Affiliated media: Novaya Gazeta - Ryazan, Online publication

Incident date: February 3, 2025

Attack type:

• Forced cessation of journalistic activity/ closure of media outlet due to the state of war and/or military censorship

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Mediazona

Location: Russia, Ryazan oblast, Ryazan

Additional information:

The publication announced it would suspend operations following the arrest of its editor-in-chief, Alexei Frolov. He was detained on 30 February and placed in a pre-trial detention centre on suspicion of extorting 1.2 million rubles from Alexei Rogotovsky, the acting head of the Ryazan Capital Repair Fund, in exchange for “halting negative coverage” about the official. Authorities allege that Frolov carried out the extortion alongside Konstantin Smirnov, the editor-in-chief of the local outlet Vid Sbochu and chairman of the Ryazan branch of the Yabloko party, as well as journalist Natalya Smolyaninova.