Why did Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper shut down in 2026?

Novaya Gazeta, Russia's most prominent independent newspaper for 30 years, closed because of what it called intolerable pressure from the authorities. Co-founder and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov told BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg that its websites were blocked, its print edition banned, its media licence revoked and its journalists labelled foreign agents, until it could no longer earn money. It was also evicted from its offices and blocked from receiving donations.

• Six of the paper's journalists have been assassinated over the years, including Anna Politkovskaya, shot dead 20 years ago.
• Politkovskaya's preserved office, kept as a museum, has to be cleared.
• Muratov says the paper was targeted for its vocal opposition to the war in Ukraine.

▸In their words

“There are different ways to commit murder. They chose to strangle us.” Dmitry Muratov · at 7:24 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Global News Podcast (2026-10-31). Read the whole episode summary →

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