Alexandra Prokopenko

Independent analyst, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former advisor at Russia’s Central Bank

Rate cut number seven | The Bell

Rate cut number seven Members Public

Russia’s central bank on Friday cut its key rate by 50 basis points to 15%. “The economy is approaching a balanced growth trajectory. In February, price rises slowed as expected after a temporary surge in January. The Bank of Russia estimates that price inflation will continue at a stable

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Inside the Russian Economy
Mideast food crisis another opportunity for Russia | The Bell

Mideast food crisis another opportunity for Russia 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 we cover one underreported aspect of how Russia could benefit from the war in the Middle East: a looming global food crisis and surging

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Inside the Russian Economy
Moscow’s not calling | The Bell

Moscow’s not calling Members Public

Moscow is facing a communications collapse: mobile internet in the capital has been limping through serious outages all week, and whole districts in the city center are without connection. The authorities deny any involvement, but operators say that networks are being restricted on orders from above. Moscow has never experienced

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Article
Russia pushes spending cuts despite oil boom | The Bell

Russia pushes spending cuts despite oil boom 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. Even as hundreds of millions of unexpected dollars flow into Moscow’s coffers thanks to surging oil prices, Moscow is still pressing ahead with spending cuts.

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Inside the Russian Economy
How Russia wins from war in the Middle East | The Bell

How Russia wins from war in the Middle East 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. Despite facing the possible loss of a geopolitical ally, Russia stands to win big from the Iran war on both the economic and political fronts. Oil,

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Inside the Russian Economy
Russia prepares Telegram endgame | The Bell

Russia prepares Telegram endgame Members Public

Russia’s authorities have shifted from slowing Telegram to shutting it down completely. At the same time they have launched a criminal case against founder Pavel Durov on allegations of aiding terrorism. Two sources on the telecoms market told The Bell that Russia’s authorities are preparing to shut down

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Business
Russia is already cutting its 2026 budget | The Bell

Russia is already cutting its 2026 budget 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. Barely two months into 2026, the Russian government has already been forced to start talking about spending cuts, as reality starts to bite for its overly

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Inside the Russian Economy
Russia’s economy after four years of war | The Bell

Russia’s economy after four years of war 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. Ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion on February 24, we analyze the irreversible changes the Russian economy has gone through in the four years

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Inside the Russian Economy
EU tries to sink the shadow fleet | The Bell

EU tries to sink the shadow fleet 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 we analyze why the EU’s latest package of sanctions on Russia, targeting oil exports and the shadow fleet, could be one of its

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Inside the Russian Economy
Top construction firm asks state for help | The Bell

Top construction firm asks state for help Members Public

Russia’s construction sector has become the first victim of ongoing high interest rates. Samolet, the country’s biggest construction firm, has appealed to the government for cheap credit to help it out of its tough financial situation. * Samolet, the largest developer in terms of square footage under development (4.

Alexandra Prokopenko Alexandra Prokopenko Alexander Kolyandr Alexander Kolyandr
Economy
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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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