A symbol of independent journalism, Novaya Gazeta has been classified as a “foreign agent” by Moscow. Published on October 30, 2026 October 30, 2026 Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta has announced its closure, citing pressure from authorities. The independent outlet’s editorial board said in a statement published Friday that the newspaper has been forced to end its operations. scrutiny by the State in the midst of Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Recently, authorities searched the home of Novaya Gazeta’s top editor and arrested the editor-in-chief. “The newspaper disappeared. Russian authorities and… intelligence services forced the editorial staff to cease operations,” the editorial board said in the statement, titled: “We were killed.” exist,” editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov said in a video statement posted on YouTube. “On November 9, we will turn off the lights in our house, where we have lived for 30 years. We’ll close the servers and leave.” Go?” media watchdog Reporters Without Borders asked in a statement after Sokolov was arrested on October 15. “Six of its journalists and staff members have been killed, its newsroom has been raided, its journalists have been prosecuted and the publication has been designated a ‘foreign agent,’” the press freedom organization said. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was “deeply concerned and saddened” by the closure, describing it as another “devastating”. blow” for independent media outlets remaining in Russia. Turk said pressure on independent journalism had intensified significantly since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, through increasingly restrictive legislation, stricter state controls and the persecution of journalists. He noted that his office has repeatedly expressed concern about the broader media crackdown, including the “foreign agents” law and its effect on civil and political rights. The forced closure of Novaya Gazeta marks another escalation in Russia’s crackdown on press freedom, with few independent media outlets or journalists in the country, as levels of censorship and arrests of critics of the regime have skyrocketed since it launched the Ukraine war in February 2022. The newspaper had already cut its production inside Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine, when authorities revoked its press license. The newspaper’s then editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, jointly won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression” at the helm of the newspaper.
