2018
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Acceptance Speech: The regime that rules our country today is different from the Soviet one, in many respects…And yet the essence is the same. It is a regime built on and maintained by lies. Lies about everything, big and small. From the quaint words written in our Constitution about free elections, media pluralism, and the right to peaceful protest, to Kremlin statements that there were never any Russian troops in Ukraine or that the military officers sent to murder a defector in England were just tourists visiting Salisbury Cathedral. Everyone knows these are lies. But so many people choose to go along with them…
But our country is blessed. Because in every era, however strong the oppression, however sweeping the censorship, you will always find people in Russia who are prepared to stand up for truth.