Russia's independent Novaya Gazeta shuts its Moscow newsroom

Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian investigative newspaper, closed its Moscow newsroom on Monday, saying it could no longer continue reporting amid a campaign of state pressure. The paper was co-founded by the late Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and had long been a thorn in the Kremlin's side.

Pressure after the full-scale invasion

In recent years the outlet faced growing obstacles because of its critical coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It was designated a "foreign agent", a Soviet-era term revived by President Vladimir Putin's administration, and officials ordered it to leave its Moscow premises. Russian banks were also barred from processing donations from readers and supporters. The paper relied heavily on that income after moving entirely online shortly after the invasion. Russia also introduced new wartime censorship rules following the full-scale invasion.

Dmitry Muratov, the founding editor who shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the paper, addressed journalists who gathered in the office to witness the closure. He said people in Russia who favour peace have been denied the right to read what they choose, and that the part of the constitution guaranteeing political and civil rights has ceased to function. He called for a ceasefire in Ukraine, urged people to distinguish between the Russian authorities and the Russian people, and demanded the release of around 4,000 people he described as political prisoners.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov sought to play down the closure, calling it part of a "rotational process" in a fiercely competitive media landscape.

The paper's history

Novaya Gazeta was launched in 1993. Gorbachev used part of the money from his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize as seed funding. Six of its journalists have been murdered since its founding, among them Anna Politkovskaya, who spent years investigating alleged abuses by the Russian military in Chechnya. She was found dead in her apartment block in 2006, on Putin's birthday.

Editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov was shown on Monday taking down photographs of Politkovskaya and other murdered reporters. Last month, when first announcing the closure, he said the outlet had "been killed".

The leadership has not made clear whether the Moscow closure is a definitive end or whether it may regroup abroad, as several other outlets have done. Journalist Irina Vorobyova said the paper's spirit would survive like a "good virus".