The great Russian asset redistribution PRO Members Public
Hello! As the war hits the four-year mark, we look at how Russian officials have used the conflict to snatch up billions of dollars worth of assets for the state and friends of the Kremlin. State’s snapping up of assets leaves no business safe The war in Ukraine has
GDP data — what it reveals, what it conceals PRO Members Public
Russia’s economy grew by 1% in 2025, the Rosstat federal statistics agency reported this week. At the same time, it revised up its figures for previous years, increasing its estimate for growth in 2024 to 4.9% and 2023 to 4.1%. After those numbers, an annual expansion of
Russia’s Shadow Fleet comes in from the dark PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we ask why is Russia increasingly bringing its fleet of sanctions-busting tankers in from the shadows, and is it an effective strategy to help ship its oil around the world. Russian flags for the shadow fleet Shadow fleet tankers have been rushing to re-register themselves under Russian
Russia revels in Ukraine energy crisis it caused PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we analyze how Russian propaganda channels and pro-war bloggers are celebrating the fact that massive Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid have left millions without heating, power and water in sub-zero temperatures — and why it reveals, yet again, that Moscow’s invasion is not going to
The most hated woman in Russia PRO Members Public
Hello! Our focus this week is on a legal scandal that has gripped the headlines for weeks — and what it tells us about celebrity culture in Russia today. Controversial court ruling triggers uproar against pro-Putin singer Russia is ending the year with a massive domestic scandal surrounding singer Larisa Dolina,
Russia’s Banks vs. Oligarch-Backed E-Commerce Giants PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we get under the hood of Russia’s biggest business clash of the moment as the country’s financial giants try to take on the booming online marketplaces. Finance fights back against online retailers A clash of the lobbying titans is underway in Russian big business. The
Russia wages war with borrowed cash PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we dive into how Russia finances its war on Ukraine, and why it could be storing up problems for the future. How much is Russia borrowing for its war, and what will the consequences be? Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced Moscow to abandon its conservative
Russians voice frustration over EU visa tightening PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we cover Europe ending the issuance of multi-entry visas for Russians, a step that will likely do little to stop nefarious actors and Russian spies infiltrating the bloc. EU ends multi-entry visas to stop Russian espionage, but spies likely to keep flowing In the fourth year of
Debunking Moscow’s sanctions myth PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we dig into the myth Russia tells itself about Western sanctions — that they don’t work — highlighting where Moscow has got it wrong. Russia says it isn’t bothered by sanctions. The data says otherwise “Sanctions aren’t working.” That’s been one of the key narratives
Havana Syndrome: Could Russia’s roads go full Cuban? PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at how a hike in car import fees is becoming one of the government’s most unpopular domestic policies in years, and prompted predictions that decades-old Western cars could soon be lining Russian roads. Planned hike in cost of foreign cars triggers rare public backlash
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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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