Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Russia’s prominent independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta has announced it will shut down on November 9, bringing an end to more than 30 years of publication amid what it described as relentless pressure from the Kremlin and Russian security agencies.
In an editorial statement on Friday, the newspaper said it had been forced to cease operations after years of government action against its journalists, publications and sources of funding.
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“They have killed us,” the newspaper declared, announcing that it would publish its final edition before closing its office. “The Russian authorities and the Russian security services have forced our editorial team to cease operations.”
There was no immediate response from Russian authorities to the announcement.
A LEADING VOICE OF INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM IN RUSSIA
Founded in 1993 with support from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Novaya Gazeta emerged as one of Russia’s most prominent independent media organisations and a persistent critic of the Kremlin.
Gorbachev had used part of the money from his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize to help fund the newspaper.
Following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, several independent media organisations in Russia shut down or had their websites blocked. Novaya Gazeta remained among the last major outlets continuing to challenge the government, despite mounting restrictions.
The newspaper said its closure was the result of a sustained campaign against it. Authorities had fined it over allegations of discrediting Russia’s armed forces, designated it a “foreign agent” and blocked its online platforms. Its printing facility was also seized and its media registration revoked.
In the latest developments, the newspaper was ordered to vacate its premises, while the donation system through which readers supported its operations was shut down.
“This is not just our own private story,” the newspaper said in its statement. “It is the story of a country and a society that are being systematically destroyed in the very same way.”
“More than thirty years of life, shared with this country and its citizens, will end for us on the street – destitute and under the constant threat of repression,” it added.
SIX JOURNALISTS KILLED, INCLUDING ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA
Novaya Gazeta has long faced threats and violence over its reporting. Six of its journalists have been killed, including prominent investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya.
Politkovskaya, known for documenting alleged atrocities during the second Chechen war, was shot dead in the apartment building where she lived in October 2006, during Putin’s first term as president.
Five men were convicted in 2014 for their involvement in the murder. However, no court ruling has established who ordered the killing.
The newspaper’s longtime editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov, who received the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, was also attacked in 2022. An assailant poured red paint over him while he was travelling on a train, causing severe irritation to his eyes.
Muratov stepped down as editor in 2023 after Russian authorities designated him a “foreign agent”.
NEWSPAPER ACCUSES RUSSIAN AGENCIES OF TAKING OVER THE STATE
In its closing statement, Novaya Gazeta directly accused the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Justice Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office of driving the crackdown on independent journalism and dissent.
The FSB is the principal successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB.
The newspaper alleged that these institutions had effectively “privatised” the state and usurped power, while accusing authorities of violating constitutional protections, including the prohibition on censorship.
“The constitution itself has been raped, beaten, gagged, and thrown into prison for a long, long time,” its statement said. “Just like thousands of the country’s own citizens who simply followed its provisions.”
It also accused the government of dismantling democratic institutions and suppressing civil liberties.
“Human rights and freedoms have been abolished in this country, and defending them is now treated as a crime,” the newspaper said.
“Elections and elected governing bodies have been effectively dismantled, civil society institutions have been wiped out, freedom of conscience and human dignity have been trampled underfoot,” it added.
The newspaper’s offices have also been searched, while one of its leading journalists, Oleg Roldugin, is awaiting trial.
Some members of its editorial team who left Russia have since established Novaya Gazeta Europe, an independent media project that has continued to publish critical coverage of the Kremlin and its military campaign in Ukraine.
– Ends
With inputs from PTI
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
