Amidst Putin’s strict censorship laws, one man and his newspaper is seeking to keep the truth alive.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov is the editor of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta convened an emergency staff meeting almost immediately after Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Muratov has never hidden his sadness over the invasion of Ukraine. His newspaper immediately published with a new headline: “Russia Is Bombing Ukraine.” He also voiced that Russians and Ukrainians are not the enemies. Today, such headline is considered illegal, despite being true. He remains the sole protector of independent media and voice in Russia, against all of the Russian machine.

Muratov has kept the independent paper operating, even when some of its newspaper reporters were murdered. After struggling between the choice of risking the shutting down of the paper or keeping it alive, he has chosen latter, remaining in Moscow and continuing to publish. He can’t call the war on Ukraine as a war; rather, he must call it a “special military operation.”

That being said, Novaya Gazeta remains only technically complying, while using various literary tools and tactics to convey what is being omitted and implied through the censorship to deliver the truth to its readers.

Muratov remains firm that he would remain to continue to fight the information battle. He will not go against the government, but he will choose to remain for his readers and employees for as long as possible.

While the Russian Constitution bans censorship, it has not successfully been maintained, as seen by Putin’s ability to censor usage of certain words during this war.

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