The 2026 "Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media" goes to Russian investigative journalist Roman A. Dobrokhotov.
Leipzig, 8 October, 2026. Russian investigative journalist and founder of the online newspaper The Insider, Roman Alexandrovich Dobrokhotov, was honoured today with the "Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media" at Media Campus Villa Ida in Leipzig. Presented by Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig, the award recognizes media professionals and institutions that, through their work - often at great personal risk - uphold freedom of the press and freedom of expression. The prize carries a cash award of 10,000 euros.
Dr. Harald Langenfeld, Chairman of the Board of Media Foundation and of Sparkasse Leipzig, paid tribute to the laureate: "Twenty-one years after the recognition of Anna Politkovskaya - and almost exactly 20 years to the day since her murder - we are once again honouring a Russian journalist: Roman Dobrokhotov. His work is distinguished by its journalistic rigor and its significance, which extends well beyond Russia to the international stage. His commitment to tackling even the most volatile subjects - undeterred by obstacles or repression - serves, in the view of the jury, as an exemplary demonstration of what investigative journalism can achieve under the most challenging conditions."
Roman Dobrokhotov is currently living in exile; the award ceremony took place under heightened security measures. In Leipzig, the recipient expressed his gratitude for the honour: "I am not sure whether I have truly earned this award yet. I accept it as an advance - and on behalf of all the journalists who are still working in Russia." He urged those attending the ceremony: "Democracy and freedom are not values that, once granted to a country, remain there forever. They must be defended time and again. My own country has shown me just how easily they can be taken away if nothing is done to prevent it. I believe we are living in a moment that requires both politics and civil society to make the utmost, joint effort to preserve these values - to preserve democracy and freedom."
Roman Dobrokhotov joins a line of Russian recipients honored in recent years, including Grigory Pasko (2002), Anna Politkovskaya (2005), Oleg Kashin (2011), and Roman Badanin (2022). The jury based its decision, in part, on the impressive investigative work carried out by Dobrokhotov and his team - ranging from their research into the 2014 downing of the Malaysian passenger flight MH17 over the Donbas and the activities of the hacker group Fancy Bear, to the attacks on Sergei Skripal and Alexei Navalny, the "Tiergarten murder" in Berlin, and the escape of former Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek. Upon announcing Dobrokhotov as the laureate, Stephan Seeger, Managing Director of Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig, stated: "His personal journey illustrates how Russia has evolved over the past few decades from a relatively liberal society into an autocratic one - a society in which critical voices are threatened, silenced, or driven out of the country."