Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of the independent Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta, said he was attacked on Thursday during a train ride from Moscow to the city of Samara when an unidentified person doused him and his belongings in red paint.
Muratov, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his tireless defense of freedom of expression in Russia, told CNN earlier this week that half the country’s population opposes the war in Ukraine.
In a Telegram post on Thursday, Muratov said: “They poured oil paint with acetone into the compartment. My eyes burned terribly. Train Moscow-Samara. Smell of oil all over the car. The departure has already been delayed by 30 minutes. I’ll try to wash up. (The attacker) shouted: ‘Muratov, here’s to our boys.'”
A spokeswoman for the newspaper, which announced last month that it would suspend publication until the end of the war in Ukraine, told CNN that Muratov’s eyes “seem fine.”
Earlier this week, Muratov told CNN’s Amanpour that his team was “forced” to shut down operations due to “military censorship.”
During the interview, Muratov said it was “impossible to look at photos of scenes from Mariupol, Melitopol, Bucha and other Ukrainian communities,” adding, “This will be a huge case study of what dictatorship means.”
In the past 20 years, the Russian people have been subjected to “total propaganda” that has “the same effect as radiation.”
“This propaganda won a victory, but not over all,” he added.
Muratov said the Kremlin’s own estimates were that around 25 million Russians opposed the “special operation” in Ukraine, but his organization put that number at half the population. As of July 2021, the population of Russia was estimated at around 142 million.
“Those who refuse to be zombies, half the country is pro-peace and anti-war,” he told CNN.
Last month Muratov revealed plans to auction off his Nobel Peace Prize medal to support Ukrainian refugees.
In a statement published on the newspaper’s website, Muratov said the throngs of “wounded and sick children” in need of “urgent treatment” forced him to sacrifice the prestigious medal.
CNN’s Eoin McSweeney in Abu Dhabi and Niamh Kennedy in London contributed to this report.