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Russia's independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta has announced that it will cease operations on November 9, ending more than three decades of journalism amid what its editorial staff describes as sustained pressure from Russian authorities and security services.

In a statement titled "They Killed Us," published on October 30, the newspaper said it would vacate its Moscow editorial offices, where it had operated for nearly 30 years, and shut down its servers.

"On November 9, we will turn off the lights of the house we have lived in for 30 years, shut down the servers, and leave. The newspaper is no more. The Russian authorities and special services have forced the editorial office to cease operations," the statement said.

The publication attributed its closure to years of censorship, criminal proceedings against journalists, financial restrictions and pressure on its editorial operations.

According to the newspaper, its reader donation system was disabled around the same time it received notice to vacate its premises, depriving the publication of a major source of funding.

The editorial staff described these developments as part of a coordinated campaign aimed at forcing the newspaper to shut down.

Years of pressure on independent journalism

Novaya Gazeta said restrictions against the publication intensified following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Its online resources were blocked, its printing equipment was seized and its media registration was revoked later that year. Several journalists subsequently left Russia.

The newspaper also recalled attacks and legal proceedings targeting its staff, including an assault on co-founder and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov.

It cited the abduction and severe beating of investigative journalist Yelena Milashina in Chechnya, as well as the arrest of editor Oleg Roldugin and searches involving editor-in-chief Sergey Sokolov.

In September 2026, Russia's Ministry of Justice designated Novaya Gazeta a "foreign agent," a classification the newspaper said also affected more than 100 journalists and contributors.

The editorial staff argued that these measures reflected broader restrictions on freedom of expression and civil rights in Russia.

Three decades of investigative reporting

Founded in 1993, Novaya Gazeta established itself as one of Russia's most prominent independent newspapers, publishing investigations into government corruption, human rights violations and the wars in Chechnya.

Its journalists frequently reported on politically sensitive subjects, including allegations of abuses by security agencies and regional authorities.

Several members of its editorial team were murdered over the years.

Among them was investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, internationally recognised for her reporting on human rights abuses in Chechnya. She was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building in October 2006.

In 2021, Dmitry Muratov, then the newspaper's editor-in-chief, received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.

The newspaper said it would publish a final issue before closing.

Concluding its October 30 statement, the editorial staff reflected on the subjects it had covered throughout its existence.

"That's what we wrote about all these years. As much as we could. That's why they killed us."