Europe
Novaya Gazeta shuts down under pressure from Russian authorities: “We have been killed,” lights go out Nov. 9
The independent newspaper, founded in 1993 and known for opposing the war in Ukraine, said it is being forced to cease operations after being evicted from its offices and cut off from donations.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 30, 2026, 16:30 · Updated 19:02 · 2 min read
In brief
- Editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov said the Russian authorities and security services forced the newsroom to stop working.
- The paper must vacate its historic offices in Moscow by Nov. 9, while its donation system has been blocked.
- The museum of Anna Politkovskaya, opened in her office in 2021, is also closing.
Novaya Gazeta, one of the last voices of independent journalism in Russia, announced on Friday that it is shutting down. “Novaya Gazeta is ceasing to exist. The Russian authorities, the Russian special services, have forced the editorial staff to stop operations,” editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov said in a YouTube video, according to AFP.
Evicted and out of money
In a separate statement, the newsroom wrote that “we have been killed” and that on Nov. 9 “we will turn off the lights in the home where we have lived for 30 years, shut down our servers and leave.” It said the paper has received an eviction notice from its headquarters on Potapovsky Lane in Moscow, while the platform it used to collect donations from readers has been closed. The newsroom accuses banks of cutting it off by following rules that, it says, are set by the FSB. One final issue of the paper is still expected to be published.
The paper, founded in 1993, openly opposed the invasion of Ukraine. In 2022 the authorities revoked its license and it stopped its print edition, continuing only online; Moscow has labeled it a “foreign agent.” Co-founder and former editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov was a co-winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
Pressure mounted this month
Earlier in October, Sokolov was questioned and his home was searched as part of a criminal case against his colleague Oleg Roldugin, who was arrested in April and is now under house arrest awaiting trial. Along with the newsroom, the museum of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, opened in her office on Oct. 7, 2021, the 15th anniversary of her murder, is also closing.
Independent Russian journalists responded with a statement of support published by Meduza, which described Novaya Gazeta as “the best media outlet in the history of Russia.”
