Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s oldest independent newspaper, has launched a European edition following a Moscow crackdown that forced its Russian version to close.
The newspaper, known for its critical coverage of Kremlin activities, said it could no longer operate in Russia after Moscow officials warned it for failing to “properly identify” an organization deemed a “foreign agent” by authorities.
The pro-democracy newspaper’s editor, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov, said the decision to shutter the original publication was not an easy one.
“There is no other choice. For us and I know for you, it’s an awful and difficult decision,” Mr. Muratov and other staffers wrote on the newspaper’s website, according to the France 24 news channel.
Officials with Novaya Gazeta Europe said it will be independent of the Moscow-based edition. The newsroom will be staffed by reporters from Novaya Gazeta who chose to leave Moscow following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“There’ll be no one working for Novaya Gazeta and Novaya Gazeta Europe at the same time,” Kirill Martynov, editor-in-chief of the European edition, told the English-language Moscow Times newspaper. “We’ll have our own editorial council and guidelines.”
Novaya Gazeta Europe will be formally unveiled next week, but its social media accounts are already running, according to Moscow Times.
The original Novaya Gazeta was founded in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Almost from the start, it covered politically sensitive issues, such as corruption, state persecution of Russia’s LGBT community and the Chechen wars.
The paper suspended operations soon after Mr. Putin signed a new law punishing the spread of “false information” about Russia’s armed forces with up to 15 years in prison. Observers say the law is aimed at journalists reporting independently on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Moscow Times reported.