Shuttered Independent Russian Newspaper Preserved in Digital Archive Co-Founded by Bard
Distinguished Visiting Writer Masha Gessen
The shuttered independent Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, is being preserved as part of an initiative led by Bard College and PEN America. As detailed in Columbia Journalism Review, the Kronika project has worked since 2022 to digitally preserve the work of independent journalists facing censorship and persecution. Kronika has preserved the entire archive of Novaya Gazeta, first launched in 1993, and recently shut down by the Russian government after decades of repression, including having its website blocked, its newsroom raided, and its editors arrested. “In September, the designation of Novaya Gazeta as a ‘foreign agent’ imposed new and crippling restrictions,” writes CJR. “Last week, Novaya Gazeta was ousted from its offices and announced it would permanently shut down on November 9.”
The Novaya Gazeta archive includes the newspaper's print editions, its websites and YouTube channel, as well as the archive of its St. Petersburg office and other regional offices, a digital weekly titled That Same Novaya Gazeta, a weekly PDF edition started in 2023 after the paper’s print license was revoked. Inspired by Distinguished Visiting Writer at Bard and PEN America trustee Masha Gessen, Kronika is host to the Russian Independent Media Archive, or RIMA, which is where the Novaya Gazeta archive is situated. Kronika also hosts a related initiative, CAIMA, which undertakes similar work in Central America. A goal shared by both initiatives is to make it harder for authoritarian leaders to rewrite history. “Without this archive, Russia would have lost not only independent journalism but also core historical memory,” writes CJR, “We would not know how dictatorships take shape.”
Post Date: 11-11-2026
The Novaya Gazeta archive includes the newspaper's print editions, its websites and YouTube channel, as well as the archive of its St. Petersburg office and other regional offices, a digital weekly titled That Same Novaya Gazeta, a weekly PDF edition started in 2023 after the paper’s print license was revoked. Inspired by Distinguished Visiting Writer at Bard and PEN America trustee Masha Gessen, Kronika is host to the Russian Independent Media Archive, or RIMA, which is where the Novaya Gazeta archive is situated. Kronika also hosts a related initiative, CAIMA, which undertakes similar work in Central America. A goal shared by both initiatives is to make it harder for authoritarian leaders to rewrite history. “Without this archive, Russia would have lost not only independent journalism but also core historical memory,” writes CJR, “We would not know how dictatorships take shape.”
Post Date: 11-11-2026