At the Moscow offices of newspaper Novaya Gazeta, the corridors are silent. The air hangs thick with an unsettling emptiness, a palpable absence of the usual energy that permeates the space. There is an overwhelming sense of emptiness, a consequence of a meticulously orchestrated suppression of information and dissent – a situation that has dramatically escalated since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Mr. Muratov, former chief editor of Novaya Gazeta, a cornerstone of independent journalism in Russia for over thirty years, tells me of a stark shift. ‘It was not simply a matter of publishing,’ he explains, ‘it was a systematic dismantling of our ability to speak freely, to report the truth.’
Novaya Gazeta became the flagship for hard-hitting independent journalism, shining a light on human rights abuses and high-level corruption, earning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for its efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. However, this recognition came at a devastating cost. In 2021, Mr. Muratov was joint winner, but the award was overshadowed by a massacre of journalists – Anna Politkovskaya, a fearless writer who exposed the war in Chechnya, and countless others.
His current position is a constant reminder of the brutality inflicted upon those who dare to challenge the Kremlin’s narrative. ‘Putin issued a decree and the newspaper’s printing presses were nationalised,’ he recounts, ‘Its registration was revoked.’
Novaya Gazeta continues to maintain a presence online, but only through a brutal blockade. Access is restricted to the outside world, requiring VPNs – a desperate measure to circumvent the pervasive surveillance.
The newspaper’s struggles reflect a broader crackdown on free speech across Russia, which has accelerated significantly since the invasion of Ukraine. ‘Most opinion leaders have been declared ‘foreign agents,’ ‘extremists,’ or ‘terrorists,’’ says Dmitry Muratov. ‘Several hundred, including several journalists who have been killed, including Anna Politkovskaya, who wrote revealing articles on the war in Chechnya.’
Mr. Muratov points to figures that vary, but estimate that at least 1,500 people are now in prison for speaking out against current policy, a figure that represents a dramatic increase from the Soviet era, when KGB operatives routinely arrested political dissidents.
In his 1975 Nobel Peace Prize lecture, dissident Andrei Sakharov listed the names of over 120 political prisoners he was aware of in the Soviet Union. A decade later, Amnesty International estimated more than 600 prisoners of conscience in the USSR. The Kremlin had assumed a swift, successful military operation would be the cornerstone of their strategy, but Putin’s prediction of victory remains stubbornly unfulfilled.
‘Does he really believe the Kremlin leader would use nuclear weapons in this war?’ he asks, a grim undercurrent in his voice. ‘It’s a question that’s become almost a matter of speculation.’
He continues, ‘All those political experts who say ‘Putin thinks this’ or ‘Putin is scared of that’…they’re all charlatans. It’s in the same league as astrology. Nobody knows what’s going on in Vladimir Putin’s head. And I don’t know.’
He adds, ‘I see things only as a journalist. I study big data. Since the beginning of the year, the need to use nuclear weapons has been mentioned more than 500 times. When fanatics say this, I pay no attention. But I’ve heard it discussed on state TV. And at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, a state-run event, one of the speakers talked up the use of nuclear weapons as something beneficial, something good.’
When he announced the mass invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin spoke of ‘ensuring the security of Russia.’
‘Tell me, has security increased?’ Muratov asks. ‘With Ukrainian drones now attacking warehouses of Wildberries; with the petrol crisis, the disruption to mobile internet, and the political prisoners?’
He opens a folder, revealing photographs of prisoners – four of them, including Antonina Favorskaya, Konstantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin, and Artyom Kriger, all convicted and jailed for extremism charges for links to the anti-corruption organisation of the late Alexei Navalny.
There’s a poignant photo of Alexei Gorinov: a city councillor jailed for ‘knowingly spreading false information’ about the Russian military after he spoke out against the war in Ukraine.
Dmitry Muratov paints a bleak picture of life in Russia for critics of the authorities. Yet, amidst this darkness, there are moments of hope. ‘We live in a time when you stay quiet. But so many people support what we do. On the streets of Moscow, my colleagues and I hear only words of gratitude. They are spoken in a whisper. But what people think is very important.’
He concludes, ‘Does being a Nobel Prize laureate give you at least some protection to say what you want?’
‘This is not a question for me,’ he replies. ‘Whenever you have the opportunity, ask the authorities that.’
The situation with Ukraine now is this: you can destroy it, but you cannot conquer it. What has been going on for nearly five years – no matter how it ends – can no longer be considered a victory.
‘Putin knows very well the true value of European leaders,’ Muratov says. ‘On the one hand, they talk to him about human rights. He laughs out loud because, with the other hand, they sign agreements – or used to sign agreements, with Russia on trading oil, gas, diamonds…all that stuff.’
In Russia, Dmitry Muratov has been designated a ‘foreign agent,’ a label often used to punish critics of the Kremlin. ‘Foreign agents’ have limited rights: they are banned from teaching, from taking part in elections, and if they sell their flat, they cannot access the assets.
The label is also designed to stigmatize, to create the sense in society of an enemy within.
Yet, the journalist appears reluctant to focus on the pressures he’s under, preferring instead to highlight the plight of compatriots in prison.
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Source: BBC News
