“Taking down our fallen friends”. Raided and defunded, Novaya Gazeta is evicted from its longtime Moscow headquarters and dismantles its Politkovskaya museum

According to a letter sent to readers on October 28 by editor-in-chief Sergey Sokolov, the editorial team has been given until November 9 to vacate their Potapovsky Lane office. The staff was given minimal time to pack, and a new location has not yet been secured.

The sudden eviction forces the closure of the newspaper’s internal museum dedicated to Anna Politkovskaya, its investigative journalist who was assassinated in 2006. “Portraits of our fallen friends are being taken down from the walls,” Sokolov wrote to readers.

"A move to nowhere lies ahead. We have become refugees in our own country. But it is not just us—everyone who has the courage to think and speak what their conscience dictates has, in one way or another, become a refugee,” the announcement says.

In September, Russia’s Justice Ministry officially branded Novaya Gazeta a “foreign agent.” The designation effectively severed the publication’s financial lifeline; according to Sokolov, domestic banks and corporate partners have since refused to process readers’ donations, citing “internal corporate rules.”

Just two weeks prior to the eviction notice,Russian security forces raided Sokolov’s home. The search was linked to a criminal case against Novaya Gazeta investigative reporter Oleg Roldugin, who is currently under house arrest on charges of illegally using personal data.

Founded in 1993 with the financial backing of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Novaya Gazeta has long been renowned for its investigative journalism about corruption and human rights abuses. Six of its journalists and contributors have been murdered in connection with their work.