Russia’s flagship independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, officially ceased operations on Monday after holding its final editorial meeting and vacating its offices. The closure follows a statement issued last month in which the publication announced it was shutting down due to sustained pressure from the Kremlin.
For decades, Novaya Gazeta served as one of the few remaining outlets in Russia that openly criticized government authorities and the war in Ukraine. Its operations were increasingly constrained by a tightening grip on free speech and a broader campaign against dissent. In recent years, the newspaper was designated a “foreign agent,” a label critics argue evokes Soviet-era repression, while its journalists faced detention and questioning by security services.
During the final meeting on Monday, editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov was seen removing photographs of reporters who were murdered in killings widely perceived as retribution for their investigative work. Among the images taken down was a portrait of Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin who documented alleged abuses by Russian military forces in Chechnya. Politkovskaya was found dead in her apartment building in October 2006, which coincided with Putin’s birthday.
In an emotional video released last month, Sokolov stated that the newspaper had “been killed” by the Russian authorities and special services, who forced the editorial team to end its work. The closure has drawn sharp condemnation from international rights organizations, including Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International. Volker Turk, the UN rights chief, described the shutdown as “yet another devastating blow for remaining independent media in the Russian Federation.”
Conversely, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the significance of the closure on Monday, characterizing it as “a normal cycle of change.” Peskov argued that it would be incorrect to claim the era of independent Russian media is ending, asserting instead that the Russian media landscape remains “highly diverse” and operates within a “highly competitive environment.”
Founded in 1993 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Novaya Gazeta was renowned for its rigorous reporting on human rights abuses. Its departure marks a significant loss for independent journalism in a country where Moscow has introduced unprecedented censorship measures while its troops continue to fight in Ukraine, forcing most other independent media outlets into exile.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
