Keeping Aeschylus’ maxim in mind, “in war, truth is the first victim”, the Russian newspaper Novaja Gazeta – for which Anna Politkovskaja also worked, the Russian journalist killed on 7 October 2006 who had denounced the atrocities of the war in Chechnya and the complicity of Russia – continues her battle for free information. Here’s what the newspaper’s Telegram account says:
“At work in wartime. The position of the Novaya editors and their supporters. The Attorney General’s Office and Roskomnadzor [l’agenzia federale russa per i mezzi di comunicazione] they demand that Novaya Gazeta and other independent media remove materials in which military operations on the territory of Ukraine are called war, aggression or invasion. Otherwise there will be gigantic fines (which are already coming to us) and the prospect of ending up in liquidation. We discussed this situation in the editorial office, identified two possible approaches and asked our collaborators to vote on one. Here’s how 4,460 people voted:
• continue to work under military censorship, respecting the requirements of the authorities: 93.9 per cent;
• suspend editorial work until the end of the war: 6.1 per cent.
????Therefore, let’s keep doing honest journalism with you. Thanks for your support and trust in this moment! ”.