The New York Times has won a Pulitzer Prize in the international reporting category for what the judges called a series of “enthralling stories, reported at great risk,” about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government.
The initial Pulitzer ceremony, which was scheduled for April 20, was postponed to give Pulitzer Board members who were busy covering the coronavirus pandemic more time to evaluate the finalists.
Prize board administrator Dana Canedy declared the winners on May 4 from her living room via a livestream on YouTube rather than at a ceremony at New York’s Columbia University.
The Pulitzer Prizes in journalism were first awarded in 1917 and are considered the field’s most prestigious honor in the United States.
The Russian Embassy in Washington criticized the prize board’s decision, writing on its Facebook page on May 5 that the articles were “Russophobic fabrications” damaging the newspaper’s reputation.
“If there is some ‘great risk’ as they allege, this only concerns reputation,” it wrote.
“We consider this series of articles by The New York Times on Russia as a wonderful collection of undiluted Russophobic fabrications, which can be studied as a guideline on creating false facts.”
The New York Times has won a record 130 Pulitzer Prizes and citations.