Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta closes citing gov’t clampdown

What the report says

Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta has shut down after what Al Jazeera reported was mounting pressure from Russian authorities. The paper said it held the last editorial meeting and closed its newsroom in Moscow, following a previous announcement that it was being forced to stop operating after being designated a “foreign agent.” The outlet had been one of the few remaining Russian media organizations openly critical of the war in Ukraine and of Kremlin policy.

Al Jazeera reported that the closure came amid a broader tightening of pressure on Russian media and civil society during the war. It said authorities searched the home of editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov in October and questioned him, while editor Oleg Roldugin was arrested in April. The newspaper also said banks stopped processing reader donations after the “foreign agent” label, undermining its finances.

At the farewell gathering in Moscow, cofounder Dmitry Muratov said people advocating peace had been denied access to information they chose to read, and he argued that constitutional rights had effectively stopped functioning. The Kremlin downplayed the shutdown, describing it as part of a normal cycle of change. The report also noted the paper’s long history, including its founding connection to Mikhail Gorbachev and its survival through years of censorship and attacks on journalists, several of whom were killed while reporting.