Novaya Gazeta to Close Moscow Operations After Escalating State Pressure

Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia’s most prominent independent newspapers, said Thursday that it will cease operations on Nov. 9 after what it described as a sustained escalation of state pressure, including a newsroom raid, a criminal case against a reporter, a “foreign agent” designation, an eviction order and the shutdown of its donation processing.

In a statement published Oct. 30 under the headline “We Have Been Killed,” the paper said it had been ordered to leave its Moscow office by Nov. 9 and that its system for processing reader donations had been disabled. Meduza reported the eviction notice and deadline a day earlier. Human Rights Watch, in commentary published Thursday, also cited Novaya’s statement that donation processing had been cut off, choking a key source of support for the outlet.

The closure follows a series of documented actions against the newspaper this year. In April, investigators searched Novaya’s Moscow newsroom for about 13 hours and detained investigative journalist Oleg Roldugin. Reporting by The Insider and other outlets said Roldugin was later charged in a case related to illegal access to computer information. On Sept. 4, Russia’s Justice Ministry added Novaya Gazeta’s internet edition to the state registry of “foreign agents,” a label that reporting said also listed more than 100 staff members and contributors as affiliated individuals. Then, on Oct. 15, investigators searched the home of editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov and questioned him, with reports linking that move to the Roldugin case.

Novaya Gazeta’s closure carries weight well beyond one newsroom. Founded in 1993, it became one of Russia’s best-known investigative newspapers, recognized for reporting on corruption, human rights abuses and the exercise of state power. Its co-founder and longtime editor, Dmitry Muratov, won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for what the Nobel committee described as efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, helping make the newspaper a symbol of independent reporting in Russia.

The paper had already been operating under severe restrictions since the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. By the end of 2022, Novaya Gazeta had lost its print and online media registrations in Russia, and its website had been blocked inside the country. Those steps came as Russia tightened restrictions on independent war coverage through laws criminalizing what authorities describe as false information about the armed forces and the “discrediting” of the military.

Even after those measures, parts of Novaya’s journalism continued. Some reporters published from exile through Novaya Gazeta Europe and other projects, while others kept producing work that remained accessible outside Russia and, inside the country, through circumvention tools. Thursday’s announcement marked the end of the newspaper’s remaining operations from its Moscow base.

Human Rights Watch called the shutdown a major development for press freedom and for reporting on Russia. But Novaya framed the decision in more immediate terms: the practical dismantling of the institution itself.

“We have been killed,” the newspaper said in its statement. “On November 9th, we will turn off the lights in the home where we have lived for 30 years, shut down our servers, and leave.”