:INFO Russia forces closure of Novaya Gazeta Russia's most prominent independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, announced on 30 October 2026 that it is closing after 33 years of publication. Editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov made the announcement in a video posted to YouTube, saying the editorial team had been forced out by Russian authorities and security services. The paper will publish a final issue and shut down its servers on 9 November 2026. Novaya Gazeta had been operating at reduced capacity since March 2022, when it suspended print and online editions after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its office on Potapovsky Lane in Moscow, where staff had worked for 29 years, is being confiscated. The paper's donation platform, used to receive reader funding, was also shut by authorities. An offshoot publication, Novaya Gazeta Europe, continues to operate from Riga, Latvia. :QUOTE [links:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/30/novaya-gazeta-russia-independent-newspaper-to-close, quotetype:plain, subtitle:Sergei Sokolov - Novaya Gazeta editor-in-chief] Novaya Gazeta has been killed. On November 9 we will turn off the lights in our home, where we have lived for 30 years. The Russian authorities, the Russian special services, have forced the editorial team to end its work. :COUNTER [links:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/10/30/they-killed-us-russian-independent-newspaper-novaya-gazeta-announces-its-closure-after-decades-of-repression] 6 journalists killed on duty since the paper was founded in 1993 :TIMELINE Novaya Gazeta: from founding to forced closure 1993-04-01 | Founded by Dmitry Muratov and colleagues who left Komsomolskaya Pravda. Mikhail Gorbachev donated part of his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize money to buy the paper's first computers. 2000-01-01 | Anna Politkovskaya joins as a staff reporter; begins covering human rights abuses in Chechnya, bringing international attention to the war. 2006-10-07 | Politkovskaya shot dead outside her Moscow apartment on Putin's birthday. Five men later convicted; mastermind never formally charged. 2009-01-01 | Lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasia Baburova shot dead in Moscow. Total staff killed rises to six over the paper's history. 2021-10-08 | Muratov awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Maria Ressa of the Philippines "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression." 2022-03-01 | Russia invades Ukraine; Roskomnadzor issues two formal warnings to Novaya Gazeta for coverage of the war. 2022-03-28 | Paper suspends print and online editions inside Russia to protect staff following the warnings. 2022-09-01 | Russian authorities revoke Novaya Gazeta's Russian media licence. 2026-09-01 | Justice Ministry designates Novaya Gazeta a "foreign agent," the label used to restrict and stigmatise independent outlets. 2026-10-01 | Basmanny Court revokes media licence; editorial staff evicted from Potapovsky Lane office; donation platform shut down; Sokolov summoned for questioning over arrest of colleague Oleg Roldugin. 2026-10-30 | Sokolov announces permanent closure; final issue to be published before servers shut on 9 November 2026. :STATS [links:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/30/russia-forces-closure-of-investigative-newspaper-novaya-gazeta] [icon:CLOCK] Years in operation | 33 [icon:USERS] Staff journalists killed since founding | 6 [icon:CHART] Nobel Peace Prize awarded to founder | 2021 [icon:TRENDING_DOWN] Formal Roskomnadzor warnings before 2022 suspension | 2 [icon:TRENDING_DOWN] Years since Russian media licence revoked | 4 [icon:CHART] Country rank on RSF Press Freedom Index 2026 | 164 of 180 :CHECKLIST What happens next [ ] - 9 November 2026: Novaya Gazeta publishes its final issue and shuts servers. [ ] - Novaya Gazeta Europe, based in Riga, Latvia, continues publishing in Russian and remains a source for independent coverage of Russia. [ ] - Kremlin could yet designate Novaya Gazeta "undesirable" or "extremist," which would make contact with its journalists a criminal offence. [ ] - Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have called for international pressure on Russia over the closure. [ ] - Muratov has said he will not stop speaking out; his legal situation in Russia remains precarious. :NOTE How we know this. Guardian first publication 15:52 UTC 30 Oct 2026 (in-window). Al Jazeera, CNN, France24, ABC News, RFERL, Meduza, Moscow Times, Euronews, Irish Times all confirm closure and quote Sokolov directly. Muratov quote via AFP, reported by Meduza and RFERL. Cover image: Modern printing press photo by Andre Robillard (arsphtgrph), originally published on Unsplash before 5 June 2017 under CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication, archived on Wikimedia Commons. :LINK https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/30/novaya-gazeta-russia-independent-newspaper-to-close Guardian: Russian society being systematically crushed, says Novaya Gazeta :LINK https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/30/russia-forces-closure-of-investigative-newspaper-novaya-gazeta Al Jazeera: Russia forces closure of investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta :LINK https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/10/30/they-killed-us-russian-independent-newspaper-novaya-gazeta-announces-its-closure-after-decades-of-repression Meduza: They killed us - Novaya Gazeta announces its closure