Russia's Novaya Gazeta Says It Will Shut Down Nov. 9, Citing Pressure From Authorities

Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia's leading independent investigative newspapers, announced on Friday that it will shut down completely on Nov. 9 after more than 30 years, saying Russian authorities forced it to stop. The editorial board said in a statement that the authorities and intelligence services compelled the staff to cease operations. Editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov said in a YouTube video that the staff would turn off the lights, shut down the servers and leave. Earlier this month, Sokolov was taken in for questioning while authorities searched his home, which they tied to a criminal case against colleague Oleg Roldugin. Roldugin was arrested in April and charged with unlawful access to computerised information. Moscow had already designated the paper a foreign agent. Its co-founder received the Nobel Peace Prize. Reporters Without Borders asked how far the Kremlin's campaign against the paper would go.

The New York Times and The Washington Post, the left-leaning outlets, lead with the paper's stature and its journalists' accusation that the government engineered its end. The Times notes the Nobel-winning co-founder and the staff's words that they were killed. The Post calls it Russia's last independent newspaper, gives the Nov. 9 date and says pressure had reached new heights. Their excerpts do not mention the Roldugin case or the Sokolov search. Al Jazeera and The Times of Israel, the alternative outlets, largely agree on the core account but add detail: Al Jazeera covers the search, the criminal case and the watchdog's reaction, and The Times of Israel stresses the paper's critical reporting on the invasion of Ukraine. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.