ARCHIV - 11.12.2021, Norwegen, Oslo: Dmitri Muratow, Chefredakteur der Moskauer Zeitung Nowaja Gaseta, nimmt an einer Pressekonferenz in der Residenz des Ministerpräsidenten teil. (zu dpa: "Friedensnobelpreisträger Muratow kritisiert Putins atomare Drohung") Foto: Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix/AP/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++

Russia has blocked the online edition of the new editorial project of the independent newspaper “Novaya Gazeta”. A journalist from the AFP news agency reported that the site could not be accessed in Russia on Sunday without a virtual private communication network (VPN).

In a statement, the publication explained: “Our side was killed soon after birth. We had her for seven days and nine hours.”

The newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” was forced to cease publication in March as part of the campaign against critics of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Some employees left the country to continue working in exile.

A printed magazine was launched on July 15 and can be found on the web through a new website called Novaya Rasskas-Gazeta. The first issue contained, among other things, an analysis of the ideology of President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Prosecutor’s Office accused the newspaper of discrediting Russian troops, the statement said. This new offense has been used since March to quash criticism of the military intervention in Ukraine. Since there are “no complaints” about the printed magazine, a second issue is being prepared, it said.