Nobel Laureate Fears Russia’s Nuclear Plans

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – The editor-in-chief of banned newspaper Novaya Gazeta and Russia’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate fears Moscow may use nuclear weapons against the West.

Dmitry Muratov, who refuses to be silenced following the closure of his paper, said Russian President Vladimir Putin appears increasingly unpredictable.

“Two generations have lived without the threat of nuclear war,” Muratov told British broadcaster BBC. “But this period is over. Will Putin press the nuclear button, or won’t he? Who knows? No one knows this. There isn’t a single person who can say for sure.”

He spoke days after Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, an ally of Russia which borders Ukraine, and several of Ukraine’s NATO alliance allies.

Earlier, Moscow spoke about using nuclear weapons following its military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“We see how state propaganda is preparing people to think that nuclear war isn’t a bad thing,” Muratov said. “On TV channels here, nuclear war and nuclear weapons are promoted as if they’re advertising pet food.”

He suggested that the pro-Putin narrative trumpeted by a state controlling numerous television and radio channels, newspapers, and social media outlets contributed to a generational clash.

PUTIN SUPPORT

“Does Putin have a support base? Yes, an enormous one. But these are elderly people who see Putin as their own grandson, as someone who will protect them and who brings them their pension every month and wishes them Happy New Year each year,” Muratov said. “These people believe their actual grandchildren should go and fight and die.”

Last year Muratov, 61, auctioned off his Nobel Peace prize to raise money for Ukrainian child refugees. Yet despite his efforts, he fears that “Never again will there be normal relations between the people of Russia and Ukraine. Never. Ukraine will not be able to come to terms with this tragedy.”

While nearly a million Russians have fled the country, he remains hopeful that the young generation will push for change. “They’re already doing so. Twenty-one thousand administrative and criminal cases have been opened against Russians who’ve protested. The opposition is in jail. Media outlets have been shut down. Many activists, civilians, and journalists have been labeled foreign agents.”

Yet despite these difficulties, he suggested that the truth would prevail. “I hope that this generation will outlive me and Putin.”

He stressed that “our younger generation is wonderful.” Muratov added: “I am convinced that as soon as the propaganda stops, this generation – and everyone else with common sense – will speak out.”

Speaking hasn’t been without danger for Muratov, who was attacked in April last year by an unknown person and covered with red paint while on a train from Moscow to Samara in “support for Russian troops.” U.S. intelligence sources claimed Russian secret services organized the attack.

On the eve of the attack, a foreign version of his paper Novaya Gazeta Europa was launched from Riga to avoid censorship in Russia.

PEACE PRIZE

The new paper underscored a lifelong battle for press freedom from the man who received the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, alongside Maria Ressa of the Philippines, “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”

Yet Muratov recently commented that his Nobel Prize belongs to all six journalists of Novaya Gazeta killed for conducting their investigations into corruption and war crimes.

“It’s not mine. I’m not the right beneficiary; there are real ones. It’s just that the Nobel Peace Prize isn’t awarded posthumously; it’s awarded to living people,” he said in an interview. “Obviously, they decided to award it to someone living, having in mind Yury Shchekochikhin, Igor Domnikov, Anna Politkovskaya, Anastasia Baburova, Stanislav Markelov, and Natalya Estemirova.”

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