Berlin-based Werkstatt Deutschland on Saturday reversed its decision to award Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the prestigious Quadriga prize due to massive criticism.
The organization said its plans to give Putin the Quadriga Award as a "role model for enlightenment, dedication and the public good" had come under massive attack in the media and the political community.
Putin was to be honored for his contribution to Russia's"stability through the interaction between prosperity, economics and identity," as well asto the reliability of German-Russian ties.
But many German publicfigures have protested the plan, saying his human rights record made him an unacceptable candidate.
The prize, a small statue of the quadriga - a chariot pulled by four horses - on top of the Brandenburg Gate inBerlin, was to have been bestowed upon the Russian prime minister October 3, the Day of German Unity.
Putin served with the KGB in East Germany forfive years until German reunification in 1990.
Several Quadriga board members, including Cem Ozdemir, a co-chairof the German opposition Green party, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and history professor EdgarWolfrum, withdrew from the board in protest against the decision.
Ozdemir said there were "differences" between him and otherboard members in the evaluation of Putin's contribution to"democracy" and the rule of law, while Wolfrum described the decision as"scandalous."
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