>> the kremlin is tightening its grip on the media... >> officials have designated dmitry muratov as a foreign agent... >> narrator: a year in the life of nobel prize winning journalist dmitry muratov... >> (speaking russian): >> narrator: his battle to defend free speech... >> (speaking russian): >> narrator: amid russia's crackdown on the media...

>> (speaking russian): >> narrator: now on frontline, “putin vs. the press.” >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism... park foundation, dicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more at macfound.org and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. and from corey david sauer.

♪ ♪ >> (speaking russian):

(door opens) (in video): (in interview): (in video): (officer speaking russian) >> muratov: (man and muratov speaking russian) >> (in interview): (people speaking russian) (fanfare playing)

(fanfare continues) >> the nobel peace prize for 2021 has been awarded to two outstanding representatives of the press. (audience applding) maria ressa, working in the philippines, and dmitry muratov, working in the russian federation. (applauding) ♪ ♪ >> (speaking russian):

(audience laughing) (crowd cheering and whistling) (people cheering and applauding)

(air raid siren blaring) >> the dawn chorus that no one wants to hear. air raid sirens in kyiv signaling that the full-scale invasion of a european cntry in the year 2022 was well under way. >> (speaking russian):

(woman sniffling) (explosion roars, glass shattering, child crying) (jet engine roars) (explosion pounds) >> (speaking russian): ♪ ♪

(car horns honking) ♪ ♪ (children calling) (people talking in background) >> narrator: dmitry muratov founded "novaya gazeta" in 1993. the paper is known for its investigative reporting, exposing the horrors of the chechen war, the corruption of the ruling elite, and the increasing authoritarianism of modern russia. muratov has kept "novaya" alive by walking a tightrope, sometimes compromising with the kremlin, accepting frunding from oligarchs, and

always keeping a channel open to putin. but in the spring of 2022, as we began filming with him, the authorities were increasingly cracking down on the media. >> dima! >> hi! >> where are you? >> we don't see you. >> i'm here. >> narrator: it will turn out to be a critical year for muratov, his paper, and his country. >> (speaking russian): >> true. >> (speaking russian): ♪ ♪ >> narrator: "novaya" owes its existence to another nobel laureate, former soviet leader

mikhail gorbachev. he wanted an independent press force, and used his prize money to help fund the paper. >> (speaking russian): >> narrator: gorbachev didn't just help found the paper,

he took a stake in it. his status as a former president gave "novaya" a vital buffer against kremlin interference. >> (speaking russian): (explosion pounds) >> narrator: as russian tanks pour into ukraine, the kremlin enacts new laws, effectively making it a crime to protest and criticize the war. calling it an invasion or act of war could mean up to 15 years in prison. >> (chanting in russian) >> narrator: to protect his journalists and stay in business, muratov looks for ways to work around the laws.

he removes potentially violating language from the website, but continues to report on the conflict. >> (speaking russian): >> narrator: 11 days after the russian invasion, muratov is in latvia. >> here's to... freedom. >> narrator: he's on the jury of a documentary film festival. >> (chuckles) >> (speaking russian): >> narrator: in public, dmitry muratov is the star of the festival.

in private, his trip has another purpose: secret meetings with the latvian government. he is trying to get as many of his journalists as possible out of russia. >> (speaking russian): (others speaking in background) >> narrator: he's well aware of the dangers to his team. between 2000 and 2009, six "novaya" journalists and contributors were murdered. >> (speaking russian): (shutters clicking)

>> narrator: since the murders, muratov has occasionally struck bargains with the authorities to keep his employees safe. in 2009, to protect a reporter, he held off from covering the chechen conflict, where separatists were fighting the russian-backed government. >> (speaking russian): (fires) (weapons firing in distance) >> (speaking ukrainian):

(speaking russian): (both speaking russian) >> narrator: for three days, everyone around muratov tries to convince him not to go back to moscow. they argue it isn't safe, particularly after zelenskyy's endorsement. but he's determined to return. >> (speaking russian): >> narrator: just as he climbs into his van, another one pulls up. a group of russian journalists has escaped overnight from moscow.

>> so how long have you known him? >> 15 years-- uh, no, yeah, 15 years. i came to "novaya gazeta" in 2006 when i was 19 years old. uh, he's like my second father. pele think that his job is to be the chief editor, but his job is to save people and he has always been like that. >> poka! >> i'm afraid. i mean, i'm afraid that, you know, something might happen to him. i wouldn't go, um... but that is why, you know, he's... >> why wouldn't you go? >> because i know that they, you know, they most likely will arrest me, i don't know. i know that, you know, nobody survives russian prison, or at least, you know, there's very small chance that you can survive russian prison. and he knows all of that, and despite that, he goes back. ♪ ♪ >> (speaking russian):

>> narrator: returning to moscow, muratov among a dwindling number of independent journalists still in russia. >> (speaking russian): >> narrator: even before the war, putin had enacted laws that meant media hostile to the kremlin could be fined, banned, and dubbed foreign agents. muratov used his status and access to the president to confront him publicly.

