Russia prepares for a war on WhatsApp PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at Russia’s plans to create a domestic messenger platform – and why that spells trouble for the almost 100 million Russian WhatsApp users. Putin backs creation of ‘national messenger’ Russian authorities are moving towards blocking the last major foreign online service that had been – until
Bonuses reduced for Russian military recruits PRO Members Public
Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy, written by Alexandra Prokopenko and Alexander Kolyandr and brought to you by The Bell. Our top story looks at reductions to the bonuses paid to military recruits, a break with the trend of the last two years. We also analyze
Protectionist rhetoric bodes ill for Western companies hoping for return PRO Members Public
Russia’s parliament will next month consider legislation to allow Russian companies to deny former foreign shareholders a buyback—even if they had such an option under the terms of their exit from Russia. The law specifies Russian owners can block a buyback if the company has a “significant influence
Russia’s Pearl Harbor? PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look in depth at Ukraine’s attacks on Russian air bases housing its strategic bomber fleet — what it means for the war, could Russia go nuclear in response, and why state TV hasn’t been talking about it. Ukraine attacks Russian strategic bomber fleet in stunning
Russia teeters on brink of recession PRO Members Public
Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy, written by Alexander Kolyandr and Alexandra Prokopenko and brought to you by The Bell. This week our top story is a look at data suggesting Russia is very close to entering a recession. We also analyze Russia’s embrace of
Repression set to tighten PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we analyze how Russia is preparing to tighten the screws on domestic critics and why a ceasefire in Ukraine would only lead to yet more repression on the home front. Russia steps up campaign against the ‘enemy within’ ahead of possible ceasefire Amid a thaw in relations
War is twisting Russia’s demographics PRO Members Public
Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy, written by Alexander Kolyandr and Alexandra Prokopenko and brought to you by The Bell. This week our top story is an analysis of Russian wartime budget and demographic paradoxes. We also look at why new Western sanctions are less and
Istanbul talks: Russia’s impossible demands PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look in detail at what Russia put on the table at the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in more than three years. We also talk a bit about our dear colleague Irina Pankratova, The Bell’s investigative correspondent who recently passed away. Russia comes to
Spending, spending, spending PRO Members Public
Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy, written by Alexandra Prokopenko and Alexander Kolyandr and brought to you by The Bell. This week, our top story is about why Russian spending levels remain high even as the economic slowdown gathers pace. We also look at why recent
How Apple and Google enable Russian censorship PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we take a detailed look into the removal of VPNs from the Russian app stores of Apple and Google, exploring how the US tech giants are effectively enabling Moscow’s sweeping internet censorship. US tech compliant in Russia’s VPN crackdown Russian authorities are waging a serious
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The Bell was founded in 2017 by journalists Elizaveta Osetinskaya, Irina Malkova and Peter Mironenko as a news outlet independent from the Russian authorities, after its founders have been sacked as top editors at the largest Russian news website RBC because of pressure from the Kremlin.
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