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The investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta shut down its Moscow office on Monday, citing mounting state pressure that made continued reporting impossible in Russia. Co-founded by the late Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the prominent publication faced severe restrictions following its critical coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
State Pressure and Financial Restrictions
As reported by Deutsche Welle: DW.com – Top Stories, the outlet was labeled a “foreign agent” by President Vladimir Putin’s administration and ordered to vacate its headquarters. Authorities also barred Russian banks from processing reader donations, a crucial funding source after the publication transitioned entirely to online publishing following the start of the Ukraine war and the introduction of strict wartime censorship laws.
During the closure at the newsroom, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize-winning founding editor Dmitry Muratov made an appeal for free speech. He stated that citizens advocating for peace have lost the right to choose their reading material, adding that the section of the Russian constitution guaranteeing civil and political rights is no longer functioning. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the closure, describing it as a “rotational process” within a competitive media environment.
History of Fearless Reporting
Established in 1993, Novaya Gazeta served as a symbol of post-Soviet democratic openness and the “glasnost” era, receiving initial funding from Gorbachev using a portion of his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize money. The publication earned a strong reputation for fearless journalism, which frequently targeted powerful figures and resulted in the murders of six of its reporters.
Among the slain journalists was Anna Politkovskaya, known for investigating military abuses in Chechnya and criticizing Putin. She was found dead in her apartment in 2006 on the president’s birthday. Russian media images on Monday showed current editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov removing photographs of Politkovskaya and other murdered reporters from the walls. Sokolov stated last month when announcing the shutdown that the editorial team was forced to end its work by Russian authorities and special services.
Future Uncertainty and Calls for Release
Muratov appealed for a ceasefire in Ukraine, urged foreign observers to recognize the enduring strength of Russian dissent driven underground by censorship, and asked the public to separate the Russian authorities from the Russian people. He also demanded the freedom of approximately 4,000 individuals he identified as political prisoners.
Leadership has not clarified whether the Moscow office closure is a permanent end to the publication or if the team will regroup and operate from abroad, similar to other outlets like DW. Journalist Irina Vorobyova expressed belief that the paper’s spirit would endure like a “good virus” within everyone who was part of it.
