Novaya Gazeta announces closure, blaming Russian state pressure

Novaya Gazeta announced in Moscow on October 30 that it was closing, with its editor blaming pressure from Russian authorities for forcing the decision. Sergei Sokolov said in a video statement that the editorial team was ending its work.

The newspaper had faced the removal of its media licence, a foreign-agent designation and repeated action involving staff. Journalists and editors had been questioned or detained, and homes searched, according to reports.

Founder Dmitry Muratov, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and former editor, linked the closure to the state's broader wartime campaign. He said the paper's opposition to war had made it a target.

Restrictions followed years of independent reporting

Established in 1993 after the Soviet Union's collapse, Novaya Gazeta became known for investigating human rights abuses. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev contributed part of his Nobel Peace Prize money to help establish it.

The paper reduced domestic print production after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Its online edition nevertheless remained accessible despite court orders, according to the reports.

Sokolov's home was searched in recent months. Journalist Oleg Roldugin was arrested earlier this year and accused of unlawfully accessing computer information; he denied guilt and remained under house arrest while awaiting trial, state media reported.

Muratov shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for his journalism. Two years later, he formally relinquished the editor's post after authorities designated him a foreign agent.

Several of the newspaper's reporters have been murdered, including Anna Politkovskaya, who investigated alleged military abuses in Chechnya. She was found dead in October 2006.

Reporters Without Borders praised the publication's example of independent reporting and has condemned the legal pressure on its staff. Sokolov said a final issue would still appear, thanking those who had followed the newspaper's work.

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