They say dreaming is not a sin. But sometimes a dream grows so lofty that even its owner no longer agrees to settle for less. This time, the story is about peace \u2014 a peace that bears the name Leo Tolstoy, yet casts the shadow of the Nobel Prize in the recipient\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A prize was given to Emomali Rahmon. No, don\u2019t misunderstand \u2014 a peace prize. But not the kind awarded in Oslo. This is a peace prize handed out in Saint Petersburg, under the watchful eye of the Kremlin, with a dry, protocol smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look at the photos. The face is stern, the gaze tired, the lips without a smile. This is not the face of someone celebrating the title \u201cFounder of Peace and National Unity.\u201d This is the face of a man who seems to be thinking:
\u201cI served Russia for 34 years, I was loyal, I stayed silent \u2014 and in the end you put me in the same row as the newcomers?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, that is the real bitterness. The prize is collective. One line, together with Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Sadyr Japarov. One has been president only a few years, the other hasn\u2019t even warmed his chair yet. But the prize is the same.
In the logic of our \u201cvocational-school graduate of peace,\u201d peace should be awarded based on seniority:
\u201cAfter all, I\u2019ve had this title since 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another photo, the handshake with Vladimir Putin is purely symbolic. This prize looks more like a \u201cloyalty award\u201d than an independent global recognition. And perhaps that is why his expression is sour and displeased: because after this ceremony, hopes for the Nobel evaporate like stage smoke.
The Hague, perhaps, remains a more realistic hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the Nobel is not given by proclamation, not by title, and not for long service to a single power. The Nobel is given by history \u2014 if it is given at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so, one reality remains:
The prize was received, the photos were published, but the dream remained just that \u2014 a dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cQoqo-Qoq\u201d Against Beards, with a Tolstoy Medal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And finally, one last joke \u2014 to make this peace fully \u201cbearded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rahmon dislikes beards. He dislikes bearded men. Beards are shaved off qoqo-qoq, as if state security depended on hair follicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But look at this irony: he receives a prize bearing the name of one of the most bearded men in history \u2014 Leo Tolstoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isn\u2019t this a contradiction?
You ban the beard,
yet you accept a bearded prize with both hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It turns out that for Rahmon, a beard is not dangerous if it is:
\u2013 dead,
\u2013 Russian,
\u2013 and hanging as a medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apparently, this is the only beard that is not considered \u201cextremist,\u201d but honorary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MuhammadIqboli Sadriddin
22.12.2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
They say dreaming is not a sin. But sometimes a dream grows so lofty that even its owner no longer agrees to settle for less. This time, the story is about peace \u2014 a peace that bears the name Leo Tolstoy, yet casts the shadow of the Nobel Prize in the recipient\u2019s heart. A prize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[135,134,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-406","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-statements","8":"tag-a-prize-was-given-to-emomali-rahmon","9":"tag-he-wouldnt-give-a-prize-hed-just-point-to-his-beard","10":"tag-if-tolstoy-were-alive","11":"tag-muhammadiqboli-sadriddin"},"yoast_head":"\n