Maria Ressa, an investigative journalist from the Philippines, and Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, have been jointly awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. AP comments:
Considering how critical Novaya Gazeta has been toward Putin and his government, Peskov’s [Putin’s spokesman’s] congratulatory words could be seen as determined spin-control. They also likely reflect relief that the Norwegian Nobel Committee did not chose another Russian nominee for the Peace Prize — imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Reactions from Russian social media have run the range from extreme disappointment to low-key satisfaction. Quite a few Russians resent the fact that the prize went to Muratov rather than Alexei Navalny, the imprisoned leader of the opposition. Some even suggest that Moscow must have bribed the Nobel Prize committee into bypassing Navalny.
Others argue that, whatever one thinks of Muratov personally, one cannot deny that Novaya Gazeta has done some first-rate investigative work over the past quarter-century. Since 2000, six of its reporters have been killed, including Anna Politkovskaya and Yuri Schekochikhin. That means something.