Russia’s Novaya Gazeta to close after mounting state pressure
publishers 22articles 23first reported 29 Oct, 13:48 UTCdeveloping since 30 Oct · 3 editions
Russia’s independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta announced Friday that it will cease operations, saying pressure from Russian authorities and security services had made it impossible to continue.
“Novaya Gazeta is ceasing to exist,” editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov said in a YouTube video. The newspaper said it would publish a final issue and shut down its servers on November 9, ending more than 30 years of work.
The closure follows authorities’ search of Sokolov’s home and his questioning this month in connection with a criminal case against colleague Oleg Roldugin. Roldugin, arrested in April and charged with unlawful access to computerized information, has pleaded not guilty and remains under house arrest pending trial. Novaya Gazeta also said it was losing its Moscow premises and had been cut off from a reader-donations platform.
Founded in 1993 with support from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Novaya Gazeta became known for investigations into corruption, human rights abuses and Russian politics. Six of its journalists and staff members have been killed, including investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya.
Pressure intensified after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Authorities revoked the newspaper’s media license, and Moscow later designated it a “foreign agent.” The outlet halted its Russian print edition but continued publishing online from Moscow.
Former editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to protect freedom of expression.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 6 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 6 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 22
- Source articles
- 23
- Given to the writer
- 8, 6 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 8
- This version written
- 6 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →