Novaya Gazeta, the last independent newspaper in Russia, falls silent

[iemanja]

Putin has silenced the last independent voice in Russia. He now has absolute control over the media, just like the Orange Orangutan would like to do.

A day after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta conveyed its shock in a three-word banner headline against a somber black background: “Russia. Bombs. Ukraine.

Just over a month later, this last Russian newspaper publishing independent news about the war against Ukraine — edited by Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov — announced Monday it was suspending operations until the end of the war after getting a second warning from Roskomnadzor, Russia’s tech and communications regulator.

“It is the disappearance of the last independent publication that had not yet been blocked,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a political analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center and a former editor of the paper, calling it “a huge loss for the giant Internet audience and a catastrophe for those fans of the newspaper who read it on paper.”

The invasion edition — published in Russian and Ukrainian — sold out within hours on Feb. 25. Two weeks later, its cover depicted “Swan Lake’s” “dance of the swans” silhouetted against a fiery mushroom cloud, with the headline, “An issue of ‘Novaya,’ created in accordance with all the rules of Russia’s amended Criminal Code.” The headline eloquently conveyed the difficulties of reporting on the war under Russia’s harsh new censorship laws; even the words “war,” “invasion” and “attack” are banned, and publishing information that discredits the military is criminalized. Analysts warn there is no guarantee that the restrictions — introduced as tough wartime measures amid what the Kremlin calls “an unprecedented information war” against Russia — will ever be lifted.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/28/russia-press-freedom-novaya-gazeta/

[world wide wally]

1. Trump is eating his heart out