Russia’s Nobel prize winning newspaper Novaya Gazeta has announced it would suspend publication until the end of Vladimir Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine.
A new law, rubber stamped by parliament this month, banned reporters from telling the truth about the invasion of Ukraine and even using the word “war.” Journalists can be jailed for up to 15 years for violating the draconian law, forcing many Western media outlets to cease reporting from the country. Some independent broadcasters made the same decision, which is a hammer blow to freedom of speech. Until now, Novaya Gazeta has been arguably the country’s most important media institution.
The paper’s website was blank Monday morning except for a slightly sarcastic announcement. “We received another warning from Roskomnadzor,” the message says, referring to Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media. “After that, we are ceasing covering both online and in print until the end of the ‘special operation on the territory of Ukraine.’”
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Just last year, the editor Dmitry Muratov won the Nobel Peace Prize. At the time, Novaya Gazeta’s Pavel Kanygin told The Daily Beast that they hoped the international recognition would keep them safe from repression. “The Nobel Prize is our shield. Muratov told us that it is a prize for our entire newsroom and that now we are going to be able to protect the reporters under attack with our shield,” he said.
Apparently, the Nobel shield wasn’t enough. Seven of the paper’s journalists have been assassinated since 2001 including Anna Politkovskaya, a New York-born investigative journalist who was gunned down outside her apartment after publishing Putin’s Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy.
While most Russian independent outlets went into exile or published blank pages after Putin started cracking down on how his invasion of Ukraine was covered, Novaya Gazeta remained open—until now. Outlets are banned from using words like “war” and fact up to 15 years in prison if the break the rules.
