Russia: Harassment of Novaya Gazeta reaches a new level with editor-in-chief’s arrest

Sergei Sokolov's editorial team was unable to reach him around noon on Thursday, 15 October, shortly before an editorial meeting he was due to lead. Investigators had searched his home and then taken him to the Russian Investigative Committee, according to Novaya Gazeta. This federal agency investigates serious criminal offences and operates directly under the Russian president. He was held for approximately three hours and was not allowed to leave, despite being questioned as a witness in an investigation into the "illegal use and storage of personal data." It was in connection with this case that Novaya Gazeta investigative journalist Oleg Roldugin was arrested in April 2026 before being placed under house arrest.

This latest intervention is part of a long series of persecutions targeting Novaya Gazeta. In April, authorities searched its Moscow offices for more than 12 hours. On 4 September, Russian authorities designated the newspaper a "foreign agent" and added 106 people associated with the newsroom to the list of individuals affiliated with "foreign agents." Sergei Sokolov had already been arrested in 2024 on charges of "discrediting the armed forces."

Founded in 1993, Novaya Gazeta has paid a heavy price for its commitment to independent journalism: six of its journalists and staff members have been murdered since 2000, including Anna Politkovskaya, who was killed on 7 October 2006. Despite the censorship imposed since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and relentless legal pressure, the newspaper continues its journalistic work.