Novaya Gazeta, Russia's independent newspaper, closes and staff leave Moscow office

Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia's best-known independent media outlets, has stopped publishing. It had continued working inside Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but said it was closing under pressure from the authorities and security services. On November 9, its journalists held a last editorial meeting in Moscow and left the office on Potapovsky Lane, where they had worked for 29 years. The publication itself had existed for 33 years.

In late October it emerged that the journalists were being evicted from the office in central Moscow. The Kremlin described the closure as "a normal process of turnover." As they left, staff said some media outlets cease to exist while new ones take their place.

The final meeting

Editor-in-chief Sergey Sokolov led the meeting. Attendees included newsroom staff, Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov, a co-founder and former editor-in-chief, and journalists from other outlets. Sokolov said the Telegram channel would keep running until midnight, but the newspaper had already closed.

He said Novaya Gazeta no longer exists as a newspaper but still exists as an idea. The staff, he said, must consider what form their work will take next, and there are more ways to exist than the Russian authorities can handle.

Portraits and farewell

Afterward, portraits of staff members killed over the years were taken down from the walls. They are journalists Igor Domnikov, Yuri Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkovskaya and Natalya Estemirova, freelance contributor Anastasia Baburova, and lawyer Stas Markelov, who also worked with the publication.

Staff left the building to applause and cries of "Thank you!" from readers and colleagues gathered outside. On the steps, Sokolov gave a farewell speech while the song "Eto vsyo" ("That's All") by Russian rock band DDT played, saying the journalists were not saying goodbye for good and that Novaya Gazeta would return to its readers and colleagues.

People left flowers at the newsroom and at Politkovskaya's memorial plaque. The publication's sign was covered with a new message: "Novaya Gazeta lived here."