Prominent Russian newspaper shuts down under pressure from authorities

Prominent Russian newspaper shuts down under pressure from authorities

For the past three decades, Novaya Gazeta has been among Russia’s most prominent independent news organizations.

Now it is closing, and it has accused the Russian authorities of the "murder" of a newspaper.

"They've killed us," says a statement on the Novaya Gazeta website.

"The newspaper is no more. The Russian authorities and Russian special services have forced the paper to stop its work."

Novaya Gazeta has been served with an eviction order. Crucially, at the same time, the system that allowed the paper to receive donations from readers was disabled.

That leaves no way to finance the publication.

Novaya Gazeta built a reputation for fearless investigative reporting on issues such as corruption, human rights violations and abuse of power by officials and bureaucrats.

Dangerous subjects in Russia.

The paper said that over time six journalists linked to it were killed for "fulfilling their professional and civic duty." Those reporters include Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in the stairwell of her apartment block 20 years ago this month. Among the topics she covered were the wars in Chechnya.

In the statement announcing its closure, Novaya Gazeta mounted a sharp attack on the Russian authorities, saying the newspaper was the target of a "coordinated act" and blaming "the repressive state apparatus".

"Human rights and freedoms have been eliminated in the country and their protection has been equated to a crime," the statement said.

"The courts have been destroyed along with the law. Having convictions is now state treason."

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, pressure on independent journalism and independent Russian journalists has been increasing. Soon after the start of what the Kremlin calls the so-called "special military operation", new laws were introduced in Russia. Their purpose: to punish dissent and silence criticism of the war and of those in power.

Novaya Gazeta itself and its staff had already been facing numerous problems.

The authorities had already stripped the newspaper of its licence and blocked access to its website. Several of its journalists and contributors had been labeled "foreign agents", a designation often used by the Russian authorities to punish critics.

Earlier this year, police searched the editorial office. Veteran investigative journalist Oleg Roldugin was arrested and charged with "unlawful access to computerised information". In connection with the case, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Sergei Sokolov, was recently brought in for police questioning and his home was searched.

Even under growing pressure, Novaya Gazeta had managed to keep operating, though in reduced form. Loyal readers used virtual private networks to get around official blocking of the website and access its content. But the loss of its licence and other restrictions dealt a major blow.

In 2021, Muratov received the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts "to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace".

The award did not stop the authorities from declaring him a "foreign agent" in 2023.

At the Novaya Gazeta offices, packing has already begun.

The end of this newspaper is very much the end of an era.

In an increasingly authoritarian Russia, it is also a sign of the times.