Russian media veteran Dmitry Muratov returns to ‘Novaya Gazeta’ editor-in-chief post

Dmitry Muratov, whose storied career saw him launch one of Russia’s major independent news sources with support from figures as famous as Mikhail Gorbachev, has returned to his former post as editor-in-chief of that publication, Novaya Gazeta. 51.7 percent of the newspaper’s staff (or 74 individuals, according to the Moskva news agency) voted for Muratov to take the post.

Ilya Azar, a special correspondent who formerly reported for Meduza, ran for the editor-in-chief job as well after playing a leading role in this summer’s Moscow opposition protests. He received 13 votes, Moskva reported. The newspaper’s previous editor-in-chief, Sergey Kozheurov, received 51 votes.

Muratov led Novaya Gazeta from 1995 to 2017 but did not participate in the 2017 elections. Since 2009, Novaya Gazeta editors-in-chief have been elected by and from among its staff for terms of two years.