The Friuli Storia Prize goes to Russian historian and dissident Irina Scherbakova.

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WATCH THE VIDEO REPORT. "The moral price to be paid for social change and the establishment of democracy in Russia will be very high and far more painful than the Perestroika of the 1990s." This was stated last night at the Auditorium of the Grazie Cultural Center in Udine by Russian historian Irina Scherbakova, winner of the 12th edition of the Friuli Storia Prize for her historical, political, and autobiographical book, "My Father's Hands: A Russian Family Story." The award, presented with contributions from the Region, the Friuli Foundation, the Bank of Udine, the Municipality of Udine, and Poste Italiane, was presented by a jury chaired by Tommaso Piffer, which also includes Friuli Storia president Ernesto Galli della Loggia.

Co-founder of the Russian Memorial Association and winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, Scherbakova gave a lecture titled "My Life Through the Soviet Union." "The majority of the population in Russia," said the dissident, who now lives in Germany, "has in some ways 'normalized' this dictatorship and the war in Ukraine. Today, a ceasefire would be useful, but the main obstacle is Putin himself, who I hope will be held accountable for the crimes he committed. In the negotiations," she concluded, "Europe should play a role: the evolution of fortunes on the ground, with European assistance, would contribute much more than any economic sanctions."

Also present in the packed room were the other two finalists for the award, Carlo Fumian and Gustavo Corni, authors of "Daily Bread: The Invisible World Wheat Market between the 19th and 20th Centuries" and "Occupied Italy 1917-1918: Friuli and Eastern Veneto from Caporetto to Vittorio Veneto," respectively.