THE BELL WEEKLY: Putin blames the West after anti-Israel riot Paid Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is Russia’s first antisemitic riot in decades. We also analyze the central bank’s aggressive interest rate hike and what it means for Russia’s economic outlook. Putin blames the West after anti-Israel riot shocks Moscow In Russia’s North Caucasus, the weekend
Putin resurrects another Soviet tradition Paid Members Public
Last week, Vladimir Putin called for the return of sporting parades on Moscow’s Red Square. This long-forgotten Soviet ritual, beloved of the Stalin era, represents the latest staging point on Russia’s rose-tinted march into its Soviet past. * The first such sporting parades, which involved the so-called “Vsevobuchs” (men
Another US journalist arrested Paid Members Public
Last week, Russian police arrested journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir service. Kurmasheva, who holds Russian and American citizenship, is accused of failing to register as a “foreign agent.” This is the first criminal case in Russia under laws that require anybody who “purposefully”
Pro-Kremlin media’s talking points on the conflict in the Middle East Paid Members Public
After the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants, Russian propagandists have scrambled to push the focus away from events in Ukraine and onto the situation in the Middle East. The Kremlin’s loyalists on TV and in print quickly started talking up the West’s role in the
THE BELL WEEKLY: Russian propaganda on the Middle-East conflict Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we highlight the main Russian propaganda talking points on the Israel-Hamas conflict. We also cover how the arrest of a US-Russian reporter marks yet another escalation in Russia’s campaign against independent journalism, and why Putin wants to bring back sporting parades beloved by Josef Stalin. Pro-Kremlin
Putin returns empty-handed from Beijing Paid Members Public
Hello! This is your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. Our top story is about Putin’s trip to Beijing and why he failed to land any major economic agreements. We also look at whether Russia stands to make money from the Israel-Hamas war
Putin’s priest gets a Crimean flock Paid Members Public
Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the Russian Orthodox Church has been named the religious leader of occupied Crimea. Officially, the move to name Metropolitan Tikhon as head of the Church's Metropolis of Crimea represents a second successive demotion for Tikhon (whose secular name is Georgiy Shevkunov). That
Fridman heads home, as pro-war lobby push for punishments against emigrants Paid Members Public
Russia’s pro-war lobby last week launched a new campaign against Russian citizens who left the country after the invasion of Ukraine. The speaker of Russia’s Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, proposed conducting checks on those that come back to Russia to ensure they showed no “desire for Nazi victory,” in
