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Moscow Times editor Derk Sauer says the newspaper will defy the Russian governments mandate to close down and will continue to publish news.

Russias prosecutor general has banned anyone from working for or being associated with the undesirable organization on Russian soil, threatening criminal prosecution for violating this policy.

Regardless, Mr. Sauer affirmed Wednesday on X that the Moscow Times is and will remain a training ground for many journalists and will not shut down.

The Russian Prosecutor Generals office said in a statement Wednesday that the work of the publication is aimed at discrediting the decisions of the leadership of the Russian Federation in both foreign and domestic policy.

Of course we will continue with our work: independent journalism. That is a crime in Putins Russia, Mr. Sauer said.

The newspaper, headquartered in Amsterdam, says that Russia and Ukraines conflict has resulted in subsequent passage of repressive wartime censorship laws, which have forced the newsroom into exile.

The news outlet has repeatedly said that it will not back down or submit to Russias demands.

We refuse to give in to the pressure. We refuse to be silenced, the Moscow Times said. We are counting on the support of all of you, our readers, to help us continue our work and defy the Kremlin.

The Russian Prosecutor Generals office has not responded to the Suns initial requests seeking comment.

The Moscow Times started in 1992 in Russia, during the aftermath of the Soviet Unions collapse, with a mission to deliver news in both Russian and English.

Penalties for associating with an undesirable organization once can add up to $168, but a second offense may result in criminal charges and a sentence of up to four years behind bars.

He added in an editors note that this act is the latest of many efforts to suppress our reporting on the truth in Russia and its war in Ukraine, including blocking our website and naming us a foreign agent.

The Prosecutor Generals office had previously requested that access to the organization be restricted on account of systematic misinformation concerning Russias efforts in the war against Ukraine.

The Moscow Times allegedly also associates on a regular basis with other organizations that the Russian government deems undesirable, the Prosecutor Generals office added.

Russian authorities have previously shut down over 140 other independent news outlets and international NGOs by slapping the undesirable label on them since 2015, such as the Insider and the Novaya Gazeta Europe.

Before 2024, the undesirable label was primarily used to outlaw religious organizations, but independent news outlets took the lead this year as the countrys most undesirable institutions, Medioza reported.

News outlets have not been previously prosecuted in Russia at this rate, with police reportedly filing more reports concerning people who are associated with these undesirable publications this year than the past three years combined.

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Moscow Times Will Resist Russian Censorship Efforts - The New York Sun