Russians still tuning into YouTube despite block attempts Paid Members Public
Russia’s authorities are raising their game when it comes to blocking — or in their words “slowing” — YouTube. At the start of last week, users were complaining that it was almost impossible to watch clips on the platform in 4K resolution; by the end of the week several were finding
Repressive laws target immigrants, chatty soldiers and civil society Paid Members Public
Vladimir Putin last week signed more than 100 federal laws in a single day, several of which take Russia in an even more repressive direction, with new restrictions affecting migrants, servicemen, bloggers, individuals who work with foreign organizations and those who publicly report about protests. * Immigrants face a host of
Russia’s authorities distance themselves from Ukraine’s counter-invasion Paid Members Public
It has already been a week since Ukrainian troops and tanks crossed into Russian territory, opening a new offensive on the Kursk border region, a small territory in southwest Russia. Excluding some short-lived border raids by militia groups, this is the first full-scale military incursion by Ukraine’s troops since
THE BELL WEEKLY: Kremlin downplays Ukraine’s border offensive Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we cover how the Kremlin has tried to downplay and distance Putin from Ukraine’s surprise offensive into the Kursk region. We also look at a slew of new repressive laws signed into force and why Moscow slowing down YouTube isn’t affecting the popularity of anti-government
Russia’s billionaire Hairspray King Paid Members Public
Before 2022, the name Alexei Sagal meant little to anyone in Russia outside the domestic cosmetics industry and residents of his native Stavropol Territory in the south of the country. That has changed completely since Russia invaded Ukraine as Sagal swooped to take control of Heineken’s Russian businesses. That
Opposition leaders, newly freed, stoke controversy with first public comments Paid Members Public
The biggest prisoner swap between Russia and the West since Soviet times has freed two of Russia’s leading liberal politicians — figures with genuine ambitions to lead the opposition in exile. Tet far from garnering sympathy for the more than two years they spent in Putin’s prison system, their
THE BELL WEEKLY: Historic prisoner swap highlights rifts in Russian society Paid Members Public
Hello. This week we look at the controversy surrounding the historic prisoner exchange between Russia and the West. We also bring you a snapshot of our investigation into Russia’s “Hairspray King” — a little-known billionaire and major winner from the exodus of Western firms. Opposition leaders, newly freed, stoke controversy
Russia’s new elite being pushed into politics Paid Members Public
Russian soldiers who have fought in Ukraine have become a powerful new social class in Russian society. They get state subsidies, extra welfare payments, career boosts, and, for some, a fast track to power. President Vladimir Putin often calls veterans and soldiers Russia’s “new elite,” asserting that the leadership
