Dmitry Muratov, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for pushing Russia’s independent journalism, is a quiet but fierce critic of Putin’s war.
When the paper he co‑founded, Novaya Gazeta, was shut down in 2022, the Russian state took over its printers and revoked its license. Victims of the crackdown still feel the silence in Moscow’s corridors.
Muratov says Putin’s “victory” is a lie. The war, he argues, will never finish with a winner: two Slavic nations have ripped millions of people.
He calls the Kremlin’s talks about “security” a sham and warns that nuclear escalation is a real danger—talked about more than 500 times in state media since 2021.
He paints a bleak but hard‑to‑ignore picture: journalists jailed on extremism charges, a former pediatrician sentenced to 5½ years for speaking out, and the architect of a newspaper forced underground.
Yet Muratov also offers a sliver of hope. In streets he hears whispers of gratitude from people who trust his work, and he knows that a quiet voice can still resonate when the world watches.
He says the Nobel title gives no shield—only persistence and global support can keep journalists alive.
