The History of the Nobel Peace Prize Perception in the USSR. Cases of Andrey Sakharov and Michael Gorbachev

In my work I concentrate my attention on the new concept of ‘prize’, its relation to the concepts ‘prestige’, ‘gift’, ‘bargain’ or ‘power’. Relying on that theoretical concepts from anthropology, sociology and international relations, I analyze its power to influence and form the position of a receiver, while transmitting a certain cultural and moral message, as well as relation to a political life of one country and international community. I pay close attention to the two only cases of Nobel Peace Prize in the history of the USSR, cases of Andrei Sakharov and Mikhail Gorbachev in order to comprehend the role of their awards in the image they created on the national and international arena. I use discourse of ego-documents, publications and interviews to recreate the atmosphere. From the analysis it is clear that Nobel Prize can serve as a tool in various political contexts, but in the situation in question it was a strong influence mechanism, that in spite of some technical similarities in process lead to opposite results for awardees.