The horrifying war unleashed by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine has been raging for more than a year now. Thousands of people in Russia are persecuted for calling for peace. Hundreds of thousands have fled the country. Russia is practically committing a social and political suicide right in front of the whole world. We could not have stopped this atrocity but we are still resisting. Very few Russians now can speak the truth in their native language. My colleagues and I have secured this opportunity through Novaya Gazeta which has been published for 30 years. Continuing to publish the newspaper represents the ability to speak freely for us. And we will continue to do so.

Russian authorities have decimated independent media outlets. They hoped that silence and fear would become the best allies for war criminals. They are certain that it’s more comfortable to kill people in total darkness and with no witnesses. However, all our colleagues have pressed on with their work: Echo of Moscow, TV Rain, Meduza, and many others. New professional and ambitious projects are emerging like Holod and Verstka. Russian citizens make personal contributions to shedding light on the truth of the war by working with independent media. This is a choice that protects personal and professional integrity.

This censorship crackdown has only multiplied the number of Novaya Gazeta editions. The Moscow office heroically stands tall. Our articles are printed in Kazakhstan, published in regional outlets, translated into English and other European languages.

Meanwhile, Novaya-Europe is a unique project even compared to colleagues from other independent media outlets that escaped Russia.

We started from square one and scaled sheer cliffs by addressing financial, logistical, migrational, and creative issues as they came swooping at us.

We launched our operations ten days after the paper issue publication was suspended in Russia. Unlike other colleagues, we left the country without the support of the editorial management team and investors — they all stayed in Moscow. We are a team of like-minded journalists and not a hired workforce. That is why editors-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe are elected to this position.

On 1 April 2023, Novaya Gazeta celebrated its 30th anniversary, while Novaya-Europe celebrates its first anniversary on 7 April. I would like to thank everyone who backed us in peace times and in times of war: to our readers, “Friends of Novaya Gazeta”, colleagues, and associates in Latvia, Germany, and all around the world.

We published a Novaya-Europe issue in Russian yesterday where we put together articles by all four versions of the newspaper. Most of the stories were selected by us as the most relevant in these times and are also available in English.

For instance, our data team investigates the seizure of assets currently taking place in Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories: this is why Russia unleashed this war.

International law expert Gleb Bogush sat down for an interview with us to explain what will happen to Russian President Vladimir Putin after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him.

Novaya-Europe’s special correspondent in Kyiv Olga Musafirova covers the anniversary of Bucha.

Ivan Zhilin from the Moscow office writes his story of Siberians who are starved for natural gas — because it flows in very different directions.

There are also two stories in the issue available only in Russian: Nikita Kondratyev talks about what happened with Wehrmacht deserters in Nazi Germany and the tragic parallels history brings upon. And Vyacheslav Polovinko reports from protests in Kazakhstan — way back in 2016.

And all of this is Novaya. More to come, stay tuned.