Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died on February 16 in prison in the Arctic region of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, will posthumously receive the Dresden Peace Prize, it became known this Monday.
The award will be presented to his widow Yulia Navanloy at a ceremony scheduled for May 12, and is intended to celebrate and celebrate Alexey’s life and political resistance as an example for all who defend human rights.
“The resistance of the opposition politician was and remains an encouraging example for all human rights defenders who continue their work,” said a representative of the sponsors of the 10,000-euro prize.
Employees of Yulia and Alexei Navalny, all in exile, as well as Russian dissidents abroad and much of the international community hold Russian President Vladimir Putin directly responsible for the death of his opponent in the high-security prison where he was being held. in extremely harsh conditions.
From exile, Navalny’s widow decided to continue Alexei’s fight.
Several musicians will perform at the awards ceremony, including young pianist Adele Marie Schäfer and the Saxon women’s quintet Jukali.
A special highlight of the program will also be a musical memorial, premiered by the vocal group AuditivVocal Dresden under the direction of Olaf Katzer.
The piece of music was written especially for Navalny by Russian Sergei Nevsky, who was born in Moscow in 1972, but has been living in Berlin for several years.
It is also planned that the actors will read Navalny’s texts, accompanied by cellist Emil Rover, professor at the Dresden Music Academy.
The Dresden Peace Prize was established in 2009 by the Friends of Dresden association. It began being awarded in 2010, the year it honored the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in 2022 at the age of 91.