On a Friday morning in late October, a four-word statement, "They've killed us," appeared on the website of Novaya Gazeta, one of the last independent critical voices left in Russia, announcing that the paper will close on November 9 under pressure from the state. The decision comes after a search of a senior editor's home, the questioning of editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov, and the detention of a colleague, Oleg Roldugin, on charges that carry a possible decade in prison. Founded in 1993 as the Soviet Union dissolved, the paper has long lived with pressure, but its closure marks a sharper narr
Novaya Gazeta, One of Russia's Last Independent Critical Outlets, Announces Closure Under State Pressure
Oleshky's population has fallen from 24,000 to about 2,000 after months of food, water and medicine shortages, and journalist Oleg Roldugin has been detained on charges that carry up to 10 years in prison.
"They've killed us."
Mark
Novaya Gazeta says it is closing. Why does this one land harder than other outlets shutting?
Mimi
Because it was among the last ones left inside Russia. Most independent journalists have already gone into exile, and those who stayed carry the "foreign agent" label. This paper had been working there for 30 years.
Mark
What actually triggered the closure?
Mimi
A chain of events. Editor Sergei Sokolov was questioned two weeks earlier over "unlawful use of personal data," tied to the case against colleague Oleg Roldugin. A search of a senior editor's home came as well.
Luke
Careful, though. The paper says the special services forced the closure. That is the editors' account. The reporting here doesn't include any official statement confirming it.
Mark
And Roldugin's case?
Mimi
He is charged with unlawful access to computerized information, which carries up to 10 years. He pleaded not guilty.
Luke
And we know almost nothing else. No details of the alleged offence have been given, so any link between his case and the paper's editorial work is not something we can establish.
Mark
The editorial goes well beyond the paper itself.
Mimi
It does. It says courts, elections and rights have been dismantled, and calls its own end the story of a society being finished off.
Luke
That is the newspaper's judgment, a strong one, and worth reading as exactly that. Reporters Without Borders backing the call to end judicial harassment is a separate, outside voice.
Mark
What about Oleshky, which sits alongside it?
Mimi
Evacuations began as a local ceasefire held into a fourth day. Population fell from 24,000 to about 2,000.
Luke
The pigeon-eating detail comes from residents speaking to AFP. And the truce ends Sunday evening, so what happens to those still waiting is unknown.
El Pulso
- The paper that spent three decades reporting on Russia will turn off its servers and lights on November 9, and its staff are leaving under state force rather than by choice.
- Editor Sergei Sokolov was questioned by investigators, a senior editor's home was searched, and reporter Oleg Roldugin sits in detention facing up to 10 years on a charge his lawyers have not seen fully explained.
- The editorial warns of courts destroyed, elections hollowed out and dissent treated as treason, while Reporters Without Borders has demanded the Kremlin end what it calls judicial harassment.
- In occupied Oleshky, families are boarding buses during a fragile US-brokered ceasefire that ends Sunday evening, with aid trucks following behind the evacuation.
- Watch the Roldugin case and whether other independent outlets come under similar pressure, because both the newsroom's last days and the evacuation window are now running on fixed clocks.
On a Friday morning in late October, a four-word statement, "They've killed us," appeared on the website of Novaya Gazeta, one of the last independent critical voices left in Russia, announcing that the paper will close on November 9 under pressure from the state. The decision comes after a search of a senior editor's home, the questioning of editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov, and the detention of a colleague, Oleg Roldugin, on charges that carry a possible decade in prison. Founded in 1993 as the Soviet Union dissolved, the paper has long lived with pressure, but its closure marks a sharper narrowing of the space where independent reporting can survive. In the same hours, the cracked and besieged town of Oleshky, emptied from 24,000 residents to about 2,000, began to release its remaining people during a brief ceasefire, two stories that together show what happens to ordinary lives when the institutions meant to witness or protect them are worn away.
On Friday morning, a short statement appeared on the website of Novaya Gazeta: "They've killed us." The newspaper, one of the last independent and critical outlets still working in Russia, said it would close under pressure from state authorities. Its editor-in-chief, Sergei Sokolov, explained in a video that the special services had forced the team to stop. On November 9, the staff will switch off the lights in the office they have called home for thirty years, shut down the servers, and leave.
The closure followed a search of the home of the paper's senior editor and the questioning of Sokolov himself in Moscow, over "unlawful use of personal data." Those inquiries were tied to a case against colleague Oleg Roldugin, who has been detained on a charge of unlawful access to computerized information, an offence carrying up to ten years. He has pleaded not guilty, and few details have been released.
