2009 Nobel Peace Prize of race, religion, skin colour, he has an open attitude." Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Indian President Pratibha Patil and Israeli President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres sent congratulatory messages to Obama, but Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters that "the decision was taken hastily and the award was [too] early." In Latin America, former Cuban President Fidel Castro called the award "positive" and said the prize should be seen as a criticism to the "genocidal policy" carried out by past U.S. presidents. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro said the award was a surprise and perhaps premature.
Lenin Peace Prize program. The Lenin Peace Prize is regarded as a counterpart to the existing Nobel Peace Prize. The International Lenin Prize should not be confused with the International Peace Prize, awarded by the World Peace Council. In 1941 the Soviet Union created the Stalin Prize (later renamed the "USSR State Prize"), which was awarded annually to accomplished Soviet writers, composers, artists and scientists. Lenin Peace Prize The International Lenin Peace Prize (, "mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)" was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a panel appointed by the Soviet government, to notable individuals