Novaya Gazeta itself and its workers had been dealing with a multitude of issues.
The authorities had already revoked the newspaper’s licence and blocked access to its web site. Several of its journalists and contributors had been designated “foreign agents”, a label typically used by the Russian authorities to punish critics.
Earlier this 12 months there was a police search of the editorial workplace. A veteran investigative journalist, Oleg Roldugin, was arrested and charged with “unlawful access to computerised information”.
In connection with the case, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Sergei Sokolov, was just lately taken in for police questioning and his home was searched.
Despite rising strain, Novaya Gazeta had managed to proceed working, albeit in a decreased kind.
Loyal readers used digital personal networks to circumvent official blocking of the web site and access content material. But the loss of its licence and other restrictions dealt a main blow.
One of the founders of Novaya Gazeta in the Nineties – and for many years its chief editor – was journalist Dmitry Muratov, exterior. In 2021, Muratov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts “to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace”.
The award did not stop the authorities from declaring him a “foreign agent” in 2023.
At the workplaces of Novaya Gazeta, they’ve already began packing.
The finish of this newspaper is very much the finish of an period.
In an more and more authoritarian Russia, it’s also a signal of the instances.
Source hyperlink
