Respublika (Russian: ) or Golos Respubliki (Voice of the Republic) was a weekly Russian-language Kazakhstani newspaper. Founded by Irina Petrushova in 2000, the paper was known for its reporting on government corruption. It was ordered to shut down in 2002 and in May 2005 by the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sports, but continued to publish under a variety of titles. In late 2012, before the anniversary of the Mangystau riots, Kazakhstani authorities raided and searched Respublikas office and again suspended its publication, pending a verdict on criminal charges.
History
Russian journalist Irina Petrushova founded Respublika in 2000. The weekly focused on covering business and economic issues in Kazakhstan, and frequently published stories highly critical of President Nursultan Nazarbayev's regime. The paper wrote about financial scandals and rampant nepotism and cronyism. Scandals the paper exposed included the granting of oil rights to one of Nazarbayev's relatives; the disappearance of funds for an airport in the capital, Almaty; and the Kazakhstani police forcing tourists off a plane so that Nazarbayev's daughter might fly alone.
Petrushova bought a digital copier so that Respublika could do its own printing, but then the paper's offices became the target of intimidation and threats. On International Women's Day, a funeral wreath was mailed to Petrushova. the dog's head was left outside Petrushova's home. Three days after the dog incident, the papers' offices were firebombed and burned to the ground. In July, Petrushova was given an eighteen-month jail sentence on tax charges, but served no time after a judge ruled that the case fell under an amnesty.
Petrushova eventually left the country for Russia, where she continued to publish via the Internet, living apart from her family for their safety.