Novaya Gazeta Closes After 33 Years: A Coordinated Campaign by Russian Authorities

Nexta reports that the newspaper will cease operations on November 9, 2026, while Meduza states that the closure was announced on October 30, 2026.

Lenta does not provide any specific information about the closure, only the headline.

VG reports that the newspaper was labeled a 'foreign agent' by Russian authorities in the fall, while Meduza specifies that this occurred in September 2026.

Novaya Gazeta mentions that the Anna Politkovskaya museum will close as a result of the editorial office being evicted, while Meduza does not mention this.

The independent Russian newspaper Novaja Gazeta is closing down, reports AFP. The newspaper was previously labeled as a foreign agent by the country's authorities in the fall.

«Novaya Gazeta», the most well-known independent media outlet, which had been operating within Russia until now, announced that it is closing. It was recently revealed that the editorial office is being evicted from its office in Potapovskiy Pereulok in central Moscow, where journalists had worked for 29 years. As a result, the Anna Politkovskaya museum, located in her former office, will also close. Following the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities blocked the website of the publication and revoked its registration. In September 2026, they declared «Novaya» as a «foreign agent». According to The Economist, on October 26, a meeting of the editorial board of the newspaper took place, where the decision to close the publication was made. In the morning of October 30, «Novaya» officially announced that it is ceasing operations. «Meduza» publishes the full statement by the editorial board of «Novaya Gazeta».

The editorial team stated that on this day they will shut down servers and leave the office in the center of Moscow, where they have worked for about 30 years. Journalists accuse Russian authorities and intelligence agencies of forcing the newspaper to close. Also read: Ukraine put on hold strikes on Russian oil refineries after pressure from the US — WSJ. The editorial team reported that the collection of donations from readers has been disabled [...]

Editorial meeting. October 2026. Moscow, 3 Potapovsky Lane. Photo: Anna Artemyeva / Novaya Gazeta. 18+. THE CURRENT MATERIAL (INFORMATION) WAS PRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED AND (OR) SENT BY A FOREIGN AGENT INTERNET PUBLICATION "NOVAYA GAZETA" OR RELATES TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT INTERNET PUBLICATION "NOVAYA GAZETA" We have been killed. On November 9th, we will turn off the lights in the home where we have lived for 30 years, shut down our servers, and leave. The newspaper no longer exists. The Russian authorities and the Russian security services have forced our editorial team to cease its operations. More than 30 years of our existence shared with our country and its citizens will end, leaving us homeless, with no means of existence and under the constant threat of repression. The three decades we have spent together were mostly happy. Our readers are our friends, our articles and our films gave us meaning and hope. At times, however, these years were also desperately sad and bitter. It was under the current political regime — not during the chaotic 1990s — that six of our colleagues were murdered for fulfilling their professional and civic duties: Igor Domnikov, Yuri Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkovskaya, Stas Markelov, Anastasia Baburova, and Natalia Estemirova. We carried on as long as we could, but we were evicted from our home and our donations platform that allowed us to receive financial support from our readers has been shut down. We have been stripped of all our resources. Entirely. This is a coordinated campaign. Banks which have cut us off tell us they are merely following internal corporate rules. They don’t tell us that the rules they follow are set by the FSB, the state security service, embedded in every organization. They see the country as their personal fiefdom. Since the start of the "special military operation" in Ukraine and the introduction of criminal charges for "discrediting the Russian army" we cannot report on the most critical and tragic events of our time. Censorship applies to virtually every sphere of civic life. Our website has been blocked, our licence revoked, our printing press seized. We have been banned from publishing our newspaper in any form. Many of our colleagues have been forced to flee the country. Dmitry Muratov, our publisher and the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, had acid paint thrown into his face. He has nearly lost his sight. The perpetrators were let go. The authorities labelled him and the whole paper "foreign agents". In Chechnya, our columnist Elena Milashina was abducted and beaten almost to death. Oleg Roldugin, one of our editors, was arrested and now faces a trial for gathering information. Our offices have been raided, the apartment of Sergei Sokolov, our editor-in-chief searched. For nearly five years of war, we managed to keep working while being completely encircled by the security services. Now it’s over. We have found ourselves in a "kill zone." Dmitry Muratov*, co-founder of Novaya Gazeta, in his office at the newspaper’s Moscow editorial office. October 29, 2026. Photo: Anna Artemyeva / Novaya Gazeta. This is not just our own story; it is the story of a country and a society that are being systematically crushed. This is the work of the FSB, the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor’s Office, and others who have usurped power. A military dictatorship has effectively been established. They claim to be defending the constitutional order. In reality, it is an unconstitutional order. Because the Constitution has been raped, tortured, gagged, and thrown into prison for a very long time — much like thousands of the country’s citizens who simply followed its provisions. Thousands of our citizens have been forced to flee the country, leaving their homes behind and heading into the unknown. Stop comforting yourselves by saying "this isn’t Stalin’s 1930s", or arguing that repressions are merely "digital" in nature. These are state-sponsored repressions. It is human beings — not digits — who are dying in prison cells. Period. Human life has lost its meaning. The very word "Constitution" evokes slaughter — even from judges. Especially from judges. No one believes that this is the country’s supreme law, or that the president swore an oath upon it. Even the state propaganda stopped referring to the president as the "guarantor of the Constitution." Human rights and freedoms have been abolished in our country, and defending them is now seen as a crime. Elections and elected governing bodies have been effectively dismantled. Civil society has been crushed. Freedom of conscience and human dignity have been trampled upon. Private life has been turned inside out by filthy hands. "Doesn’t Article 29 of the Constitution — which states that "censorship is prohibited" — sound like a cruel mockery today? The judiciary has been destroyed, along with the rule of law and the very concept of justice. Holding personal convictions is now considered high treason. But true treason is when a state betrays its own Constitution. And this betrayal is an ongoing crime — one unfolding right now before the eyes of the entire world. The killing of Novaya Gazeta is yet another piece of evidence. For all these years, this is exactly what we wrote about — for as long as we could. That is why they killed us. Thank you to everyone who hears us. The Editorial Staff P.S. One final issue will be published.