Western firms face Russian asset risks — Italy shows the scale PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at how Russia could retaliate if Europe moves ahead with plans to more boldly use Russia’s frozen assets to fund Ukraine. With Western companies sure to be in the firing line, we calculate how much firms from just one country, Italy, stand to lose.
Russia's Eurovision rival PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at Intervision, the revived Soviet-era song contest designed to rival Eurovision that was light on the camp and heavy on the propaganda. Intervision, Moscow’s propaganda-filled song contest Russia staged the Intervision music contest over the weekend, a Vladimir Putin-ordered Eurovision clone, designed to show
Russia's fuel crisis PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we analyze Russia’s domestic fuel crisis, what it says about the war, the state of the economy and how it could affect peace negotiations. Ukrainian strikes hit Russians at the pump A new wave of Ukrainian long-range drone attacks on Russian oil refineries has triggered the
Fallout from the Alaska summit PRO Members Public
Hello! This week, as Vladimir Zelensky and European leaders meet Donald Trump in the White House, we analyze the fallout from the Alaska summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump and why it is seen in Moscow and beyond as a triumph for the Kremlin. The Alaska summit: No deal,
Putin-Trump summit brings Ukraine ceasefire closer PRO Members Public
Negotiations about achieving peace in Ukraine have been upended. Unless there is a last-minute problem, Russian President Vladimir Putin will next week meet his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump to discuss a plan to freeze the conflict. With Putin likely to demand guarantees that NATO will not expand, any deal
A new level of repression PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we cover a new piece of legislation that would punish Russians for reading “extremist” content online, in what could be the opening salvo in a massive new ramp-up of repression. Russia to fine people for searching or reading material online Russia is taking its biggest step towards
Internet outages and airport disruption threaten Putin’s deal with Russia’s middle classes PRO Members Public
While Russians living in Moscow and other cities away from the border have suffered nothing like the kind of deadly attacks Ukrainians in Kyiv have been put through — with Vladimir Putin deploying hundreds of drones and missiles in escalating nightly barrages — the cost of the war is starting to become
Sacked transport minister dies by suicide PRO Members Public
Hello! Our top story is the shock suicide of Russia’s transport minister, whose body was discovered hours after he was fired amid looming corruption charges. We also look at how a string of internet outages and major disruption at airports could spell trouble for the Kremlin’s support among
Domodedovo and SPIEF: a masterclass in ignoring reality PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at how the nationalization of Moscow’s Domodedovo airport came about and why it was a non-issue at Russia’s premier business and investment forum in Saint Petersburg. SPIEF shrugs off Domodedovo nationalization The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has long ceased to be a
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
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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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