![Russia Shuts Down Novaya Gazeta After 33 Years](https://cdn.slatesource.com/f/0/c/f0c79200-8119-49f8-9d92-16d04e72613f.webp) # Russia Shuts Down Novaya Gazeta After 33 Years - [Made in Slatesource](https://slatesource.com/@steph/russia-shuts-down-novaya-gazeta-after-33-years) - By [Steph](https://slatesource.com/@steph) - Created on Oct 30, 2026 ## 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. > 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. > > — theguardian.com **6** journalists killed on duty since the paper was founded in 1993 [meduza.io](https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/10/30/they-killed-us-russian-independent-newspaper-novaya-gazeta-announces-its-closure-after-decades-of-repression?utm_source=slatesource) Novaya Gazeta: from founding to forced closure01.04.1993 – 30.10.2026 01.04.1993Founded 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. 01.04.1993 01.01.2000Anna Politkovskaya joins as a staff reporter; begins covering human rights abuses in Chechnya, bringing international attention to the war. 01.01.2000 07.10.2006Politkovskaya shot dead outside her Moscow apartment on Putin's birthday. Five men later convicted; mastermind never formally charged. 07.10.2006 01.01.2009Lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasia Baburova shot dead in Moscow. Total staff killed rises to six over the paper's history. 01.01.2009 08.10.2021Muratov awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Maria Ressa of the Philippines "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression." 08.10.2021 01.03.2022Russia invades Ukraine; Roskomnadzor issues two formal warnings to Novaya Gazeta for coverage of the war. 01.03.2022 28.03.2022Paper suspends print and online editions inside Russia to protect staff following the warnings. 28.03.2022 01.09.2022Russian authorities revoke Novaya Gazeta's Russian media licence. 01.09.2022 01.09.2026Justice Ministry designates Novaya Gazeta a "foreign agent," the label used to restrict and stigmatise independent outlets. 01.09.2026 01.10.2026Basmanny 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. 01.10.2026 30.10.2026Sokolov announces permanent closure; final issue to be published before servers shut on 9 November 2026. 30.10.2026 Years in operation 33 Staff journalists killed since founding 6 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to founder 2021 Formal Roskomnadzor warnings before 2022 suspension 2 Years since Russian media licence revoked 4 Country rank on RSF Press Freedom Index 2026 164 of 180 [aljazeera.com](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/30/russia-forces-closure-of-investigative-newspaper-novaya-gazeta?utm_source=slatesource) What happens next 0% \- 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. 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. [Guardian: Russian society being systematically crushed, says Novaya Gazeta](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/30/novaya-gazeta-russia-independent-newspaper-to-close?utm_source=slatesource) [Al Jazeera: Russia forces closure of investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/30/russia-forces-closure-of-investigative-newspaper-novaya-gazeta?utm_source=slatesource) [Meduza: They killed us - Novaya Gazeta announces its closure](https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/10/30/they-killed-us-russian-independent-newspaper-novaya-gazeta-announces-its-closure-after-decades-of-repression?utm_source=slatesource)