Dmitry Muratov, Russian journalist: Putin has made a mockery of European politicians'

"Dmitry Muratov, 64, speaks like someone who has just returned from a journey into an undesirable future that now casts a shadow over countries that once thought themselves immune. I have to warn you that you are currently interviewing an enemy of the state, says the Russian journalist. The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate is referring to the blacklist he has been placed on by Vladimir Putin's government, the same government that has shut down almost all critical media outlets and imprisoned 48 journalists."

"At Muratov's newspaper, it was clear to everyone that Putin was an authoritarian politician from the moment he seized power in 2000. Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper founded in 1993 and supported by Mikhail Gorbachev, had no trouble perceiving this, as it suffered from the president's backlash against its critical journalism from the very beginning. Restrictions on freedom of expression and information in Russia worsened after the Beslan terrorist attack in 2004. Two years later, journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered."

Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, 64, has been blacklisted by Vladimir Putin's government and labeled an enemy of the state, while almost all critical media outlets have been shut down and 48 journalists imprisoned. Novaya Gazeta recognized Putin's authoritarianism from his 2000 rise and faced sustained backlash for its critical reporting. Restrictions deepened after the 2004 Beslan attack and culminated in the 2006 murder of Anna Politkovskaya and several colleagues. Multiple staff deaths prompted calls to close the paper, but staff insisted on continuing. Muratov warned that totalitarian practices are resurfacing globally and that propaganda dominates information in Russia.

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