The 2020 laureates:

Kajsa Ekis Ekman

The 2020 Lenin Award goes to Kajsa Ekis Ekman. “As a relentlessly independent socialist and feminist with the entire world as her field of work, she has in Swedish publicity and without belonging to any coterie, possible to cancel but never to expose, reached a position that nonetheless forces everyone to listen.” Click to read the full justification.

David Ritschard

The 2020 Robespierre Prize goes to David Ritschard. “With lyrics ranging from naked depictions of deepest heartache to sparkling political reflections, David Ritschard successfully manages the storytelling tradition of country music and American folk music and places it in the middle of Swedish class society.” Click to read the full justification.

The awards will be given out on Saturday 21 November

The Lenin Award

“A kick in the nuts aimed at the powers that be”. That’s how Lasse Diding describes the purpose of the Lenin Award that’s given out every year to an author or artist in Sweden, who operates with social criticism and in a rebellious leftist tradition. With the prize money amounting to 100,000 SEK, the Lenin Award is one of the bigger cultural awards in Sweden – and without a shadow of a doubt the most contentious! The Robespierre Prize amounts to 10,000 SEK and should reward a young Swedish writer or artist, who operates in a critical spirit.