Novaya Gazeta Closes in Moscow, Ending a 30-Year Independent Voice
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 10
Novaya Gazeta Closes in Moscow, Ending a 30-Year Independent Voice
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 10
Summary
Novaya Gazeta shut its doors Monday in Moscow, marking the end of one of Russia’s last major independent newspapers.
2022 accelerated the pressure: the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent and free expression deepened sharply after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
At the paper’s office on Potapovsky Lane, journalists removed its metal plaque, replaced it with one reading “Novaya Gazeta Lived Here,” and laid white carnations associated with mourning.
Dmitri Muratov — the co-founder who shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize — spent the final day handing personal items to colleagues as staff packed up.
The closure underscores how Russia’s campaign against nonconforming views has widened from censorship to the disappearance of long-standing institutions.
How will Russian citizens access independent information now that Novaya Gazeta's domestic operations have been completely dismantled?
What fate awaits the journalists who remained in Moscow after their Nobel-winning newsroom was forced to close?
33 Years of Novaya Gazeta: From Gorbachev’s Glasnost to Kremlin Repression and Exile (1993–2026)
Overview
The forced closure of Novaya Gazeta’s Moscow newsroom on November 9, 2026, was the result of years of escalating state repression. After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, strict censorship laws led Novaya Gazeta to suspend print operations and pushed many journalists into exile, founding Novaya Gazeta Europe in Latvia. In 2026, the Russian Justice Ministry labeled the paper a 'foreign agent,' causing banks to block donations and cutting off its main income. Ordered to vacate its office, the newsroom announced its shutdown and staff dismantled their headquarters. Despite digital censorship and website blocking, Russian citizens continue to access independent reporting through VPNs and mirror networks, preserving the legacy of investigative journalism against state efforts to erase it.