Russia's top independent newspaper closes under relentless government pressure

Novaya Gazeta, Russia's most celebrated independent newspaper, closed its Moscow offices Monday, citing relentless pressure from government officials.

Novaya Gazeta, last major independent media critical of Kremlin, saw staff killed, attacked in Putin's Russia

The Associated Press

· Posted: Nov 09, 2026 10:16 AM EST | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

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Novaya Gazeta, Russia's most celebrated independent newspaper, closed its Moscow offices Monday, citing relentless pressure from government officials.

It was the last major independent media outlet critical of the Kremlin that remained active in Russia. Others closed or moved their operations abroad after President Vladimir Putin launched Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In a statement published Oct. 30, the newspaper said the Russian authorities and the security services had "forced our editorial team to cease operations."

"Human rights and freedoms have been abolished in this country, and defending them is now treated as a crime," the newspaper said. "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."

The newspaper was launched in 1993 by Dmitry Muratov and the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, using money from Gorbachev's 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

6 journalists killed

Novaya Gazeta quickly became known for its fierce reporting and dedication to uncovering Russian human rights abuses and corruption. Six of its journalists have been killed, including Anna Politkovskaya, who reported on atrocities during the second Chechen War at the start of Putin's first term as president. She was fatally shot in her apartment building in 2006.

On the newspaper's final day in its office Monday, journalists slowly removed the portraits of their slain colleagues from the newsroom where reporters and editors planned their work.

Sergei Sokolov, editor-in-chief of the Novaya Gazeta daily, collects portraits of slain journalists from the offices as the newspaper closes down in Moscow on Monday. (Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP/Getty Images)

Tatiana Britskaya, the editor of Novaya Gazeta's investigations desk, said she had expected the outlet's closure almost every day for the past 4½ years.

"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.

Novaya Gazeta had faced growing government pressure as the Kremlin cracked down on critics, with repression sharply intensifying after the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

Editor attacked on train

Longtime editor-in-chief Muratov, who shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, was attacked on a train in 2022 by an assailant who poured red paint over him, causing severe irritation in his eyes. Muratov stepped down as editor in 2023 after being named a "foreign agent" by Russian authorities. The designation carries strong pejorative connotations in the country and can bring additional government scrutiny.

The newspaper was fined after it was accused of discrediting Russia's armed forces, and it also was declared a foreign agent. Authorities blocked all of its online platforms, seized its printing house, revoked its media registration and shut down the donation system that allowed it to receive support from readers.

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In a final blow, the newspaper was ordered to clear out its Moscow offices.

As reporters left the building and gathered in the street, a new sign was affixed atop the nameplate that once announced the newspaper's office. It read, "Here lived Novaya Gazeta."

Sergei Sokolov, Novaya Gazeta's editor-in-chief, said he believed the newspaper would return one day "with renewed strength."

"We will live, and I am sure that this country, caught in such a terrible era, will eventually stir. As soon as those first signs appear, Novaya Gazeta will return, to our readers and to our colleagues."

'You cannot blame citizens for this'

Muratov said people needed to understand ​that it was the Kremlin that was to blame for waging the war and suppressing free speech.

"We cannot blame the citizens themselves for this — especially the wonderful, truly remarkable younger generation. I urge you to distinguish between the Russian authorities and the Russian people," he said.

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The Kremlin defends the need for censorship laws, denies there are any ​political prisoners and says that Russia is taking necessary action at a time of war to prosecute people engaged in subversive activity.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the newspaper's closure was part of a "rotational process" ⁠in a fiercely competitive media environment.

Some of Novaya Gazeta's staff left Russia in 2022 and opened a separate project, Novaya Gazeta Europe. The new outlet has been sharply critical of the Kremlin and its military action in Ukraine.