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

The newspaper announced in a statement on 30 October that 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, and its printing arrangements were terminated.

State censors at printing facilities refused to allow the paper to publish before its media registration was revoked.

Forced closure and final goodbye

In its farewell statement, the paper declared that "elections and elected bodies of power have in effect been abolished, civil society institutions destroyed, freedom of conscience and human dignity trampled underfoot."

Sergei Sokolov held a final editorial meeting attended by staff, founder 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Muratov also said more than 400,000 of the newspaper's articles had been archived and were being republished worldwide.

International condemnation and Kremlin response

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".

A legacy of investigative journalism

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."