Novaya Gazeta silenced as staff jailed and website blocked amid crackdown

Novaya Gazeta’s Moscow offices stand empty and its printing presses nationalised while the paper’s registration was revoked, the outlet’s co-founder Dmitry Muratov says, and access to its website has been blocked so it is reachable only from abroad or via VPNs.

Muratov, a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said the paper once known for exposing abuses and corruption no longer operates as before after state actions including the seizure of printing facilities.

He said several journalists and critics have been prosecuted: Antonina Favorskaya, Konstantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin and Artyom Kriger received five-and-a-half-year sentences on extremism charges, city councillor Alexei Gorinov was jailed for spreading “false information” about the military, and dozens of others are in prison after speaking against state policy, Muratov stated.

Muratov described how the authorities have labelled many public figures as “foreign agents,” “extremists” or “terrorists,” restricting rights and stigmatizing those designated, and said the Federal Security Service reinforces the climate of fear within the elite.

He also recounted the human cost of repression: pianist Pavel Kushnir, detained after posting anti-war videos, died in pre-trial detention during a hunger strike at age 39, and the newspaper’s lawyer and managing editor faced police searches and house arrest, Muratov reported.

Liberal News Analysis: What Does This Development Mean?

The developments Muratov describes point to a sustained squeeze on independent journalism: Novaya Gazeta’s printing and registration were taken by state action, its online presence is restricted by blocks, named journalists and public figures have been sentenced under extremism or information laws, and legal and administrative measures constrain those labeled as foreign agents.

Quick Glance: What You Need to Know

• Novaya Gazeta’s printing presses were nationalised and its registration revoked, and its website is blocked.
• Dmitry Muratov says journalists and public figures have been jailed on extremism or information charges, including five-and-a-half-year sentences for four journalists.
• Detentions, searches and house arrest have affected the paper’s staff and legal team, and at least one detained critic died in pre-trial detention.