MOSCOW — Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s most celebrated independent newspaper, shuttered its Moscow offices on Monday, marking the end of an era for the nation’s last major media outlet to openly challenge the Kremlin. The closure follows a prolonged campaign of government pressure that has systematically dismantled the country’s independent press.
In a somber statement released on October 30, the newspaper’s editorial team declared that they had been forced to cease operations by Russian authorities and security services. The publication issued a scathing indictment of the current political climate, stating: “Human rights and freedoms have been abolished in this country, and defending them is now treated as a crime. Elections and elected governing bodies have been effectively dismantled, civil society institutions have been wiped out, freedom of conscience and human dignity have been trampled underfoot.”
Founded in 1993, Novaya Gazeta became a pillar of investigative journalism, known for its courageous reporting on corruption and human rights abuses. This commitment came at a steep price; over the decades, six of the newspaper’s journalists were killed for their work, including Anna Politkovskaya, who was assassinated in her apartment building in 2006 after exposing atrocities during the second Chechen War.
The final day in the office was a scene of quiet devastation. Staff members carefully removed portraits of their slain colleagues from the walls of the newsroom, a space that had served as a hub for dissent and critical inquiry. Tatiana Britskaya, editor of the investigations desk, described the forced exodus as an immense personal loss. “It is an incredibly difficult decision, because this is more than a workplace, more than an office — this is our home, and we’re losing it,” she said.
The newspaper’s descent into total closure accelerated following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin initiated a severe crackdown on dissent, targeting Novaya Gazeta through crippling fines, the revocation of its media registration, the seizure of its printing house, and the blocking of its online presence. Longtime editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov, a co-recipient of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, was forced to step down in 2023 after being branded a “foreign agent”—a label the government uses to stigmatize and isolate critics.
As reporters left the premises for the final time on Monday, a sign was placed above the building’s entrance: “Here lived Novaya Gazeta.”
Despite the forced evacuation, editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov expressed a defiant hope for the future. “We will live, and I am sure that this country, caught in such a terrible era, will eventually stir,” he said. “As soon as those first signs appear, Novaya Gazeta will return.”
While the Moscow operation has gone dark, some former staff members have continued their work through Novaya Gazeta Europe, a separate, exile-based project that remains critical of the Kremlin.
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