The winners of the second International Leo Tolstoy Peace Prize have been announced in Moscow. By the decision of the jury, the presidents of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov and Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev became the winners of this award in 2025, TASS reports.

The ceremony was held on the birthday of the great Russian writer and philosopher.

Valery Gergiev, Chairman of the jury of the award, artistic director and general Director of the Mariinsky Theater, as well as the general director of the Bolshoi Theater, said that the decision was made unanimously. He stressed that the laureates were leaders who have made a significant contribution to ensuring stability and harmony in Central Asia.

The organizing committee of the award noted that the presidents of the three countries were awarded a high award for their personal contribution to strengthening peace and security in the region. Special attention was paid to the signing of the agreement on the junction point of the state borders of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on March 31. This step has finally completed the legal formalization of common borders and, according to the organizers, has become an important contribution to ensuring equal security, strengthening cooperation and mutual understanding between peoples.

International recognition

The jury consisted of political and public figures from around the world, including Argentina, Belarus, India, China, Russia, France, South Africa and Japan.

Pierre de Gaulle, grandson of the founder of the Fifth French Republic, General Charles de Gaulle, noted that this year's award was given to heads of state who work for peace and demonstrate a new model of solving problems through humanitarian methods, rather than through conflict.

The Leo Tolstoy International Peace Prize Foundation was established on June 22, 2022, by the Russian Historical Society, the Russian Peace Foundation, and the Russian Military Historical Society. The organizers clarified that the date of the award ceremony will be announced later.