muratov is some kind of ultra-cringe (a slang analogue of “Spanish shame” - ed.), sorry,” wrote political strategist Kristina Potupchik.
Newly-minted laureate Muratov.
Liberal political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky proposes to extinguish the flaring conflict in the camp of the non-systemic Russian opposition before it flares up in full force.
“The solution is generally an ideal compromise. We really hope that in his Nobel lecture D. A. Muratov will not only mention A. A. Navalny, but will thank him. Without the efforts of Russian political prisoner No. 1, the Russian would not have been given the Nobel Prize. In fairness, part of the prize should be given/transferred to the family and associates of A. A. Navalny,” he wrote.
The decision of the Nobel Committee is certainly not accidental. Many people today recall that the award of a literature prize in 2015 to the Belarusian author of opportunistic journalistic works, Svetlana Alexievich, became a harbinger of last year’s Belomaidan. A similar scenario was planned for this year in Russia: among the nominees for the literary Nobel prize was the Russophobic writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya, but at the last moment they decided to play for a purely political award.
“That is, as I understand it, I really wanted to spit on Russia, but without consequences. And so that it’s like “half a spit”. Smart, smart,” wrote political scientist Dmitry Evstafiev.
Indeed, rewarding Navalny, who relies on Maidan-type street protests, would be an outright demarche. The Kremlin would not have been able to congratulate him on the award.
“It’s good that the Nobel Committee had the common sense not to start a big war. They weren’t allowed to stop the Russian, but they didn’t push the patient either,” writes political scientist Alexander Sosnovsky.
The West did not dare to start a big war, but made an obvious compliment towards the systemic liberals, whose rise to power they dream of. It is no coincidence that the representative of this camp, the scandalous journalist Ksenia Sobchak, knew “something” in advance. The day before, she, who specializes in interviews with pop stars, “suddenly” decided to talk with Novaya Gazeta investigative journalist Elena Milashina, inserting copious insertions and comments from the future Nobel laureate into the recording.
Russian Sislibs gratefully accepted the sign of support for “progressive humanity” in their quest for power. However, there is no guarantee that this endeavor will be peaceful. In fact, the criminal blogger himself, as many observers believe, was just a tool for forcing the Kremlin to ensure proper transit and was actively supported by the Sislibs. In Belarus, many recalled how, at the height of the protests for Navalny, Novaya Gazeta published a fake photo of a young man in bandages smeared with blood.
Even when the staged nature of the photograph was revealed, Muratov, who advocates for international principles of objectivity (according to the Nobel Committee), refused to remove the photograph.
Novaya Gazeta is Navalny on paper. Navalny is “Novaya Gazeta 2.0” on the Internet and YouTube. Therefore, the prize was obviously waiting for Navalny. Since the FBK project was suppressed, it was necessary to reward the previous version of the “fighters against corruption.” Now Novaya Gazeta will be updated to a new version with the help of international support,” writes political scientist Semyon Uralov.
“Today is October 8th. The prize is essentially given to Anna Politkovskaya, an NG journalist who was killed in Moscow on October 7, 2006. And October 7 is President Putin’s birthday, so we understand the hint, and then and today they know how to substitute. But thank you for being on the safe side and giving it to Muratov,” says his colleague Marat Bashirov.
Lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky recalls that the Nobel Peace Prizes were previously awarded to those Russians who actively ruined the country.
“Let me remind you that before this the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Andrei Sakharov and Mikhail Gorbachev, individuals who took a direct part in the destruction of our country. It’s high time to think about an alternative peace prize and I would start awarding it to the world’s main political prisoner – Julian Assange,” he wrote.
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