Short answers, pulled from the story.
On the 1st of March 2022, Russia's Prosecutor-General asked Roskomnadzor to restrict access to Echo of Moscow, accusing it of spreading false information about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and broadcasting material calling for extremist activity. The station was taken off the air that day, and its board of directors voted to close it permanently on the 3rd of March 2022.
Alexei Venediktov served as editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow from 1998. He was also the station's largest minority shareholder, holding 18% of shares.
As of 2018, Gazprom-Media owned 66% of Echo of Moscow, making it the majority shareholder. Venediktov maintained that Echo's charter gave the editor-in-chief the final say on editorial decisions, and that Gazprom had never actively intervened, though it did attempt to influence specific coverage aligned with its business interests.
Venediktov and most employees launched a spin-off YouTube channel called Zhivoi Gvozd', meaning "Live Nail," which followed Echo's format and schedule. In October 2022, Echo resumed online programming from Berlin, Germany via its Echo app. A separate internet media outlet was also launched in September 2022 by former Echo staff, headed by the station's former deputy editor-in-chief.
Echo of Moscow was one of the few news outlets to openly speak against the State Committee on the State of Emergency during the 1991 coup attempt. The KGB's Alpha Group made several attempts to cut off the station's transmitter access, but employees connected the studio directly to the transmitter via telephone line and kept broadcasting.
Echo of Moscow's roster included Viktor Shenderovich, Yulia Latynina, Sergey Parkhomenko, Alexander Nevzorov, Yevgenia Albats, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Vladimir Ryzhkov, Yevgeny Yasin, and Sophie Shevardnadze. Yulia Latynina was identified as the station's most popular presenter.