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Novaya Gazeta publishes its first issue in Moscow in April 1993

In April 1993 a group of Russian journalists launched Novaya Gazeta, backed by Mikhail Gorbachev's Nobel money, as an independent newspaper.

5 Nov 2026, 23:091 min read

This summary was written by AI to complete the context; it is not based on a current source.

Novaya Gazeta ("New Newspaper") appeared in Moscow in the spring of 1993, only a little over a year after the Soviet Union collapsed. It was set up by a group of journalists who wanted a paper free from state and party control, in the new and uncertain conditions of post-Soviet Russia.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, supported the project. He used part of the money from his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize to help buy the first computers and equipment for the editorial office. Gorbachev later remained among the paper's shareholders, and its early years were modest and financially fragile.

The newspaper grew into one of Russia's best-known independent outlets. It became known for investigations into corruption, the wars in Chechnya, human rights abuses and abuses of power, and several of its reporters were killed over the years. Its editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. The paper's later suspension and loss of its licence in 2022 gave this founding moment fresh significance for readers following its history.