Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov has auctioned off his Nobel Peace Prize. Proceeds will go directly to UNICEF to help war-displaced children in Ukraine.

Muratov, awarded the gold medal in October 2021, helped find the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and was its editor-in-chief when it closed in March following threats from Vladimir Putin's government.

In addition to the medal, he will donate $ 500,000 to charity. Muratov said (via Euronews) that he was concerned about children who have been orphaned because of the conflict in Ukraine. "We want to turn their future around."

Muratov shared the Nobel Peace Prize last year with journalist Maria Ressa from the Philippines. Both were honored for battles to preserve freedom of speech in their respective countries, despite being attacked by their respective governments.

For three decades, under Muratov's leadership, the newspaper had defied tremendous threats as it covered government and business corruption, Kremlin politics, and armed conflict. Several Novaya Gazeta journalists, including Yuri Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkovskaya and Anastasia Baburova, have been killed since 2000 as a result of their investigations.