>> (speaking russian): >> (speaking russian):

>> (speaking russian): >> why did you become a journalist? >> (speaking russian):

>> narrator: muratov staed as a paratrooper fighting in afghanistan. after serving, he immediately joined a state-run newspaper as a war reporter. fed up with censorship there, he and several colleagues left and founded "novaya gazeta." within two years, he was editor. now muratov's plan is to stay one step ahead of the authorities, carefully navigating the censorship laws. >> (speaking russian) ♪ ♪ >> narrator: for 24 days throughout march, he manages to get the paper out. ♪ ♪ (people talking in background) ♪ ♪

but then he suspends operations. ♪ ♪ >> (speaking russian): ♪ ♪

(speaking english): "novaya gazeta" forever! (speaking russian): >> when? when? >> (speaking russian): >> (speaking russian): ♪ ♪ >> narrator: muratov's decision to auction his nobel prize is provocative,

publicly siding with ukraine and challenging putin. >> (speaking russian): ♪ ♪ (door opens) (train announcement playingin) (in video):

(all speaking russian) >> muratov: (officer and muratov speaking) >> muratov (in interview): (all speaking russian) >> muratov (in video): >> officer (speaking russian): >> muratov (in interview): (camera shutter clicking)

(camera shutter clicks) (camera shutter clicks) >> this happened after you announced the auction. so was it a message? >> (speaking russian):

>> narrator: everyone allegedly involved in the attack denied they had anything to do with it, even the people who ran the website where footage of it was posted. the paint was laced with acetone. >> (speaking russian) (in interview): (children calling in background) >> narrator: as muratov recovers, it's becoming increasingly clear that most of "novaya's" reporters are going to have to leave russia. >> (speaking russian):

♪ ♪

>> gleb! >> privet! >> gleb! >> narrator: muratov's secret negotiations with the latvian government have produced results. in a riga suburb, a small group of "vaya" journalists are working on a new publication, "novaya europe." to protect those of their colleagues still in russia, they have to be clear that the paper is not being run from moscow. >> we have to say that we totally different newspaper from "novaya gazeta" in moscow. you know, totally different. no connection at all. >> i, and, no... no connection at all. >> yeah, yes. >> there's absolutely... >> absolutely another, another newspaper. >> (laughing) >> it's, feel like you have some kind of duty. the duty is to stop war. our mission, probably, is to bring some unpleasant truth for, for russians. >> for dima, how is it for him?

>> i feel like it's tragedy for him. >> yes. >> it's a kind of personal loss. our task is to show that it was not complete loss. ♪ ♪ >> (weeping) (continues weeping) (speaking ukrainian): >> man 2: >> man 1: >> was this orchestrated or was this from just rogue units of the russian army? >> of course it was order to kill civilians.

it was order, and what you see here in bucha, actually, you see, it's not only war crimes, it's crimes against humanity. >> (gasping) (people talking in background) >> narrator: the shock of bucha is felt around the world. but in russia, with the press under kremlin control, reports of the atrocities are dismissed as lies, and public support for putin is up. ♪ ♪ >> (speaking russian): >> narrator: in the build-up to war, propaganda helped turn many russians against the news media.

independent journalists were threatened and intimidated. >> (speaking russian): (marching band playing) >> (speaking russian):

♪ ♪ ura! >> (shouting): ura! ura! >> narrator: with "novaya" suspended in russia,

more of its journalists have fled to riga, where the paper now has a new office. >> let's see. >> so this is... >> yeah, yeah. >> so this is home. >> this is home, yeah, this is our home. >> narrator: and they've produced their first published edition. >> we published here, like, a magazine. but we, we have a lot of problems with cover, because any covers we did, it, it just look like russian "novaya gazeta." and it's unsafe for them. so we, we try to, to recreate newer, a new versions. if you can imagine, it was done in a week by a group of people who are basically sitting on suitcases. you can, you can imagine it's kind of a good work, and basically, i'm proud of this. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: back in moscow, muratov and his remaining staff are still trying

to get around the government restrictions. they plan to publish a new magazine. >> (speaking russian): (both speaking russian) >> (speaking russian): ♪ ♪ >> narrator: they also want to launch a youtube channel. (people talking in background) >> (speaking russian):

(both speaking russian) >> narrator: four months into the war, dmitry muratov is in new york. it's auction day. >> (speaking russian): ♪ ♪ (people talking in background) (camera shutters clicking)

>> dmitry, e you ready to do this? are you ready? $875,000, now to go to $900,000. now at $875,000, now to go to $900,000. there's $900,000. thank you very much. $925,000, now to go to nine, now to go to $950,000. $950,000-- there's a million dollars! we're over a mlion dollars! >> (cheering and applauding)

