Criticism of Putin’s War – Russia: Journalist Attacked with Red Paint

Initially, there was no response from the Russian authorities. The 60-year-old was on the Moscow-Samara train when he was attacked by a man. “He yelled, ‘Muratov, take this for our boys,'” the journalist continued. The train smells of oil paint and the departure is delayed. “I’m trying to wash it off,” Muratov reported. The concrete background to the attack was unclear – Muratov also showed his sleeping cabin spattered with red paint. There was probably a connection with the Russian war in Ukraine, in which many soldiers have already died.

Critical journalists are repeatedly the target of attacks
Journalists criticizing the government have been repeatedly targeted by attacks in Russia. Employees of the newspaper “Novaya Gazeta” run by Muratov were also killed, such as journalists Anna Politkovskaya and Natalya Estemirova, who were shot dead. Muratov had always insisted not to be intimidated.

He recently suspended the newspaper under pressure from the Russian authorities until the end of the war in Ukraine. Muratov had publicly criticized Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine.

Shouldn’t write about “war” anymore
After the enactment of a new law restricting press freedom and freedom of expression in Russia, the newspaper stopped writing about a ‘war’. The word has been banned in Russia in connection with the invasion of Ukraine. However, the “Nowaya Gazeta” recently brought great reports of the suffering of the people in the aftermath of the war.