Show summary Hide summary
Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s most prominent independent newspaper, announced on Friday that it will close after more than 30 years of publication, blaming sustained pressure from state authorities, The Associated Press reported. The paper said it will publish a final issue and shut its office on Nov. 9.
In an editorial statement announcing the decision, the newspaper wrote, “They have killed us,” and said “The Russian authorities and the Russian security services have forced our editorial team to cease operations.” There was no immediate comment from Russian authorities, according to The Associated Press.
Origins and role as an independent voice
Launched in 1993 with financial help from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev — who used part of his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize money to support the project — Novaya Gazeta became one of the few outlets in Russia willing to publish persistent criticism of the Kremlin, The Associated Press reported. After President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, other independent media either shut down or had their websites blocked, leaving Novaya Gazeta as one of the last major critical outlets.
Escalating crackdown and legal restrictions
The newspaper described a series of measures it said were aimed at silencing it, including fines for allegedly discrediting Russia’s armed forces, being labeled a “foreign agent,” having its online platforms blocked, seizure of its printing house, revocation of its media registration, and an order to clear its premises. The paper also said authorities shut the donation system that allowed readers to support it, hampering its financial survival.
Novaya Gazeta charged that the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Justice Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s office have effectively “privatized the state and usurped power.” The editorial said the crackdown has violated the constitution and that the paper’s ban on censorship has become a “cruel mockery.” It added: “The constitution itself has been raped, beaten, gagged, and thrown into prison for a long, long time.” These passages are from the newspaper’s published statement, as reported by The Associated Press.
The paper also said its offices have been searched and that one of its leading journalists, Oleg Roldugin, is awaiting trial. Novaya Gazeta accused authorities of systematically destroying civil society and treating defense of human rights as a crime.
Violence against journalists and leadership changes
Novaya Gazeta’s reporting has come at a deadly cost. Six of its journalists have been killed, including Anna Politkovskaya, who reported on abuses during the second Chechen War and was shot dead in her apartment building in 2006. Five men were convicted in 2014 of involvement in her murder, but there has been no court ruling on who ordered the killing, The Associated Press reported.
Longtime editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov, who shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, was attacked in 2022 when an assailant poured red paint over him on a train. Muratov stepped down as editor in 2023 after being designated a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities, the AP account says.
Some staff who relocated abroad have launched a new project called Novaya Gazeta Europe, which has continued critical reporting on the Kremlin and Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, according to the reporting.
In its final statement, the newspaper framed its closure as part of a broader loss for Russian society: “This is not just our own private story,” it said, adding that more than three decades of work with readers and citizens will end “destitute and under the constant threat of repression.” The Associated Press provided the reporting on the closure.
