Why Russians trust Putin PRO Members Public
Alexei Levinson, the head of socio-cultural research at the Levada Center and one of the most respected sociologists in Russia, recently gave an interview to The Bell’s co-founder Elizaveta Osetinskaya about public opinion in Russia. Here are some of the key points he raised. * Despite the war, Putin remains
Valdai’s fall from relevance PRO Members Public
Last week, Vladimir Putin spoke at the 20th anniversary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, an annual platform that sets about painting a picture of the world and international relations as seen through the Kremlin’s eyes. In the second Valdai meeting since the invasion of Ukraine, Putin once again
The Putin-linked scion behind Russia’s ‘YouTube killer’ PRO Members Public
Russian authorities have long sought a viable domestic alternative to YouTube in their fight to neutralize the site’s rising and stubborn popularity. In Russia, YouTube is home to interviews and reports by independent journalists, and opposition politicians rack up hundreds of thousands of views for their videos. Unlike many
THE BELL WEEKLY: The Putin-linked scion behind Russia’s ‘YouTube killer’ PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our main story looks inside the VKontakte social network at how a Russian nepo baby with family connections to Putin is trying to turn “Russia’s Facebook” into a viable home-grown alternative to YouTube. We also analyze the latest annual Valdai meeting, and ask one of Russia’
Azerbaijan detains Troika financier who became Karabakh separatist leader PRO Members Public
One of the best-known Russian financiers of the 2000s was among the victims of the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh — the billionaire founder of Troika Dialog, Ruben Vardanyan. The former businessman, who sold his Russian assets in the early 2010s to invest in his native Armenia, was for a brief period the
Jailed billionaire demands $14 billion from Russian state companies PRO Members Public
Despite serving a 19-year jail term, Russian billionaire Ziyavudin Magomedov showed last week that he is willing and able to strike against state companies from a prison cell, lodging a case with London’s High Court demanding $14 billion in compensation for assets seized from him following his arrest in
The mystery of Ramzan Kadyrov’s flailing health PRO Members Public
Russia’s top domestic political story last month was the mystery swirling around Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov after it emerged that the 46-year-old feudal warlord, a key figure in the Putin system, has serious health problems. In mid-September, Chechen opposition Telegram channels even reported his death. In a bid to
THE BELL WEEKLY: Ramzan Kadyrov’s mystery illness PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at yet another round of rumors over the deteriorating health of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and assess his standing with the Kremlin following the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin. We also unpick what a record court case in London brought by a jailed Russian billionaire could
Russia’s wartime budget PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. Today's top story is an analysis of Russia’s 2024-2026 budget, which foresees a record level of military spending. We also look at a proposal to make the Russian
A year on from Russia’s ‘partial mobilization’, a second wave seems inevitable PRO Members Public
Last week was the first anniversary of Russia’s mobilization drive, announced on Sep. 21, 2022. At the time, Putin told Russians in an early-morning address to the nation that the country was facing “the entire military machine of the collective west” in Ukraine. At least 300,000 mobilized Russians
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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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