The Norwegian Nobel committee’s decision announced on October 8 to award the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Novaya Gazeta Editor-in-Chief Dmitry Muratov as well as Philippine journalist Maria Ressa evoked astonishment, anger, and elation across Russia. Muratov himself was astounded (he rejected the first call from Norway, thinking it was a fake), before declaring that the award would honor the whole team at Novaya Gazeta and, in particular, the six journalists murdered in the line of duty: Igor Domnikov (2000), Yuri Shchekochikhin (2003), Anna Politkovskaya (2006), Anastasiya Baburova (2009), Stanislav Markelov (2009) and Natalya Estemirova (2009). Muratov has stood at the editorial helm of Novaya Gazeta since he founded the publication in 1993, steadfastly striving to uphold liberal values and human rights in Russian journalism.
