Russian Nobel winner dedicates award to his paper's fallen journalists

MOSCOW

Dmitry Muratov, the Nobel Peace Prize co-winner from Russia, has devoted the award to his paper's fallen journalists.

Addressing a news conference in Moscow, Muratov, the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazette newspaper, said: "I am an improper beneficiary of this award."

He said the prize is for all of the paper's fallen journalists including Anya Politkovskaya, and "those brilliant young people who are now wandering on the third floor of the editorial office."

Muratov said the prize money will be used to help sick children, independent media, and a Moscow hospice. "I do not know what else we will do, it will depend on the editorial board."

Asked to whom he would have given the Nobel Peace Prize himself, he named Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny. "But I believe that this person [Navalny] still has everything ahead of him," Muratov said.

He said he has no plans to become a politician, and will continue his career in journalism as he has "the most wonderful job."

Muratov and Filipino journalist Maria Ressa have been given the award "for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia."

The Nobel Committee said Muratov has for decades "defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions."

Muratov was one of the founders of the Novaya Gazeta in 1993, a daily known for its critical stance on Russia's political and social affairs.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov congratulated Muratov on winning the prestigious award, calling him a journalist who is "talented, brave and committed to his ideals."

In 1990, Soviet politician Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the peace process between the Soviet Union and Western countries.