Novaya Gazeta closes in Russia, 'killed by authorities and services'

Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper classified as a foreign agent by Moscow, has announced the cessation of operations in Russia from November 9th.

"We have been killed. On November 9, we will turn off the lights in our building, where we have lived for 30 years, we will turn off the servers and we will leave. The newspaper no longer exists. The Russian authorities and the Russian secret services have forced the editorial office to cease operations", we read on the newspaper's website. The newspaper was already subject to restrictions from 2022. Part of the editorial team had already left the country, continuing to work on the Novaya Gazeta - Europe project.

"At the same time as the eviction letter, they also deactivated the donation system that allowed us to receive contributions from our readers. In other words, they deprived us of all funds", reads the statement which also states: "This is a coordinated action. The excuse of the banks, according to which they act according to internal company regulations, will not convince anyone. These are external rules, established by the state repressive apparatus, by FSB officers who have infiltrated every organization.

They consider the country their property."

At the beginning of September, the Moscow newspaper was included in the register of "foreign agents". In 2023, the newspaper's co-founder, Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov, was also recognized as a "foreign agent" and forced to resign as editor-in-chief, giving way to Serghei Sokolov.

On October 15, the latter was detained by the police for questioning for a few hours regarding a criminal case involving a former collaborator of the newspaper, Oleg Roldugin, accused of violations in the collection of personal data of Russian politicians and notables.