>> okay, let's make a bet as to how much it's going to get. i say two-and-a-half million. >> (breathes deeply) (speaking russian): >> (laughing) >> there's $2 million, $2 million! (audience cheering and applauding) $2 million, $2 million! bid 302, $2 million! there it is, 2.4, 5, now 2.6, same bidders, back and forth. $2.6-- don't look at her, don't look at her. now to go to $3 million... $3 million. (audience cheering and applauding) wow. nick, are you on the phone? let's go. three, wait, there's $4 million! (audience cheers and applauds) >> what do you think the russian government reaction to the auction is going to be? >> (speaking russian):

>> i'm at $16.6 million. $16.6, takanother good look at what you're getting. now $16.8-- what do you think? want to go to $16.8? he says he's thinking about it, $16.8. new bidder, completely new guy. >> stated-value bid of $103,500,000. (audience gasps) >> uh, can i, can i just hear that one more, one more time? >> (softly): stated-value bid... >> take your mask off so i can hear you, please.

>> stated-value bid at $103,500,000. >> well, that's one way to do it. (audience cheers and applauds) wow, that's a lot of dough. ♪ ♪ i could not believe that... it's just amazing, it's... speechless. (man talking in ckground) ♪ ♪ >> (talking in background) >> (speaking russian): >> (speaking russian):

(all speaking russian) (speaking russian) (woman speaking russian) >> let's just bring you some breaking news.

>> (speaking italian) >> russian president mikhail gorbachev has died. he was 91 years old. >> (speaking russian) (fire) >> (speaking russian): portret. >> mm-hmm, great shot. >> (speaking russian):

>> narrator: gorbachev's death is a turning point for the paper and its editor. leaves muratov increasingly vulnerable to putin. >> (speaking russian):

>> (speaking russian): >> narrator: throughout the fall of 2022, there is a crackdown on high-profile opponents of the war. (people cheer and applaud) >> (chanting in russian)

♪ ♪ (crowd clamoring) >> (speaking russian): (woman speakg russian on television) >> narrator: alexei navalny's case has a special resonance for muratov. the opposition leader nearly died when his underwear was poisoned with a deadly toxin. he recovered abroad, came back to russia, and was then imprisoned.

>> (speaking russian): (shutter clicks) >> narrator: in early september, the government intensifies its focus on muratov and "novaya." it launches multiple court cases aimed at closing all the paper's russian operations for good. (woman speaking russian)

>> (speaking russian): ♪ ♪ >> narrator: with "novaya" completely shut down in russia, muratov is in vienna for another secret meeting.

>> (speaking russian) >> narrator: he's come to see kirill martynov, who's running "novaya europe." they can't be seen in public together. it would leave muratov vulnerable to being branded a foreign agent by the kremlin. this is the only way that they can discuss the ongoing work of "novaya's" one remaining publication. >> (speaking russian):

♪ ♪ >> the prominent russian journalist elena milashina has been violently attacked along with attorney alexander nemov. >> this journalist was left beaten and pleading for her life at gunpoint. she and her team were attacked by masked men in chechnya. >> unknown assailants shaved off elena's hair, doused her in blue-green liquid iodine. elena milashina reports for "novaya gazeta."

>> narrator: muratov's longtime reporter in chechnya, elena milashina, had been repeatedly threatened by the chechen government for her coverage of human rights violations. within hours, muratov leaves moscow to try and rescue her. >> (speaking russian):

>> narrator: the chechen and russian authorities vowed to investigate, but none of the attackers have been apprehended or identified. muratov lands just outside chechnya, where he meets up with milashina. >> (speaking russian): (monitor beeping) >> muratov (speang russian): >> milashina: boop! >> muratov: >> milashina: (both murmuring) ♪ ♪ (talking in background)

(people talking in background) >> (speaking russian):

>> go to pbs.org/frontline for more about vladimir putin's crackdown on the press in russia. (speaking russian): >> and see all of our past coverage on putin and the war in ukraine. connect with frontline on facebook, instagram and x, formerly known as twitter and watch anytime on the pbs app,

youtube or pbs.org/frontline. >> the houston astros are world champions! >> these guys are willing to do whatever it takes... >> the astros used a camera system to steal signs... >> the scandal is 5% of the story... >> their pursuit of edge had a dark side to it. >> it's called the bleeding edge. >> you have to take risks... >>it became a brutally efficient business and the astros did better than anybody else. >> if you think you're right, you're willing to endure a lot. >> i'd have town them all out. >> lifetime ban? >> lifetime ban. >> narrator: next time on frontline. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation,r public broadcasting. committed to excellence in journalism... park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of

critical issues. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more at macfound.org and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. and from corey david sauer. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org. >> for more on this and other frontline programs visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ ♪

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