The independent Russian newspaper said state authorities forced it to cease operations after cutting off reader donations and issuing an eviction notice.
Independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta announced on Friday that it is shutting down after three decades, saying Russian authorities and intelligence agencies forced it out of operation. Al Jazeera reported that the publication released an editorial board statement titled “We were killed,” declaring that state pressure had brought its journalism to an end.
Why the paper cannot continue publishing
The decision came after the outlet received an eviction notice ordering it to leave its premises, BBC News reported. At the same time, the electronic payment system that allowed readers to send donations to the newspaper was turned off. Editorial leaders said the loss of contributions left them with no way to fund the publication, and staff members have already started packing up the offices.
In the statement posted to its website, Novaya Gazeta blamed the repressive state apparatus for carrying out what it called a coordinated effort against the outlet. The board wrote that authorities have eliminated human rights and freedoms across Russia, equating defense of those rights to a crime. The statement added that Russian courts have been destroyed along with the legal system, and holding personal convictions is now treated as state treason.
Past raids, arrests and deadly violence
The shutdown follows a string of legal actions against Novaya Gazeta and its leadership. Earlier this month, Russian police searched the apartment of editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov and questioned him regarding a criminal case against a colleague. Media rights group Reporters Without Borders reported that Sokolov was arrested on October 15.
The police action was tied to the case of Oleg Roldugin, a veteran investigative reporter at the newspaper who was arrested in April. Russian prosecutors charged Roldugin with unlawful access to computerized information. Authorities had also conducted a police search of the Novaya Gazeta newsroom earlier this year.
Pressure on the paper intensified sharply after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Soon after Moscow began what it calls a special military operation, Russian lawmakers passed legislation to suppress criticism of the war and punish dissent. The authorities revoked Novaya Gazeta’s publishing license and blocked access to its website, prompting the paper to trim operations. Readers who stayed with the outlet had to use virtual private networks to get around the state web blocks.
The government also branded several of the paper’s reporters and contributors as foreign agents. The label was applied in 2023 to Dmitry Muratov, who co-founded the publication in the 1990s and served as its chief editor for years. Muratov was a joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for his efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.
Over its thirty-year history, Novaya Gazeta built an international reputation for investigations into state corruption, rights abuses, and bureaucratic misconduct. That reporting proved lethal for several staff members. Six journalists and employees tied to the publication have been killed for carrying out their professional work. Those victims include Anna Politkovskaya, an investigative reporter known for covering the wars in Chechnya, who was shot dead inside the stairwell of her apartment building twenty years ago this month.
Servers to shut down in November
Employees are preparing to leave their long-term headquarters ahead of a final shutdown date. In a video published on YouTube, Sokolov said the paper’s physical presence will conclude in early November.
“On November 9 we will turn off the lights in our home, where we have lived for 30 years. We will shut down the servers and leave,” Sokolov said.
