Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, has sold his Nobel Medal at an auction for $103.5m. All proceeds from the sale will go to support the UNICEF humanitarian mission to help Ukrainian refugee children and their families.
Muratov announced his intention to put the medal up for sale at the end of March. He stressed that his decision was supported by the entire staff of Novaya Gazeta:
“We have decided to auction off the Nobel Medal, a famous, heavy gold medal. The medal that goes with the Nobel Peace Prize. The money will go to refugee children. Wherever they are: in European countries, in Ukraine or in Russia. There aren’t any strangers among refugees for the world anymore.”
The auction was held at the Heritage Auctions in New York. The starting price of the medal was $550,000. As Novaya Gazeta told The Insider, they have no information about the buyer.
Muratov and the American-Filipino journalist Maria Ressa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”