"We would like this year's Remarque Peace Prize to be understood as a sign of hope: the logic of war should not have the last word. The last word must be the language of humanity, which also unites people of hostile states. The violence of war must not silence the language of literature and art," says the chair of the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize jury, Prof. Dr. Susanne Menzel-Riedl, President of the University of Osnabrück.

"That is why we hoped to invite a writer from Russia and an artist from Ukraine to Osnabrück to honor them with the Remarque Peace Prize and the special prize," adds the jury's vice chair, Osnabrück Mayor Katharina Pötter.

"We are pleased that the Russian writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya will accept the Peace Prize and the Ukrainian draftsman Sergiy Maidukov the Special Prize, but at the same time we have to accept that as long as Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine has not ended, neither of them will be able to take a podium," Menzel-Riedl and Pötter explain. "Therefore, we will present the award to Lyudmila Yevgenyevna Ulitskaya and Sergiy Maidukov on different dates."

Every two years since 1991, the city of Osnabrück has awarded the Peace Prize named after Osnabrück-born writer Erich Maria Remarque. This year, the award will be presented for the 16th time.

For additional info, see https://friedensstadt.osnabrueck.de/en/what-we-do/erich-maria-remarque-peace-prize/award-winner/2023-ljudmila-ulitzkaja/