Russian authorities search Novaya Gazeta editorial office, detain investigative journalist

Prefer on Google by Kate Tsurkan A woman enters a building housing the editorial office of the Novaya Gazeta independent media outlet in Moscow on April 9, 2026. Russian law enforcement agents were on April 9, 2026 raiding the offices of the Novaya Gazeta independent media outlet, the paper said. Novaya Gazeta was for years Russia's leading investigative independent outlet and was targeted heavily for its critical reporting and investigations into human rights abuses. The paper, which used to be published several times a week, cut down production from inside the country after Russia introduced military censorship at the start of its offensive on Ukraine in 2022. (Photo by Igor IVANKO / AFP via Getty Images) Russian authorities conducted on April 9 a search of Novaya Gazeta's editorial office and detained one of its journalists, the independent media outlet reported on its Telegram channel. According to Novaya Gazeta, masked special services officers arrived at 12 p.m. local time and as of 5 p.m. local time, the search is still ongoing. Some staff members were present in the editorial office when the search began to take place, and the media outlet's lawyers are not being allowed into the building. "We do not know the reason (for the search)," Novaya Gazeta, adding that local media are speculating it is related to their investigative journalist Oleg Roldugin. Roldugin's apartment was also searched on April 9 and he was taken to the Main Investigative Directorate of the Moscow police for questioning. Russian state media claimed that Roldugin was detained  in connection with a crimianl case "involving the illegal use of personal data." Law enforcement is also conducting a search of the Novaya Gazeta office relating to the "creation of informational articles and materials of a negative nature about Russians," Russian state media claimed. In contemporary Russia, working as an independent — and particularly as an investigative — journalist entails significant risk. Russian authorities routinely detain individuals for voicing criticism of the government, and such dangers have only intensified since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine. A number of journalists have also been murdered under Russian President Vladimir Putin's nearly three decades of rule. In an article published by The New York Times on April 2, Dmitry Muratov, the editor in chief of Novaya Gazeta — who notably remained in Russia after 2022 — described the newspaper’s continued work as driven by a commitment to Russian civil society. "We are resisting fascism,” he said. Muratov was labeled a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin in 2023, and the newspaper’s operations have faced severe restrictions since the start of the full-scale war. Staff members who chose exile have since launched a sister publication, Novaya Gazeta Europe.