Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s most prominent independent newspaper, announced it will cease operations on November 9, citing sustained pressure from government authorities and the Federal Security Service. In a video statement, editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov described the closure as the result of relentless harassment and restrictions that have made continuing work impossible.

The newspaper, which has operated for nearly 30 years, faced escalating challenges after publicly opposing President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Its media license was revoked, and in September it was designated a “foreign agent,” a label used by the Russian government to discredit critics and impose administrative hurdles. Sokolov highlighted factors including targeted actions by security services, the blocking of an online donation platform, and eviction from its longtime Moscow offices as key elements that precipitated the shutdown.

“For nearly five years of the war, we managed to keep working, surrounded on all sides by the security services,” Sokolov said. “And now, that’s it. We have ended up in the ‘kill zone.’ This is not just our private story. It is the story of a country and a society being finished off the same way.”

Novaya Gazeta has long been known for its independent investigative journalism amid challenging political conditions. Between 2000 and 2009, six of its reporters and contributors were murdered, including Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot in 2006 due to her reporting on the Chechnya conflict. The newspaper’s closure will also lead to the shutdown of a small museum dedicated to Politkovskaya in their former Moscow offices near the Chistye Prudy metro station.

Dmitry Muratov, the newspaper’s former editor-in-chief and Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2021 for his commitment to press freedom, was attacked in 2022 when an assailant threw a mixture of red paint and acetone at his face, causing chemical burns. He recovered from the assault, which was reportedly linked to his stance on the war in Ukraine.

Following the onset of the conflict, approximately two-thirds of Novaya Gazeta’s staff relocated to Latvia, where they launched Novaya Gazeta Europe, a separate website that continues to publish. The Moscow office operated on a reduced basis but was barred from issuing a print edition in recent months.

Journalists at Novaya Gazeta expressed sadness at the newspaper’s demise. Reporter Irina Gordienko referred to the final chapter of the publication as “a difficult but wonderful epoch,” underlining the significance of the outlet’s role in independent journalism over three decades.