Main prize for Russian writer
The Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize, endowed with 25,000 euros, goes to the Russian writer Lyudmila Yevgenyevna Ulitskaya, who has been living in exile in Berlin since March 2022. She is considered one of Russia's most important contemporary writers. She expresses her critical attitude towards the then Soviet and now Russian regime in novels and stories that not only reflect the Russian tragedy of the 20th century, a century of tyranny and genocide. She also speaks out against Putin's current war policy and was one of the signatories of an open letter, calling the war against Ukraine a "disgrace", a "man's madness". Ulitskaya is considered the "voice of another Russia" and her books have been banned in Russia since February 2023.
On the news of the awarding of the Remarque Peace Prize to her, she wrote back:
"Receiving the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize is a great honor for me as a Russian author. When I learned that the prize had been awarded to me, I reached for Remarque once again and, just as in my youth, could hardly tear myself away from it.
I thank the jury for the honor bestowed upon me. I turned eighty a few days ago, and this award is the best birthday present I could ever have dreamed of. Thank you so much."
The awarding of the main prize to Lyudmila Ulitzkaya will take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023, which is also the 125th birthday of Erich Maria Remarque. To mark the occasion, the ceremony will be integrated into a large evening event in the OsnabrückHalle, at which the Dutch band "De Kift", for example, will play. The laudatory speech will be given by Prof. Dr. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum, member of the jury and director of the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism in Berlin. The public is cordially invited to attend this event.
Admission is free - with prior registration.
Special prize goes to Ukrainian
Ukrainian cartoonist Sergiy Maidukov will be awarded this year's special prize. Since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, his illustrations depicting the everyday life of war in Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine have been printed in various newspapers around the world, including ZEITmagazin, The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. As a volunteer, he visited Irpin and Butscha shortly after their liberation, as well as other besieged cities, and recorded what he experienced and saw in his drawings. An exhibition will make some of his illustrations available to the public.
He said it was an honor for him to be awarded, but asked for understanding that he could not come. Since leaving Ukraine for cultural events is not possible at the moment, he will come to Osnabrück at another time to receive the award. Moreover, Sergiy Maidukov does not want to attend the central award ceremony also for personal reasons: "Taking care of my psychics, I avoid hard feelings these times, I have enough of a Russian presence in my life so far, so I would come just another day than the Ceremony. I would be honored to come and to meet you and the team live and say thank you live" [Taking care of my psychics, I avoid hard feelings these times. I have enough Russian presence in my life so far, so I would just come on a different day than the ceremony. I would be honored to come and meet you and the team live and say thank you live].
The Editorial Director of ZEITmagazin, Christoph Amend, will also be present at the presentation of the award to Sergiy Maidukov and will have a conversation with him about his experiences and his illustrations, which will be presented in an exhibition.
