Russian politician and political prisoner Alexei Navalny was awarded the Train Foundation Civil Courage Award.
The graduation ceremony took place at New York University. The award was received by Navalny's associates: Maria Pevchikh and Leonid Volkov. Ballet dancer and public figure Mikhail Baryshnikov, who also performed at the ceremony, called Navalny "insanely brave" and said the politician's mission is "to uphold a more democratic vision of Russia." Baryshnikov himself in 1974 became a "defector" in the USSR.
The Civil Courage Prize honors "those who resolutely seek freedom for others despite the consequences for themselves," the organization's website says. Over the years, journalist Anna Politkovskaya, politician Vladimir Kara-Murza and Serbian human rights activist Natasha Kandich received it.
