Growing optimism for Russia’s economic prospects PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. In today’s newsletter, we focus on increasing short-term optimism over Russia’s economy and how the issue of personal sanctions on Russian businessmen is splitting the opposition — not the elite
Drones, raid & assassination PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we focus on one story: an unusually high number of apparent Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory — and what they might mean. What do Ukrainian drone attacks and cross-border raids and an ‘assassination attempt’ have in common? At least four different Russian regions, including Moscow Region, were attacked
Is Russia firing up the money printing press? PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. In today’s newsletter, we’ll look in depth at whether Russia really is printing money to cover its growing budget deficit. Inflation risks as Russia grapples with budget deficit Russia
Prigozhin throws down another gauntlet to Shoigu and the General Staff PRO Members Public
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group, Russia’s main private paramilitary force, once again attacked the army’s General Staff and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. A new round of conflict broke out after Russia’s operations in Ukraine were placed under the command of Chief of the General Staff
Sociologists dispute how many Russians support the war in Ukraine PRO Members Public
Since Russia’s invasion started, sociologists have grappled with how to determine the share of Russians who support the war. Leading private and state pollsters claim pro-war Russians are in the majority, and these studies are frequently referenced in Western media. At the same time, a group of independent sociologists
Five takeaways from Putin's speech on war anniversary PRO Members Public
On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin addressed the Federal Assembly, a body that unites the two houses of Russia’s parliament. In reality, his speech was intended for a far wider audience, from the government, the business community and the
Putin’s ‘new normal’ on war’s anniversary PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is about Putin’s avoidance of a bombshell announcement on the anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine — but told Russians that the war is the new normal. We also look at how sociologists are grappling with measuring Russians’ support for the war and Wagner
Russian business in a bind as war enters second year PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. In today’s newsletter, we’ll look at how Russian business has fared in one year of war and what it expects in the coming months. We’ll also discuss Russia’
How North Korea became Russia’s ally PRO Members Public
North Korea continues to support Russia almost a year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kim Yo-Jong, sister of the country’s leader Kim Jong-un and a senior figure in the country’s ruling Workers’ Party, promised last month that Pyongyang would always “stand in the same trench as the
Kremlin looks to squeeze cash from oil companies PRO Members Public
The Russian authorities continue their efforts to balance the books: after demanding funds from big business, they are now looking at oil companies. In particular, the Finance Ministry is changing the way it calculates taxes for oil companies. Instead of relying on prices from energy agency Argus, which currently shows
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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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