Founded in 1993, Novaya Gazeta built its name on investigations into corruption and sharp reporting on power. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, conditions have grown far harsher, with censorship approaching Soviet levels and most independent journalists forced into exile. The paper's own history is heavy with loss. Anna Politkovskaya, whose reporting on abuses in Chechnya made her a target, was found shot dead in 2006, and the paper's former editor Dmitry Muratov dedicated his Nobel Peace Prize to six colleagues killed for their work.
In its final editorial, the paper wrote that more than thirty years of work alongside its readers would end "on the street," and described its fate as part of a wider collapse of rights, courts and the rule of law. Reporters Without Borders has called on the Kremlin to end its judicial harassment of journalists.
Far to the south, in the occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky, evacuations began on the same day, during the fourth day of a localized, US-brokered ceasefire. Residents who lived through months without food, water or medicine, some reduced to eating pigeons, are now boarding buses. The town has shrunk from 24,000 people to about 2,000. The ceasefire is set to expire Sunday evening, and the evacuation runs on that clock.
On Friday morning, a short statement appeared on the website of Novaya Gazeta. It was four words long: "They've killed us." The newspaper, one of the last independent and critical outlets still operating in Russia, was announcing that it would close under pressure from state authorities.
Editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov gave the reasons in a video statement. The Russian authorities, and specifically the special services, had forced the editorial team to stop work, he said. On November 9, the staff will turn off the lights in the home where they have lived for 30 years, shut down the servers and leave.
The closure follows a recent search of the home of the paper's senior editor. Two weeks before the announcement, Sokolov himself was questioned by investigators in Moscow over "unlawful use of personal data." The questioning was tied to a criminal case against a colleague, Oleg Roldugin. Roldugin has been detained and charged with obtaining "unlawful access to computerized information," an offence that carries up to 10 years in prison. No further details of the case have been given, and Roldugin has pleaded not guilty.
Novaya Gazeta (Russian for "New Newspaper") was founded in 1993, after the Soviet Union collapsed. It became known for investigations into corruption and for critical coverage of Russian politics. It always worked under pressure, but conditions worsened sharply after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when the Kremlin introduced censorship approaching Soviet levels. Most independent journalists have since gone into exile. Those who stayed have been designated "foreign agents," a label that restricts everyday life, including the right to earn income from rent, interest or royalties on intellectual work.
The paper's history carries a heavy toll. Dmitry Muratov, a former editor-in-chief, dedicated his 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to six colleagues killed because of their work. One was Anna Politkovskaya, who spent years investigating alleged abuses by the Russian military in Chechnya. She was found dead in her apartment block in October 2006, on President Vladimir Putin's birthday.
In its closing editorial, the newspaper wrote that more than 30 years of life alongside the country and its citizens would now end "on the street," without a basis for existence and under constant threat of repression. It went further, describing its fate as the story of a country and a society being finished off in the same way. Human rights and freedoms have been eliminated, it wrote, and defending them has been equated with a crime. Elections and elected bodies have been de facto abolished, public institutions dismantled, and the courts destroyed along with the rule of law. Holding one's own convictions, it said, is now treated as treason, while the real treason is a state betraying its own Constitution, a crime it described as ongoing.
International media rights groups have condemned the targeting of the paper. Reporters Without Borders called on the Kremlin to "put an end to the judicial harassment" of its journalists.
Separately, in Ukraine, evacuations began on Friday in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, during the fourth day of a localized, US-brokered ceasefire. Russian troops captured the town early in the 2022 war, and residents told AFP they endured months of shortages of food, water and medicine, with some reduced to hunting and eating pigeons. The population has fallen from 24,000 to about 2,000. Many were set to be taken out either to Russian-controlled or Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said evacuation and distribution of humanitarian aid had begun. Russia's human rights ombudsman, Yana Lantratova, posted a video of groups waiting to board buses. The ceasefire, announced last week by US First Lady Melania Trump, is the longest pause in fighting anywhere in Ukraine since the 2022 invasion. It is due to end Sunday evening, which sets the window for the evacuations. In Moscow, the next markers are November 9 and the progress of the case against Roldugin.
Citas Notables
The Russian authorities — the Russian special services — have forced the editorial team to end its work.— Sergei Sokolov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta
Evacuation and distribution of humanitarian aid have begun.— David Arakhamia, Ukrainian negotiator
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