Writer Lyudmila Ulytskaya received the Remarque Peace Prize

Writer Lyudmila Ulytskaya received the Erich-Maria Remarque Peace Prize. The awarding ceremony took place on the day of Remarque’s 125th birthday in his hometown of Osnabrück. A special prize was awarded to Ukrainian illustrator Serhiy Maidukov. Earlier, he said that he would not come to the award ceremony so as not to stand on the same stage with a Russian woman.

Osnabrück burgomaster Katarina Pötter emphasized at the awarding ceremony that, having awarded this year’s prize to Ulytskaya, the organizing committee of the hotel will also pay attention to the fact that not all Russians are responsible for the war in Ukraine. “With this award, we also want to make it clear that there is no such thing as collective guilt,” she noted.

Ukrainian laureate Sergey Maidukov refused to attend the award ceremony together with the Russian writer, despite her anti-war stance. “There is still too much Russian presence in my life,” he said.

Maidukov’s decision met with a mixed reaction from European intellectuals. The editor of the Rhein Zeitung, Thomas Loyers, approved of the ego. “We in the West can’t even imagine what Ukrainians have to do now… I completely understand Maidukov,” said Loirs.

On the other hand, cultural researcher from the Cato Institute, Cato Young, said that although the emotions of Ukrainians are understandable, even those Russians who oppose the war are wrongly viewed as enemies. “It’s a paradox – they ask Russians: ‘Why don’t you oppose the war and the regime?’ – and then reject those who actually oppose them,” Yang said.

• The Erich-Maria Remarque Peace Prize was established by the authorities of the city of Osnabrück, where the writer was born, in 1991 and is awarded every two years. It is awarded to cultural figures who not only show outstanding creative achievements, but also contribute to the cause of peace on the planet.
• Lyudmila Ulytskaya is one of the most famous modern writers who write in Russian. Ulytskaya repeatedly condemned the Kremlin’s policy, the persecution of dissidents, and military aggression. Many creative evenings of Ulitskaya in Russia were canceled without giving reasons. Once, unknown people on the street slapped her in the face with green tea. After the start of the military invasion of Ukraine, Ulytskaya left Russia and lives in Berlin.
• Artist-illustrator Sergey Maidukov has been working as a volunteer since the beginning of the war and keeps a visual record of the destruction and suffering caused by the war to peaceful Ukrainians. His drawings were published in many European newspapers, including the German Die Zeit. In the near future, his sketches will be published in a separate book.