Novaya Gazeta: No more Kremlin-critical newspaper from Nobel Peace Prize winner

Moscow. The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitri Muratov, is ceasing its work in Russia after more than 30 years and massive pressure. “We have been killed,” reads the title of a statement on the newspaper’s website. “The Russian authorities and the Russian secret services forced the editorial team to stop work,” the medium wrote. On November 9th, the editorial team turned off the lights, shut down the servers and left. The newspaper would then no longer exist.

Novaya Gazeta is one of the most critical voices in Russia and has always been under pressure. At the beginning of the month it was the 20th anniversary of the murder of their reporter Anna Politkovskaya. Russian authorities continued to take action against Novaya Gazeta even after the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began more than four and a half years ago.

The organization Reporters Without Borders reacted to the announcement. "It's frightening: With the forced closure of Novaya Gazeta, we are losing one of the last independent media that was still able to work in Russia," said managing director Christian Mihr, according to a statement. "Since the full invasion of Ukraine, independent, critical reporting in Russia has only been possible under massive restrictions," he explained.

The evening before it became known that the editorial team had to leave its offices in Moscow. In April the editorial offices were searched for hours, and in September the medium was classified as a so-called foreign agent. Its founder Dmitri Muratov, who was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, had also previously been classified as a “foreign agent”. This is how Moscow brands its critics.

Anyone who is listed as a “foreign agent” must expect numerous disadvantages. Among other things, they are not allowed to receive rental income or interest on deposits in a savings account, as well as royalties or other income from intellectual activity. “More than 30 years of life together with the country and its citizens will end for us on the streets, without a means of subsistence, under the constant threat of repression,” the newspaper now wrote.