Russia’s Bravest Newspaper Closes After Decades of Pressure

A Paper With a Long Record

Novaya Gazeta became known for investigative reporting on human rights abuses, wartime propaganda and corruption in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Journalist Anna Politkovskaya, whose books in the early 2000s examined those subjects, worked at the paper.

Pressure Built Over Time

The newspaper and its journalists faced mounting pressure from the Russian government over decades. A colleague who witnessed staff packing up the newsroom said authorities had systematically dismantled media organizations critical of the Kremlin and the war in Ukraine.

The paper’s website was blocked, and its media license was later taken away. Putin then signed a decree nationalizing the newspaper’s printing presses.

Final Issue Still Expected

This spring, authorities raided the newsroom, and one journalist was detained and put on trial. Novaya Gazeta was also placed on the government’s list of so-called foreign agents, a designation that brings limitations on what it can do.

The newspaper held its last editorial meeting on Monday. Despite the newsroom closure, one final issue is expected to be published in the next few weeks.