Subhechcha Ganguly 
The Nobel Peace Prize has been simultaneously awarded to a person and two organisations that are either directly or indirectly opposed to Russia. This award frequently mirrors the West’s current geopolitical decisions. The focus of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, which was shared by a rights organisation in Russia and Ukraine as well as a civil rights activist imprisoned in Belarus, focuses on Russia’s ongoing, eight-month war in Ukraine. The unifying denominator among the Prize recipients is that they take a position that is either explicitly or indirectly hostile to Russia or a Russian ally. The Nobel Committee’s selection of winners made a statement, and it did so on President Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday, as highlighted by Kenneth Roth, the former director of Human Rights Watch.
Ales Bialiatski, a strong opponent of Putin’s friend and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, has been imprisoned since 2021. Putin forced the closure of the Russian civil rights organisation Memorial, while the Ukrainian civil rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties is compiling evidence of suspected war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. “The Peace Prize laureates represent civic society in their native countries,” said their Nobel citation. They have long supported the freedom to challenge the status quo and defend citizens’ basic rights. They have worked extremely hard to gather evidence of power abuse, war crimes, and violations of human rights. Together, they serve as an example of the importance of civil society to democracy and peace.
According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, “this year’s laureates have revitalised and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations—a vision that is most needed in the world today—through their consistent efforts in favour of humanist values, anti-militarism, and principles of law.”
According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, “this year’s laureates have revitalised and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations—a vision that is most needed in the world today—through their consistent efforts in favour of humanist values, anti-militarism, and principles of law.”
