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Growing optimism for Russia’s economic prospects 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

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Economy

Drones, raid & assassination 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

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Is Russia firing up the money printing press? 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

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Economy

Prigozhin throws down another gauntlet to Shoigu and the General Staff 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

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Politics

Sociologists dispute how many Russians support the war in Ukraine 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

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Five takeaways from Putin's speech on war anniversary 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

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Putin’s ‘new normal’ on war’s anniversary 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

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Russian business in a bind as war enters second year 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’

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