An inscription on the wall at the Novaya Gazeta newsroom in Potapovsky Lane, Moscow, August 25, 1998. Photo: Alexander Kurbatov / Kommersant / Sipa USA / Vida Press
A search is underway at Novaya Gazeta’s newsroom in Moscow. The outlet said security service officers arrived at the office at about 12 p.m. and began investigative actions.
“We do not know the reason — the newsroom’s lawyers are not being allowed into the office on Potapovsky, where some of the staff are also located,” the publication said.
According to lawyer Kaloy Akhilgov, the search at Novaya’s newsroom is being conducted by Moscow’s Investigative Committee. Akhilgov himself was not allowed into the building after the investigative actions began. He said the officers told him he was “too odious.”
RIA Novosti, citing law enforcement agencies, writes that the searches may be connected to a case involving the illegal use of personal data.
Later, the Interior Ministry said that on March 10 a criminal case had been opened under Article 272.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (illegal use, transfer, collection, and storage of computer information containing personal data).
“Operational search measures made it possible to identify the circle of persons who turned to illegal information resources for personal data,” the ministry said. At the same time, it did not specify against whom the case had been opened.
During monitoring, security officers found that resources containing personal data were being used in the preparation of certain articles and “materials of a negative nature regarding citizens of Russia.”
“During the investigative actions, it was established that in 2025-2026, search queries were made on private personal-data storage resources to obtain citizens’ personal data, which were later used to publish articles in Telegram channels,” the statement said.
Photo: Gleb Shchelkunov / Kommersant / Sipa USA / Vida Press
TASS claims that the search at Novaya is connected to the case of the publication’s columnist and Sobesednik co-founder Oleg Roldugin. RIA Novosti reported that he had been detained in a case about the illegal use of personal data.
The editors of Novaya Gazeta said they could neither confirm nor deny reports that the case against Novaya Gazeta columnist Oleg Roldugin might be linked to the searches.
“All we know is that in the morning, after a search at his apartment, he was taken to the Main Investigative Department of the Interior Ministry in Moscow for questioning,” Novaya said.
Oleg Roldugin is a co-founder of the newspaper Sobesednik. He produced investigations for the publication about corruption in the presidential administration and about the property of former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
At Novaya Gazeta, Roldugin published investigations about Ramzan Kadyrov’s entourage and about the creators of the Max messenger.