Russia’s largest independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, whose editor-in-chief received the Nobel Peace Prize last year, has announced it will suspend publication until Moscow’s hostilities in Ukraine end.
Editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov called it a “difficult” decision, saying it was an attempt to “save” the respected publication and avoid its complete closure. “For us and, I know, for you, this is a terrible and difficult decision. But we must save each other,” the statement said.
❗ Мы получили еще одно предупреждение Роскомнадзора.
После этого мы приостанавливаем выпуск газеты в сетях и на бумаге — «до окончания «специальной операции на территории Украины».
С уважением, редакция «Новой газеты»https://t.co/ppsun7SMGy
— Новая Газета (@novaya_gazeta) March 28, 2022
This announcement comes more than a month after the start of the Kremlin’s military campaign in Ukraine. “We have received another warning from Roskomnadzor,” the report says. “We are suspending the publication of the newspaper on our website, in social networks and in print until the end of the “special operation in Ukraine,” the message says.
Founded under former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993, Novaya Gazeta is the only major newspaper that continues to criticize President Vladimir Putin and his tactics at home and abroad.
Earlier, employees of Novaya Gazeta learned about the second official warning from Roskomnadzor since last week. If a media outlet receives two warnings from the regulator within a year, the court may close it.
In 2021, Muratov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Maria Reza of the Philippines for their efforts to “defend free speech”.
Last week, he said he would donate the gold medal to a Ukrainian refugee fund.