Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov has raised $ 103.5 million by auctioning his Nobel peace prize received in October 2021. The Russian journalist said that the funds would be utilised by UNICEF for helping Ukrainian children who got displaced by the recent war.
The Associated Press reported that the auction has shattered the previous record for a Nobel. AP reported that previously, the most ever paid for a Nobel Prize medal was $4.76 million in 2014, when James Watson, whose co-discovery of the structure of DNA earned him a Nobel Prize in 1962, sold his. Three years later, the family of his co-recipient, Francis Crick, received $2.27 million in bidding also run by Heritage Auctions.
Muratov has said the proceeds will go directly to UNICEF in its efforts to help children displaced by the war in Ukraine. Muratov shared the Nobel Peace Prize last year with journalist Maria Ressa of the Philippines. The two journalists, who each received their own medals, were honoured for their battles to preserve free speech in their respective countries, despite coming under attack by harassment, their governments and even death threats.
Muratov told the publication that We want to return their future. He added that it was important that international sanctions on Russia did not hinder humanitarian aid for those in need.
