Russian dissident wins Pulitzer for columns he wrote 'at great personal risk' from prison cell
Sheena Goodyear | CBC Radio | Posted: May 8, 2024 7:11 PM | Last Updated: May 8
Vladimir Kara-Murza, jailed for criticizing war against Ukraine, writes for the Washington Post
When Vladimir Kara-Murza learned from his lawyer that he had won a Pulitzer Prize behind bars, he was "absolutely astonished," says the jailed Russian dissident's wife.
Kara-Murza, 42, won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary on Monday for his Washington Post columns about Russian politics and society — all of which he wrote in prison.
"It must feel very surreal to Vladimir in his six-square metre punishment cell," Evgenia Kara-Murza, who has not been able to speak to her husband directly about the prestigious prize, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
"I have not been able to process the news myself."
WATCH | Evgenia Kara-Murza on Russian President Vladimir Putin:
Vladimir, 42, is a politician, author and historian who has been imprisoned in Russia since April 2022.
He was convicted last year of treason for denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a 2022 visit to the Arizona House of Representatives, and sentenced to 25 years.
But that hasn't stopped him from speaking out. From prison, he has penned seven columns for the Washington Post about Putin and the war.
"My husband truly, deeply believes that you should tell the truth, despite the risks, when you're faced with something so atrocious as Vladimir Putin's regime. He believes that spreading information — truthful information — about what is happening is crucial," Evgenia said.
"He truly believes that Russia deserves a better future."
According to the Pulitzer announcement, the committee bestowed the prestigious award "for passionate columns written at great personal risk from his prison cell, warning of the consequences of dissent in Vladimir Putin's Russia and insisting on a democratic future for his country."
Russia has not commented on the Pulitzer. The Russian Embassy in Washington didn't immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
In a Washington Post story about the Pulitzers, editorial page editor David Shipley commended Kara-Murza's "moral clarity."
"Columnists develop authority and persuasiveness in a lot of different ways," Shipley said. "His authority is certainly conferred on him by not just his clarity of thought but also the way that he's lived his life."
Will this make him safer?
Vladimir is not permitted access to a computer, Evgenia says, so he hand writes all his articles and files them through the prison correspondence system.
She says each piece of writing is inspected by Russian correctional officials before it leaves the prison. Asked how he's managed to get so many of his words through uncensored, she said: "It's beyond me."
"This repressive machine very often works inconsistently, so one branch doesn't know what the other one is doing," she said.
She says she's hopeful the award will bring renewed attention to her husband's imprisonment.
"I've always believed that publicity is important in cases of political prisoners. This is basically our only weapon. We don't have anything else," she said.
"I think the fact that the entire world watches Vladimir's case, maybe makes it slightly safer for him."
Still, she was quick to point out that international attention did not protect Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Putin's most high-profile opponent.
Navalny died in prison earlier this year. Russian officials say he died of natural causes, but his friends and family blame the Kremlin.
Hasn't spoken to husband in a year
She says her husband is isolated from other prisoners, is not allowed to see his family and is rarely permitted phone calls.
His last phone call with his family was in December, she says, and he was given 15 minutes — which he divided among the couple's three children.
"I couldn't allow any one of them to talk to their daddy for longer than five minutes. So I was actually there with a timer. And I, of course, did not talk to him myself because I didn't want to take that time away from the kids," she said.
"They are their father's kids, so they're strong and resilient. But at the same time, they're kids. And often they just miss their dad."
She says last spoke with her husband on the phone in the summer of 2023, nearly a year ago.
She and her children live in exile in the U.S., and she spends much of her time on the road carrying on Vladimir's legacy and speaking out against the Russian government.
That means being away from her children more than she'd like, she said.
"I hope with my whole heart that we are ... teaching them a lesson of how to fight for what you believe in, of how to face bullies with courage and how to stay strong under impossible circumstances," she said.