Berlin.
At the beginning of the Ukraine war, the Kremlin-critical Novaya Gazeta initially ceased operations. Why the editors are still celebrating.
At least five journalists dead, but one editorial office alive: When the talk in Russia is of a “special operation” instead of “war”, independent journalism is more than difficult. But the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta tried again and again. On Wednesday it celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in Berlin – and the one-year existence of the exile editorial team “Nowaya Gazeta Europe.”
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Novaya Gazeta’s dazzling icon is editor-in-chief Dmitri Muratov, who sent a video message to Berlin. The Nobel Peace Prize winner specially planted a white bush in honor of the newspaper. When Russia invaded Ukraine, “Novaya Gazeta” initially ceased operations.
The Moscow office can look back on an eventful history and has never shied away from reporting independently on President Vladimir Putin. But journalists from the newspaper died again and again – such as Anna Politkovskaya, who had reported on the Chechen war. In 2006 she was shot in front of her house. In memory of this, her son Ilya accompanies the event that evening.
Ukraine: “Nowaya Gazeta Europe” also reports on the war
The hope now lies with the exile editorial team of “Nowaya Gazeta Europe”. The German- and Russian-language online portal, which is formally independent of “Novaya Gazeta”, is all about Russia and the war in Ukraine.
The Exile editorial team is also represented on social media such as YouTube, Twitter, Telegram and TikTok. Numerous journalists from “Novaya Gazeta” had left Russia and are now writing for the portal from abroad. Correspondents are located in Riga, Berlin and also in the Ukraine. The online newspaper can be financed on the one hand by donations and on the other hand by the “Friends of Novaya Gazeta Europe” association, which is based in Switzerland.
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Some members of the Russian community were also at the celebration and listened to the reading of “Diaries from Kherson” researched in Ukraine. They bring a different perspective that does away with the “bad Russian” cliché. Because there are also people of Russian descent living in the war who reject it – and “Nowaya Gazeta Europe” tries to reach them too.
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