Russia’s critical newspaper Novaya Gazeta to close after pressure from authorities

A newsroom under mounting pressure

Novaya Gazeta said state authorities had forced its editorial team to stop working. The announcement followed a search at the home of a senior editor and the questioning of Sokolov in Moscow two weeks earlier.

Investigators questioned Sokolov over the alleged unlawful use of personal data, in a criminal case involving colleague Oleg Roldugin. Roldugin was detained and charged with unlawfully accessing computerized information, an offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty, and authorities gave no further details.

The newspaper was founded in 1993, after the Soviet Union collapsed. It became one of Russia’s few remaining critical outlets, reporting on corruption and Russian politics.

Independent media in decline

Pressures on Novaya Gazeta have worsened since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as the Kremlin imposed extensive media censorship. Most independent journalists have been driven into exile; those who remain in Russia have been designated “foreign agents,” a status that brings restrictions on daily life and income.

A closure with wider meaning

In its editorial, the newspaper described its shutdown as part of a broader deterioration in Russia. It said its more than 30 years alongside the country and its citizens would end amid repression and without a basis for continuing.

International media rights groups condemned the pressure on the outlet. Reporters Without Borders called on the Kremlin to end what it described as the judicial harassment of Novaya Gazeta journalists.

Evacuations begin in Oleshky

Separately, evacuations began Friday in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky, where a localized, US-brokered ceasefire had held into its fourth day. Residents had faced shortages of food, water and medicine for months after Russian forces captured the town early in the war in 2022.

The town’s population has fallen from 24,000 to about 2,000. Residents told AFP that some people had been forced to hunt and eat pigeons; those remaining were expected to leave for territory controlled by either Russia or Ukraine.