Novaya Gazeta ceases operations inside Russia after decades of reporting
The UK and Finland called for an end to pressure on independent media as the newspaper prepared to leave its Moscow office.
Novaya Gazeta ceased operations inside Russia on November 9, 2026, according to a joint statement by the UK and Finland. The two governments, co-chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition, called on Russian authorities to end repression of independent media and let journalists work freely and safely.
Reuters reported that the newspaper held its final editorial meeting on Monday and was preparing to leave its central Moscow office. The closure ends more than 30 years of operations inside Russia, according to the governments’ statement.
- The UK and Finland called the closure a reminder of sustained pressure on independent journalism in Russia.
- Reuters reported that Novaya Gazeta was winding up and preparing to leave its Moscow office.
- The paper’s reported reasons included its foreign-agent designation and banks stopping reader donations it relied on for survival.
Why Novaya Gazeta is closing
Reuters said the paper announced in late October that it would have to close after it was designated a “foreign agent.” Banks then stopped processing reader donations on which the newspaper relied for financial survival. Reuters also reported that the newspaper described a campaign of state pressure as making continued reporting impossible; those explanations are attributed to the paper, rather than presented as an independently established finding about the cause.
The report said the newspaper’s offices and its editor’s home had been searched, while another senior journalist was under house arrest awaiting trial. The UK and Finland said independent journalists in Russia face risks including arrest, detention, harassment and political imprisonment, and called for the immediate, unconditional release of political prisoners, including journalists they described as unlawfully imprisoned.
Novaya Gazeta had reported on corruption, repression and human rights abuses for decades, the UK and Finland said, often at great personal risk to its journalists. The statement named Anna Politkovskaya among reporters whose work cost them their lives. Former editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov told an audience in London the previous month that “we who lead editorial teams cannot protect our journalists,” Reuters reported.
What it means for independent media
The UK and Finland urged Russian authorities to allow journalists and media workers to work freely and safely, end repression of independent media and meet their international human rights obligations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the closure on November 9, describing it as part of a “standard rotational process” in a fiercely competitive media environment, Reuters reported.
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What this story rests on
2 sources from 2 organisations: 1 news agency, 1 official source.
- 1Joint statement on the closure of Novaya Gazeta in RussiaForeign, Commonwealth & Development Office (GOV.UK) · gov.ukOfficial source
- 2Lights to go out at Russia's Novaya Gazeta, independent newspaper known for its fearless reportingChannel NewsAsia; Reuters report, credited “Reuters/lk” · channelnewsasia.comNews agency
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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