National Museum of History of Ukraine calls on UNESCO to cancel Mendeleev Prize funded by Russia

According to Ukrinform, the corresponding statement was published on the museum's website.

"Ukrainian social media was stirred by a call for nominations for the UNESCO award, which carries the loud name 'The UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev International Prize in the Basic Sciences.' However, the announcement was published on the institution's website on January 7, 2026," the statement says.

The prize was initiated and is financed by the Russian government. It consists of a monetary award of $250,000 for each of the two winners. Each laureate also receives a gold medal and a diploma.

The decision to establish the prize was adopted by UNESCO in 2019.

So far, it has been awarded only twice, in 2021 and 2023, although it is presented as an annual prize.

Each time, one of the two awardees was a Russian scientist.

The international jury includes scientists from Spain, Germany, Russia, Mexico, India, Kenya, and Morocco.

According to the official information about the prize, "it also commemorates the remarkable scientific heritage of D. I. Mendeleev, father of the Periodic Table, whose work played a fundamental role in the future of chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy and geochemistry – but also in what is now termed sustainable development."

Particularly cynical in the eyes of Ukrainians is the following sentence from the prize's official page: "The prize was created to raise awareness of their role in creating peaceful and prosperous societies."

The National Museum of the History of Ukraine, as an institution that studies the methods Russia has used for centuries to promote narratives of its greatness, calls on UNESCO to cancel the prize and not contribute to the spread of Russian narratives.

Under the cover of the slogan "science beyond politics" and the name of a scientist who lived more than a century ago, Russia is now attempting to whitewash its crimes against humanity and numerous war crimes.

"While Ukrainian scientists are dying from shelling in Ukrainian cities, in Russian captivity, or defending Ukraine from Russian soldiers, one of the world's most influential organisations is awarding scientists with money from the bloody Russian government," the museum emphasized.

As previously reported, due to Russian aggression, 1,685 cultural heritage sites and 2,483 cultural infrastructure facilities have been destroyed or damaged in Ukraine.

Photo: UNESCO