Top Russian officials named in Pandora Papers PRO Members Public
Offshore assets belonging to Russian officials and top executives at state-owned companies featured prominently in material published last week by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The main revelations concerning Russia included: * Konstantin Ernst, the head of state-owned Channel One who is often described as President Vladimir Putin’s
Nobel arguments PRO Members Public
Hello! Our top story this week is about the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov — and why the decision has divided public opinion. We also look at Russia’s decision to send an actor and director to the International Space Station to shoot the first
Group-IB’s Ilya Sachkov arrested on treason charge PRO Members Public
Ilya Sachkov, founder of one of Russia’s biggest IT companies, was arrested Wednesday in Moscow. The 35-year-old businessman is accused of treason, which carries a potential 20-year prison term. As the case is classified, there is little public information and several theories are circulating about why such a prominent
Navalny faces new criminal charges that will add years to jail time PRO Members Public
Opposition figure Alexei Navalny’s prison sentence is due to end in mid-2023, but this week it emerged there are plans to keep him behind bars for far longer. The powerful Investigative Committee launched Thursday a case against Navalny and the other directors of his Anti-Corruption Fund (designated an extremist
Will Russia ban YouTube? PRO Members Public
When YouTube blocked state-owned media outlet RT’s German-language channels Tuesday, accusing them of spreading fake news about coronavirus, the Russian authorities promised “retaliatory measures”. These could include the complete shuttering of YouTube in Russia — the Kremlin has more than one way of doing this. * YouTube deleted two of RT’
Cyber-CEO arrested PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is the arrest of prominent cyber-executive Ilya Sachkov on treason charges. We also look at what’s at stake in the new criminal case against jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, why YouTube could be banned, record COVID-19 deaths, a large batch of ‘foreign agents’
How United Russia won the State Duma elections PRO Members Public
Online voting turned out to be the biggest issue at last week’s parliamentary elections. But there are different opinions about its effect: some experts are certain it was used to carry out mass electoral fraud; others believe it just meant state-sector employees voted online for the ruling United Russia
What to ban after fatal high school shooting in Perm? PRO Members Public
An 18-year-old student at Perm State University brought an automatic weapon onto campus Monday and opened fire, leaving six people dead and 43 injured. * The 20-minute killing spree was carried out by freshman Timur Bekmansurov. Among the pieces of harrowing footage to subsequently appear online was a video showing terrified
Russia’s ‘top informer’ sets his sights on The Bell PRO Members Public
The state campaign against independent media in Russia shows no sign of relenting. Pro-Kremlin activist Alexander Ionov — who successfully suggested outlet Meduza be made a ‘foreign agent’ earlier this year — requested Wednesday that The Bell be given the same designation. * Ionov, who describes himself as a human rights activist, told
Online voting spat PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is on the fallout from Russia’s parliamentary elections, particularly arguments about the impact of online voting. We also look at a fatal shooting at a university in the central Russian city of Perm, why Russia’s ‘informer-in-chief’ is now targeting The Bell, and
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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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