THE BELL WEEKLY: The Founder of “Russian Google” Condemns the War PRO Members Public
Hello! This week, our main story is comments from the founder of Yandex, in which he criticized Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine as “barbaric.” We also explore the decision by Russia’s Central Bank to call an extraordinary meeting to stop the ruble from plummeting below 100 against the dollar.
Market research is the latest victim of Russia’s spy obsession PRO Members Public
Amid its persistent battles against Western espionage and the driving forces behind sanctions, the State Duma has found a convenient new target — foreign firms engaged in researching Russia's consumer market. The Duma has moved to ban such companies from conducting market research, a sector where international entities have
Yandex founder labels himself “Israeli businessman,” inflaming Russia’s opposition PRO Members Public
Arkady Volozh, the founder of Russian IT giant Yandex, found himself at the center of a mini-scandal after Russian opposition figures saw his new personal promotional website, where he describes himself as “an Israeli businessman, born in Kazakhstan” — and barely mentions Russia, where he lived most of his life and
Falling ruble forces Russia to abandon its own budget principles PRO Members Public
The Russian ruble has continued its steep decline, reaching 95 rubles against the dollar and 105 against the euro this week. For Russians, this is more than the usual psychological blow (many are used to using the exchange rate as a barometer for the economy’s fortunes): it is a
THE BELL WEEKLY: Government trying to ease pressure on the ruble PRO Members Public
Hello! This week, our main story is another week of turbulence for the ruble, as the falling national currency can push the government into abandoning one of its key budget principles. We also look at the founder of Yandex rebrand himself as “an Israeli businessman, born in Kazakhstan” and explain
Russia’s ban on Dozhd makes the Kremlin’s tactics against independent media clear PRO Members Public
Last week, Russian authorities designated the Dozhd broadcaster as an “undesirable” organization. Anyone who works with it – and even appearing on screen as a guest constitutes working with it – could now face criminal charges. In effect, the authorities are changing their tactics against independent Russian media, which were previously universally
Isolated Russia turns to Africa PRO Members Public
Last week, Russia hosted its second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg. Although the Kremlin actively promoted the forum, only 17 of the continent’s 54 nations sent high-level delegations. It’s no surprise that this is far fewer than the number that attended the previous summit in 2019. Even though
Amid military escalation, Russia adopts laws “for a long war” PRO Members Public
Last week witnessed a sudden escalation in the ongoing war in Ukraine, with Moscow gearing up politically and economically to address the situation. The Ukrainian military initiated a new phase of its counteroffensive, which has been underway since the start of the summer. Moscow twice came under drone attack. First,
THE BELL WEEKLY: Ukraine’s counteroffensive and Russia's war economy PRO Members Public
Hello! This week, our main story is a raft of legislation predicated on a long-running war adopted by the Russian parliament. We also look at the Russia-Africa summit and explain what a ban on Dozhd says about the Kremlin’s tactics against independent media. Amid military escalation, Russia adopts laws
Inflation gains momentum PRO Members Public
Russia’s Central Bank expects prices to rise. But just a month ago, Putin was hailing the country’s low inflation rates compared to the rest of the world. At the start of the summer, Putin boasted of how inflation in Russia was approaching record lows and was even less
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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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