The Moscow offices of Novaya Gazeta, once one of Russia’s most prominent independent newspapers, now stand largely silent after years of mounting pressure from the authorities. Former editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov says the publication has effectively been forced out of existence as a traditional newspaper.
Muratov, who co-founded Novaya Gazeta more than three decades ago, spoke about the newspaper’s fate in an exclusive interview with the BBC. The publication built a reputation for investigative journalism focused on human rights abuses, corruption and other sensitive issues that received little attention in Russia’s state-controlled media environment.
In 2021, Muratov shared the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts to defend freedom of expression. The Nobel Committee highlighted the risks faced by Novaya Gazeta journalists, noting that six of its reporters had been killed, including prominent investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, whose work exposed abuses during the war in Chechnya.
Despite the international recognition, the newspaper was unable to escape increasing pressure from the Russian authorities. Muratov said President Vladimir Putin issued a decree that resulted in the newspaper’s printing presses being nationalised, while its registration was later revoked.
Novaya Gazeta continues to maintain an online presence, but access to its website inside Russia has been blocked. Readers generally need to access it from outside the country or use virtual private networks to bypass government restrictions.
Muratov said the newspaper’s experience is part of a much wider campaign against independent voices that has intensified since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He said hundreds of prominent critics and public figures have been designated as “foreign agents”, “extremists” or “terrorists”.
According to Muratov, at least 1,500 people are currently imprisoned for opposing Russian state policy, although he acknowledged that estimates vary. He compared the figure with the number of political prisoners known during the Soviet era, saying the current situation represents a severe deterioration in freedom of expression.
The war in Ukraine has also shaped Muratov’s assessment of Russia’s political future. While Putin continues to speak confidently about eventual Russian victory, Muratov rejects the idea that the conflict can ultimately produce a genuine victory for either side.
He argued that the enormous human cost of the war means that, regardless of how the conflict ends, it cannot simply be described as a victory. He also warned that continued escalation could eventually create a risk of nuclear weapons being used.
Muratov said he does not claim to know what Putin is thinking, dismissing speculation from political commentators who present their interpretations of the Russian president’s intentions as fact. Instead, he said he watches broader trends, pointing to repeated discussions of nuclear weapons on Russian state television and at major state-backed events.
The journalist also questioned whether Russia is actually more secure than it was before the invasion of Ukraine. He pointed to Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia, disruptions to mobile internet, petrol shortages and the continued imprisonment of political opponents as evidence that the country’s security situation has not necessarily improved.
Despite reports of declining approval for Putin, Muratov believes the Russian president remains firmly in control. He rejected claims of an imminent split within Russia’s political elite, saying those around Putin remain afraid of him and that this fear is reinforced by the Federal Security Service, or FSB.
Muratov was also sharply critical of Western governments, arguing that European leaders’ past economic dealings with Russia undermined their public criticism of Moscow over human rights. He said Putin understood the economic interests of Western governments and therefore had little reason to take their lectures about European values seriously.
Inside Russia, Muratov himself has been designated a “foreign agent”, a status that can impose significant restrictions and is widely used against critics of the Kremlin. The designation can limit a person’s ability to participate in certain activities and is intended, critics say, to stigmatise individuals as outsiders or enemies of the state.
However, Muratov said his own situation was not his biggest concern. Instead, he focused on Russians imprisoned after speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine.
Among those he highlighted were journalists Antonina Favorskaya, Konstantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin and Artyom Kriger, who were sentenced to five and a half years in prison on extremism-related charges over alleged links to the organisation founded by late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
He also showed photographs of other prisoners, including former Moscow city councillor Alexei Gorinov, who was jailed after being convicted of spreading what authorities described as false information about the Russian military following his criticism of the war.
Another photograph showed pianist Pavel Kushnir, whom Muratov described as an exceptional performer of works by composers including Sergei Rachmaninoff and Franz Schubert. Kushnir was detained after posting anti-war videos and later died at the age of 39 in a pre-trial detention centre while on hunger strike.
Muratov also highlighted the case of Nadezhda Buyanova, a 68-year-old paediatrician born in Ukraine who was sentenced to five and a half years in a penal colony after allegedly criticising the war at her workplace.
The cases, he said, demonstrate the dangers faced by people who openly challenge the Russian authorities or oppose the war in Ukraine. He also described a police search of Novaya Gazeta’s offices that lasted 13 hours, saying lawyers were prevented from entering the building during the operation. The newspaper’s managing editor, Oleg Roldugin, is now under house arrest, according to Muratov.
Asked whether winning the Nobel Peace Prize offered him any additional protection to speak freely, Muratov declined to answer directly, saying the question should instead be put to the Russian authorities.
Despite the repression, Muratov said he still sees signs that many Russians privately support independent journalism and those who continue to challenge the authorities. He said people in Moscow sometimes approach him and his colleagues to express their gratitude, although they often do so quietly.
For Muratov, those whispered expressions of support remain significant. Even as independent journalism has been pushed to the margins and critics face imprisonment, he believes the views held privately by ordinary Russians still matter.