Dmitry Muratov: The Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate refusing to be silenced

The Russian authorities may have shut down his newspaper, but the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dmitry Muratov, isn’t ready to be silenced. The journalist has expressed fears over how far Moscow will go in its confrontation with the West.

Will Vladimir Putin press the nuclear button? It’s unclear. Nevertheless, since the invasion in February 2022, senior Russian officials have warned Ukraine’s Western allies to not push Moscow too far. And just a few days back, the Russian president revealed shocking plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus.

The journalist has picked up troublesome signs inside Russia. Muratov highlighted the worrying trend of promoting nuclear war and nuclear weapons on TV channels in the country “as if they’re advertising pet food”.

The channels talk about different kinds of missiles, about targeting France and Britain, and even about triggering a nuclear tsunami that inundates America, he further mentioned.

State propaganda portrays Ukraine and the West as aggressors, and Russia as a country of peace. And scores of Russians also believe it. Muratov calls propaganda a type of radiation, saying everyone is susceptible to it. A number of TV channels, social media like VK, and tens of thousands of newspapers in Russia serve completely the state ideology, he added.

The journalist took an optimistic tone while speaking about the younger generation in Russia. He is convinced that as soon as the propaganda stops, the youngsters will speak out, along with everyone else with common sense. Muratov said the only hope he has lies with this generation – “who want Russia to be loved and for Russia to love the world.”

Nonetheless, Putin’s enormous support base, majorly comprising of the elderly people, who see the president as someone who will protect them cannot be undermined.