Putin's German Quadriga role model prize retracted

A prestigious German rights prize will not be awarded this year after organisers were heavily criticised for giving it to Russian PM Vladimir Putin.


The award by Quadriga each year commemorates Germany's reunification, and is given annually to "role models who are committed to enlightenment, commitment and welfare".



The decision to give it to Mr Putin was angrily received by his critics, who said it made a mockery of the award.

After a week of harsh criticism, the news that Vaclav Havel intended to return the prize he received in 2009 to protest the award for Mr. Putin appeared to have been the final straw for the panel.

In the statement, the board said it regretted “most deeply” the news that Mr. Havel, the first president of the Czech Republic after the fall of communism, might give back his award. The Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson had already returned his 2010 award, a spokesman confirmed.

All week long, politicians from across the spectrum have condemned Mr. Putin, while editorials in the nation’s leading newspapers detailed his record as president and prime minister of Russia. The deaths of activists and the ongoing imprisonment of a rival, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, on flimsy charges have provided plenty of fodder for the opponents of Mr. Putin, who as a K.G.B. agent was stationed in East Germany from 1985 to 1990.

The prize is named Quadriga after the sculpture of a chariot drawn by four horses on the top of Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate.

Former laureates include Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Luxemburg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, Israeli President Shimon Peres and former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Last year the foundation honored Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou for his courage in confronting his nation’s debt problems.

Muscovites passing an ad overlaid with a poster of Putin. The poster is for a virtual quest game.