Russia bans books mentioning LGBT issues PRO Members Public
Russian shops are clearing the shelves of any novels featuring LGBT characters for fear of falling foul of “gay propaganda” laws, while libraries are hiding texts written by “foreign agents,” a Soviet-era term used by the Russian authorities. * Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law Monday a draconian “gay propaganda”
Limits on Russian oil unlikely to pose critical threat to economy PRO Members Public
This week sees the start of several new restrictions on Russian oil exports. An embargo came into force Monday that blocks Russian seaborne oil supplies to Europe. Moreover, on Friday evening, the European Union finally agreed on an important accompanying measure — a price cap on Russian oil that companies from
Oil price cap PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story looks at why the West’s price cap for Russian oil is unlikely to have any major immediate impact on the Russian economy. We also look at the claims and counterclaims after a presenter on independent TV channel Dozhd apparently misspoke on air and
Putin talks to ‘soldiers’ mothers’ in staged Kremlin meeting PRO Members Public
Putin last week took part in a meeting with the mothers of soldiers killed in the war in Ukraine. The title “soldiers’ mother” carries a lot of influence in Russia — and Putin was famously humiliated by a group of soldiers’ relatives in his early years as president. Unsurprisingly, Friday’s
Russian start-ups skating on thin ice in the West PRO Members Public
Immigram, a U.K. project with Russian roots, won a competition for start-ups at the prominent Slush conference in Helsinki earlier this month. However, within a few days, the company opted out of the award and the organizers withdrew the €1 million prize. This happened because of criticism on social
Kudrin leaves public office to take top role at new look Yandex PRO Members Public
Former Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin, once a leading liberal in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, is leaving public service to go into business. He is set to take charge of Yandex, Russia’s leading IT company. The transformation of a senior official into a businessman appears to be one
Kudrin & Yandex PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is about former Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin’s role in getting Kremlin approval to break up Yandex — and his decision to take a top role at the company. We also look at the fuss over Immigram when it had a prestigious European prize rescinded
How foreigners are disposing of their Russian assets PRO Members Public
After war broke out, there was a stampede of Western companies out of Russia. But, in early March, the government slowed that process: all transactions between Russian companies and citizens or businesses in countries designated as “unfriendly” must now be approved by a special commission. The Bell looked at how
Russia ignores the killing of an ex-convict turned soldier in Ukraine PRO Members Public
Yevgeny Nuzhin was serving a prison sentence for murder in Russia, but was recruited by Wagner to go and fight in Ukraine. There, Nuzhin was captured. But he was somehow returned to Russia and, soon afterwards, a video was circulated on social media showing him being bludgeoned to death with
Unmasking Russia’s influential pro-war ‘Rybar’ Telegram channel PRO Members Public
The war in Ukraine has created an influential new Russian media space with an audience of tens of millions — channels on messaging app Telegram that specialize in war reporting and analysis. One of the most significant among them is the anonymous channel Rybar with 1.1 million followers. Rybar publishes
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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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