2022 Noble Peace Prize: Kremlin asks Russian co-winner Yan Rachinsky to turn down the award

The repercussions of the ongoing Russia and Ukraine wars are everywhere. According to the latest reports, the Russian government has asked Nobel Peace prize co-winner Yan Rachinsky to decline the Nobel prize. The reason is reportedly that he was sharing the honour with a Ukrainian activist and a Belarusian rights defender. According to the Russian government, this was unacceptable.

Rachinsky is the head of the Memorial, one of Russia's oldest civil rights groups. When asked to verify the news, he said on BBC's HARDtalk programme that his organisation was indeed asked to decline the award. However, he paid no heed to the orders of the government.

Though the Russian government shut down his organisation last year, Rachinsky said he will continue his fight for human rights. He added that the Nobel committee's decision to award the title to three people from different nationalities proves that civil society does not recognise any borders.


One of the other recipients is Oleksandra Matviichuk, who runs the Center for civil liberties in Ukraine. The centre was recognised for its work toward promoting democracy in Ukraine.



She is also currently working towards investigating Russian war crimes. While she refused to be interviewed with her co-winner due to estranged ties between the two countries, she mentions that his work is remarkable.

The third recipient of the award is Ales Bialiatski, a human rights defender from Belarus. He has been imprisoned in his own country without trial since July 2021.

He founded the Spring Human rights centre in the year 1996. He said that his fight for human rights will continue in prison.

FAQs:

1. When will the Nobel Prize ceremony be held?
   The Nobel Prize ceremony is on 10 December.
2. When did the Nobel peace Prize start?
   The Nobel peace prize started in 1901.