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31 Oct 2026
On the closure of Novaya Gazeta, one of the few independent outlets reporting from inside Russia
Фото: Новая газета
“They have killed us.” These were the words with which Novaya Gazeta announced its decision to close.
We are losing a newspaper that, despite mounting pressure, censorship and repression, brought the truth to its readers, tried to give them hope and helped them overcome fear by showing courage of its own.
Novaya Gazeta and Memorial were not only kindred allies; we were friends.
It is deeply painful to say “were”… It is painful that a publication which stood against war and repression — and was a model of journalistic professionalism, honesty and integrity — has ceased its work.
It is painful that Moscow will no longer have the home that was not only the newsroom of an important and respected media outlet, but also a place where human rights defenders and politicians, artists and scholars came together — a place always full of life.
Life, even as Novaya’s journalists were killed one after another.
“They have killed us.” The very tone of our friends’ statement speaks of courage. The way they describe the violence and abuse inflicted by the authorities also shows their determination: their determination to fight for a better Russia.
A Russia where journalists are not killed, arrested, abducted, beaten, doused with acid or labelled “foreign agents” simply for doing their work.
We are grateful to them for their courage and determination. Now Novaya will live on as a legend. But we should not lose heart.
We believe that Novaya Gazeta will be reborn and return to its home on Potapovsky Lane — just as Memorial will return to Moscow and to the other cities of a new Russia.
31 October 2026
International Memorial Association and Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre
