Russia and Ukraine are at war, but according to the former, their president Vladimir Putin has taken home two 'prestigious' prizes.
It may seem shocking to some, but the president has actually won more prizes than you would expect.
There is much debate over what the Russian president won and what his affiliation with the Norway-based Nobel Prize committee is.
However, according to Russian media, Vladimir Putin was actually also nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Here is a history of Putin’s peace prizes and their validity.
How to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize
There are various different peace prizes individuals can win over a number of categories including science, medicine and economics.
The Nobel Prize committee meet and consider candidates across these fields and Putin has been nominated several times.
This is because the body will accept nominations from a “qualified nominator”.
That could be a member of a national government, a professor, or director of a policy institute .
However, a person can’t nominate themselves, but if another governing body deems a person worthy, you are on the list.
Did Putin win the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize?
In September 2020, the Russian president was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, as reported by the Russian state news agency, TASS.
According to TASS, a group of Russian public figures led by writer Sergey Komkov filed the nomination to Oslo, Norway.
At the time, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the nomination did not come from the Kremlin.
Peskov said: "If this decision is made, great, if not, it's no problem as well."
In the end, Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov won for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.
They won for their fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia.
What prizes has Vladimir Putin won?
In 2008, Putin won the Ludvig Nobel Prize "for services to Russia", according to Reuters.
This is an award organised by Russian businessmen and artists which has no connection to the main Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking to Reuters, Yevgeny Lukoshkov, head of the Ludvig Nobel Prize’s selection committee, said: “Under the previous president, (Boris) Yeltsin, there was chaos and lawlessness.
“Somebody had to stand up and take responsibility and stop the robberies and murders. Putin took responsibility for eight years.”
In 2016, Putin won the Hugo Chávez Prize for Peace and Sovereignty of the Peoples, a new peace prize made in honour of the former socialist leader.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro presented the Russian leader with the award at the time.
Maduro said the prize should be given to “a leader that I believe is the most outstanding there is in the world today, a fighter for peace, for balance, and a builder of a pluripolar, multicentric world.”
The South American nation had been devastated by a massive economic crisis at the time.
Maduro called Putin an “ally” of the nation and a “fighter for peace.”
