RUSSIA—On Thursday, September 24, the Kremlin confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin’s administration did not nominate him. The nomination was sent in by a coterie of Russian public figures spearheaded by writer Sergey Komkov.
“You all know that completely different people are nominated for this award. This is an initiative of those submitting the nomination. In this case, the aforementioned writer…If this decision is made [to award the prize] — great, if not, it’s no problem as well,” said Peskov.
News comes after Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was released from a German hospital following an alleged assassination attempt. On August 20, Navalny was hospitalized and left in serious, but stable condition after he was suspected to be poisoned on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow in a possibly politically motivated attack.
French and Swedish specialists determined the poison came from the Novichok family of substances, which was developed by the Soviet Union. It was also used in the suspected poisoning of then-Russian spy Sergei Skripal. The Kremlin denied allegations of its involvement in the incident.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview that there is a “substantial chance” that senior Kremlin officials ordered the poisoning of Navalny. President Donald Trump stated he has not yet seen evidence linking Putin to the attack.
Alongside Putin, Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian lawmaker for his efforts in the Middle East.
The recipient of the award will be selected by a five-person Nobel Committee, which is appointed by the Norwegian Parliament. The winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced in October 2021.
