Russia’s last openly critical newspaper Novaya Gazeta shuts its Moscow office

Novaya Gazeta, Russia's last remaining newspaper openly critical of the Kremlin and Moscow's ongoing all-out war in Ukraine, has closed after authorities stripped it of its media registration and severed its ability to operate, the newspaper said.

In a statement on 30 October, the paper said security services and censors had "forced the editorial team to cease its activities."

The newsroom was ordered to vacate its premises, its reader donation system was shut down, its online resources were blocked, its printing arrangements were terminated, and state censors at printing facilities refused to allow the paper to publish, before its media registration was revoked.

"Elections and elected bodies of power have in effect been abolished, civil society institutions destroyed, freedom of conscience and human dignity trampled underfoot," the newspaper said in its farewell statement.

Editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov held a final editorial meeting attended by staff, founder and Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov and journalists from other outlets.

Staff packed their belongings and took down from the walls the portraits of murdered colleagues, among them Anna Politkovskaya, Yuri Shchekochikhin and Natalya Estemirova.

Muratov described repression in Russia as "overwhelming," saying that by 2021, before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of people had already been convicted under relevant statutes.

"This is because the country is not run by parliament, or by local administrations or governors, but by the FSB of the Russian Federation," he said.

In his farewell address to staff, Muratov made several requests: to support Russians opposed to the war, to push for the release of political prisoners, to seek a humanitarian corridor for villages in the former area of Oleshky, and to work to stop Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities.

"The light, heat and water in cities in Ukraine could be wiped off the face of the Earth. These cities will be poured into sacks like dust. This madness, this slaughter must be stopped," he said.

Muratov also said more than 400,000 of the newspaper's articles had been archived and were being republished worldwide.

"We will go on living, and I am sure that this country, which is going through such hard times, will sooner or later come to its senses. As soon as the first signs of this appear, Novaya Gazeta will return to our readers and colleagues," Sokolov said in his address to those gathered outside the building.

Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned Russia's closure of the newspaper.

The Kremlin dismissed its significance, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating that "some media outlets cease to exist and new ones take their place," which he called a "normal process".

Novaya Gazeta was founded in 1993 and became known for its coverage of the Chechen wars and its investigations into human rights abuses and corruption.

Six of its journalists were murdered. Russian authorities had designated it a "foreign agent", but the paper continued to publish until its final closure.

After the journalists left, a new sign appeared on the wall alongside the newspaper's nameplate: "Novaya Gazeta lived here."