The Lech Walesa Solidarity Prize in 2015 was awarded to Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov / Photo from tsn.ua
Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was shot to death in February 2015, has announced that she would donate EUR 700,000, part of the sum she got as Poland's Lech Walesa Solidarity Prize, to charity projects in Ukraine, according to Polskie Radio's Russian service.
"Part of the prize in the amount of EUR 700,000 will be funneled into charity projects in the Eastern Partnership countries. This is stipulated in the conditions of the prize. All these charity projects will be financed in Ukraine, which is suffering from the stark war. The support will be given to the families of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes [the people killed during Euromaidan protest events in Ukraine in the fall and winter of 2013–2014]. In addition, it will be spent on repairs to schools and procurements of equipment in the Ukrainian regions that are hosting internally displaced persons [from the annexed Crimea and occupied Donbas in eastern Ukraine]. A Crimean Tatar TV channel in exile, which is now broadcasting from Kyiv, will also be given support. This is a stronghold of the freedom of speech and [the supplier of] objective news about the situation in the peninsula," she said in Warsaw on August 4 prior to the awarding ceremony.
Nemtsova also said that she planned to "give grants to Belarus-based portal Charter97 [charter97.org] whose editor-in-chief is Nata Radina."
The Lech Walesa Solidarity Prize is a Polish award for promotion and protection of democracy and civil liberties. It was established in 2014 by Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski. The Solidarity Prize is the first global distinction for democracy and freedom awarded by a country which made its systemic transformation in a peaceful way. The Prize is awarded on the annual basis.
In total, the prize value amounts to EUR 1 million, including EUR 250,000 is the cash prize for the prizewinner; EUR 50,000 is allocated to financing of the prizewinner's participation in the award ceremony and study visit to Poland for the prizewinner or a group of persons selected by him/her. Around EUR 700,000 shall be allocated to finance development cooperation projects, indicated by the prizewinner.
Nemtsova said that the EUR 250,000, which has been allocated to her as the cash prize, would be channeled into the Boris Nemtsov Foundation.