Russia’s leading independent newspaper was shut down on Monday following pressure from the Russian government, a step less than six months after its publisher was awarded the Nobel Prize for its newspaper’s hard coverage under difficult conditions.
The Novaya Gazeta newspaper said it would remain closed for the period of what the newspaper referred to as a “special operation” in Ukraine, a term the Russian government insisted the media should use.
The newspaper was the last major independent media outlet to criticize President Vladimir Putin’s government after others. Close their doors OR have their websites blocked since Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine on 24th February.
The reason for the closure was the second formal warning from Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor, which has increasingly taken on the role of censor in recent years, with which Novaya Gazeta has long had difficult relations with the government.
Dmitry Muratov, longtime editor of Novaya Gazeta, shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize in October with Filipino journalist Maria Resa. Muratov said last week that he presented his Nobel medal at an auction to raise money for Ukrainian refugees and called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
It is not clear why Novaya Gazeta was warned. Roskomnadzor told state news agency Tass that the newspaper could not name the anonymous NGO as a “foreign agent” as required by Russian law. He did not specify the said account.
“Novaya Gazeta” crossed an impressive line during the war in Ukraine. It was first opposed by Russian authorities and published in Russian and Ukrainian a day after the invasion. However, it removed most war reports from its website after Russian lawmakers passed a law on March 4 that threatened up to 15 years in prison for information “deemed” by Russian authorities. This could include any mention that Russian forces are harming civilians or causing casualties on the battlefield.
On Sunday, Muratov sent questions for an interview to Russian journalists by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Roskomnadzor banned Zelensky from publishing an interview in Russia and said the media was investigating the involvement.
“A country without media (the last free Novaya Gazeta was closed), no discussions, no political competition, no full parliament,” Zelensky’s adviser Mikhail Podoliak wrote on Twitter on Monday. “Modern (Russian Federation). That is why the Russians do not see, do not understand and understand nothing. It doesn’t matter what language you speak to them. “
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a subpoena that six Novaya Gazeta journalists had been killed. The most famous of these was Anna Politkovskaya, who documented Chechnya’s atrocities during World War II, at the beginning of Putin’s first term as president of Russia. He was shot and killed in his own building in 2006. Five men have been convicted of his role in his murder in 2014, but there has been no decision on who was responsible for his murder.
Muratov said winning the Nobel Prize was a “tribute to the memory of our fallen colleagues,” along with Politkovskaya.
Novaya Gazeta herself was born another Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner, inherited from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It won the Peace Prize in 1990 and used part of the prize to fund what eventually became Novaya Gazeta, launched in 1993.
Putin was warned after Muratov’s victory last year when asked if the newspaper could monitor other media outlets when the Russian government labeled them as “foreign agents”, which should be added to all articles published by the media. with destructive terms. Connotation.
“If (Muratov) does not violate Russian law and if he does not give a reason to declare himself as a foreign agent, he will not be,” Putin said. “But if he’s hiding behind a Nobel Prize for doing something that violates Russian law, it means he’s deliberately doing it to attract attention to himself.”
Source: Huffpost
