The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Incident

Russia: a Moscow court suspends Novaya Gazeta's print license

RussiaRSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

A Moscow court suspended the print license of Novaya Gazeta, whose editor Dmitry Muratov shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, after the media regulator Roskomnadzor said the paper had not provided documents about a 2006 change of ownership.1234

What happened

On September 5, 2022, Moscow's Basmanny District Court suspended the print license of Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia's last major independent newspapers, at the request of Roskomnadzor, the state media regulator. Roskomnadzor alleged the paper had failed to provide documents relating to a change of ownership that had taken place in 2006, sixteen years earlier. Novaya Gazeta's editor, Dmitry Muratov, who had shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his work at the paper, called the suspension "a political hit job, without the slightest legal basis." The newspaper itself said on social media that the authorities had effectively ended the publication and taken thirty years of its staff's work. The suspension followed Novaya Gazeta's earlier decision, days after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, to pause its print and online publishing rather than operate under new laws criminalizing what the government called false information about the military.1234

The print license remained suspended as of the ruling; the source reviewed does not report a reversal.1234

What reason was given

Stated justification

Roskomnadzor alleged the newspaper "failed to provide documents relating to a change of ownership in 2006."1

What changed for reporting

One of Russia's last major independent newspapers lost its print license entirely, ending decades of publication under a legal pretext its editor said had no basis.23

Timeline

2022

5 September 2022
Russia: a Moscow court suspends Novaya Gazeta's print license

Who acted

NameRole in this incidentOffice at the time
Dmitry MuratovotherEditor of Novaya Gazeta
Vladimir PutinotherPresident of Russia

Outlets and journalists

NameKindRelation
Novaya Gazetaoutletaffected

Sources

  1. Russian authorities suspend Novaya Gazeta's print licenseCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2022-09-06, reporting. Source record
  2. Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia's last independent media, banned after court revokes licenceReuters, 2022-09-05, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. Roskomnadzor's stated grounds were the newspaper's alleged failure to provide documents on a 2006 ownership change.failed to provide documents relating to a change of ownership in 2006Russian authorities suspend Novaya Gazeta's print license, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-09-06.Claim 509, checked 2026-09-22.
  2. Novaya Gazeta's editor, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said the suspension was a political act without legal basis.a political hit job, without the slightest legal basisRussian authorities suspend Novaya Gazeta's print license, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-09-06.Claim 510, checked 2026-09-22.
  3. Novaya Gazeta said the ruling had ended the newspaper and erased thirty years of its staff's work.Today they killed the newspaper. Stole 30 years of life from its staff.Russian authorities suspend Novaya Gazeta's print license, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-09-06.Claim 511, checked 2026-09-22.
  4. Moscow's Basmanny District Court suspended Novaya Gazeta's print license at Roskomnadzor's request.a Moscow courtRussian authorities suspend Novaya Gazeta's print license, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-09-06.Claim 572, checked 2026-09-22.