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MapRussian Authorities Force Novaya Gazeta To Shut Down, Editor Says It Is Ceasing To Exist
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Novaya Gazeta announced closure due to Kremlin-pressure, with authorities' searches and detentions cited. Editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov said authorities forced the newsroom to shut down.
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Novaya Gazeta shuts down
Novaya Gazeta announced it would shut down, saying Russian authorities and Russian security services forced its editorial team to end its work. Sergei Sokolov told audiences in a video statement published on YouTube, "Novaya Gazeta is ceasing to exist," and he said, "On November 9 we will turn off the lights in our home, where we have lived for 30 years." The editorial board said in a statement released on Friday that the newspaper was "forced to end its operations," and it added, "The newspaper is gone."
The outlet said it would shut down its servers and leave on November 9, while it framed the closure as the result of a campaign by authorities that left it without financial support and an office. Reuters reported that Novaya Gazeta said it was shutting down after what it described as a relentless campaign by the authorities that saw state prosecutors pursue some of its senior journalists and left it without financial support and an office.
Pressure, searches, and charges
Russian authorities searched the home of Novaya Gazeta’s senior editor and arrested the editor-in-chief, according to Al Jazeera, and the outlet said the newspaper had been classed as a "foreign agent" by Moscow. Reporters Without Borders said after Sokolov was arrested on October 15 that "Six of its journalists and staff members have been murdered, its newsroom has been raided, its journalists have been prosecuted," and it noted the publication had been designated a "foreign agent". Sokolov said in a statement that "The Russian authorities and the Russian security services forced the editorial team to cease operations," and Reuters said the Kremlin had previously accused foreign intelligence services of trying to stir up discontent inside Russian society.
Russian authorities searched Sokolov’s home earlier this month over a criminal case involving his colleague Oleg Roldugin, and Reuters said Roldugin was detained and charged with "unlawful access to computerised information." Reuters added that there was no immediate comment from the authorities, while it described censorship rules introduced after Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022 that mandated long jail terms for discrediting the Russian army or disseminating what the authorities deem to be fake news.
What comes next
Novaya Gazeta said it had been evicted from its home and its donations platform that allowed it to receive financial support from its readers had been shut down, leaving it "homeless, with no means of existence".
“‘For now, it’s up to readers to look after them.”
The editorial team said it had received an eviction notice forcing it to leave its historic premises in Moscow starting November 9, while it said the system that allowed it to receive donations was blocked, depriving it "entirely" of funding.
The paper said it had existed for more than three decades, and Reuters said it had faced serious problems in the past including the killing of six journalists, including investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
The Moscow Times said the total number of people losing their jobs was unclear, and it described Novaya Gazeta as Russia’s oldest and most prominent independent newspaper that planned to release one final edition before turning off its servers and vacating its office in central Moscow on Nov. 9.
Novaya Gazeta Europe said the values of the newspaper founded by Mikhail Gorbachev would be needed again back home, and it told readers, "For now, it’s up to readers to look after them."