Vladimir Kara-Murza, an influential Russian politician, author, and historian, will be honored with the 2025 Wallenberg Medal by the University of Michigan. The ceremony is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 4 at Rackham Auditorium. Kara-Murza will also deliver the 30th Wallenberg Lecture, titled “Free People in an Unfree Country: Standing Up to Kremlin Tyranny, Past and Present.” Drawing from his personal experience, he aims to inspire the audience on how individuals can effect change.
The University of Michigan’s Wallenberg Medal, supported by the Donia Human Rights Center, acknowledges individuals who exemplify Raoul Wallenberg’s legacy of humanity and courage. These recipients demonstrate how the human spirit can defend the powerless and give a voice to the voiceless.
Kara Murza
Kara-Murza, a close aide to the late opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, was deputy leader of the People’s Freedom Party and ran for the Russian Parliament. He was instrumental in securing Magnitsky sanctions from the US, UK, EU, Canada, and Australia against Russian officials accused of human rights abuses. These sanctions target those involved in significant corruption and human rights violations.
His activism led to two poisonings, leaving him in a coma. Investigations by Bellingcat, The Insider, and Der Spiegel concluded that Russian Federal Security Services officers were responsible. In April 2022, Kara-Murza was arrested in Moscow for condemning the invasion of Ukraine. After a closed trial, he received a 25-year sentence for “high treason” and was held in solitary confinement in Siberia.
MORE INFORMATION
- Wallenberg Medal and Lecture
- Tickets: No tickets required. The ceremony is free and open to the public.
- Information: For event inquiries and accommodations, contact wallenberglecture@umich.edu or 734-936-3973.
In August 2024, Kara-Murza was freed in a significant East-West prisoner exchange arranged by the U.S. and Germany. A Washington Post contributor, he earned the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for columns penned from prison. His media career includes stints at BBC, RTVi, and Echo of Moscow. An accomplished filmmaker and author, he is also linked to several books on Russian politics.
Kara-Murza holds key roles at the Free Russia Foundation, Human Rights First, and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. As the founding chairman of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, he led initiatives like street renamings in Washington, D.C., and London to honor Nemtsov.
His accolades include the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize and an honorary fellowship at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he earned an MA in History. He joined Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service as the first Dissident-in-Residence, thanks to the Renew Democracy Initiative’s Frontlines of Freedom program.
Kara-Murza visited the University of Michigan in March for a lecture at the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia. Recent Wallenberg Medal honorees include Nnimmo Bassey (2024), Lucas Benitez (2023), and Safa Al Ahmad (2019). Past recipients also feature luminaries like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bryan Stevenson, and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.
—
Read More Michigan News
