Novaya Gazeta, One of Russia's Last Independent Newspapers, Says It Will Shut Down

One of the last independent newspapers left in Russia says it is closing. Novaya Gazeta, the Moscow paper that has published for more than 30 years, announced on Friday, October 30, that Russian authorities and security services have forced its editorial team to stop working.

In a statement published on its own website under the headline "We Have Been Killed," the editors said they will turn off the lights in their office, shut down their servers and leave on November 9. One final issue will be published before then.

What the Newspaper Says Happened

The statement lists the losses one by one. The paper says its website has been blocked, its media licence revoked and its printing press seized. It says it has been banned from publishing in any form. It also says it was evicted from its home at 3 Potapovsky Lane in Moscow and that the platform it used to collect donations from readers was shut down.

"We have been stripped of all our resources. Entirely," the editors wrote. They described what they called a coordinated campaign, saying banks that cut the paper off claimed to be following internal rules. The editors say those rules come from the FSB, Russia's state security service.

Euronews, the BBC, the Associated Press and Radio Free Europe all reported the announcement on Friday. Euronews noted that the paper is one of the few Russian outlets that had openly criticized the war in Ukraine.

A Long Record Under Pressure

Novaya Gazeta built its name on investigative reporting, and its staff paid a heavy price for it. In the closing statement, the editors named six colleagues who were murdered for their work: Igor Domnikov, Yuri Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkovskaya, Stas Markelov, Anastasia Baburova and Natalia Estemirova.

The paper's publisher, Dmitry Muratov, shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for his defense of free expression. The statement says he was attacked with acid paint thrown in his face and nearly lost his sight, and that those responsible were let go. Russian authorities have labeled both Muratov and the paper as "foreign agents."

The editors also say columnist Elena Milashina was abducted and badly beaten in Chechnya, that editor Oleg Roldugin was arrested and now faces trial for gathering information, and that the apartment of editor Sergei Sokolov was searched.

Why the War Changed Everything

The paper says that since the start of what the Kremlin calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, and the arrival of criminal charges for "discrediting the Russian army," it has not been able to report freely on the most important events of the time. Many of its journalists have left the country.

The editors argue that their closing is not only their own story. They point to Article 29 of the Russian Constitution, which says censorship is prohibited, and call that promise a cruel mockery today. Their statement accuses the security services, the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor's Office of crushing civic life.

What Comes Next

For readers inside Russia, the loss is practical. Fewer newsrooms remain that can report on courts, prisons, the war and the people affected by them without approval from the state. For readers abroad, Novaya Gazeta was one of the clearest windows into life in Russia beyond official messaging.

The paper has not said whether any part of its team will continue in another form. Its statement ends simply: "Thank you to everyone who hears us."

Sources for this report include Novaya Gazeta's own statement, Euronews, the BBC, the Associated Press and Radio Free Europe. Independent reporting depends on readers who care about it. If this story matters to you, please share it and support the journalists still doing this work around the world.