They strangled us, says founder of Russian newspaper shut under pressure from authorities

At the editorial workplaces of Novaya Gazeta, they are leaving and closing down.

All over I look there are cardboard boxes and plastic bags. Whatever should go.

For thirty years this has actually been Russia’s most popular independent paper, including investigative journalism increasingly crucial of those in power.

Now Novaya Gazeta is being kicked out from its home of 3 years. The paper likewise states it’s been obstructed from getting contributions.

It’s implicating the Russian authorities of eliminating it off.

“There are different ways to commit murder,” reporter and co-founder of the paper Dmitry Muratov informs me. “They chose to strangle us.”

“First, they blocked our websites and banned the paper edition. Then they revoked our media licence. One by one we were declared ‘foreign agents’, and our journalists were attacked.

“Now we can’t make anymore cash. The banks are contradicting contributions from our readers. In our nation there are political repressions going on. Those have actually reached us.”

In 2021, Muratov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts “to protect flexibility of expression, a prerequisite for democracy and long lasting peace”.

The award didn’t stop the Russian authorities from designating him a ‘foreign agent’ in 2023. The label is often used to punish critics of the government.

Over the years Novaya Gazeta had developed a reputation for fearless investigative reporting on subjects such as corruption, human rights violations and abuse of power by officials and bureaucrats – dangerous topics in Russia.

The paper says that six colleagues were killed for “satisfying their expert and civic responsibility”. Those reporters consist of Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in the stairwell of her house block twenty years ago this month. She had actually composed thoroughly on the wars in Chechnya.

As I stroll down a passage, I identify the workplace Anna had actually utilized. Following her killing, the space and all the products in it were protected and ended up being a museum in her memory. Considering that the expulsion order, the majority of the items have actually currently been eliminated. All that’s left is the desk and, resting on top, a picture of Anna.

Because Russia’s major intrusion of Ukraine in February 2022, the pressure on independent journalism and independent Russian reporters has actually been growing.

Not long after the start of what the Kremlin calls the ‘unique military operation’, brand-new laws were embraced in Russia. Their goal: to penalize dissent and silence criticism of the war and of those in power.

Previously this year there was a cops search of Novaya Gazeta’s editorial workplace. A veteran investigative reporter Oleg Roldugin was apprehended and charged with “illegal access to computerised details”.

In connection with the case the newspaper’s current editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov was recently taken in for police questioning and his home was searched.

Despite increasing pressure, Novaya Gazeta managed to continue operating, albeit in a reduced form. Loyal readers used VPNs, virtual private networks, to circumvent official blocking of the website. But the loss of its licence and other restrictions were a major blow to the publication.

How does Dmitry Muratov view the future?

“We remain in the middle of an awful disaster,” Mr Muratov tells me. “Various dictatorships worldwide look for turmoil. They utilize mayhem to rule their nations and individuals and to enhance their individual power.

“I don’t know what will happen next. I do know that we will do everything to stay true to our values: the human right to life. Human rights override the rights of states.”

Novaya Gazeta’s death is quite completion of an age.

In a significantly authoritarian Russia, it’s likewise an indication of the times.