Coronavirus quandary PRO Members Public
Hello! Our top story this week is about spiking coronavirus cases in Russia and whether new restrictions and some mandatory vaccination will be enough to slow the spread of the Delta variant. We also look at a state raid on the ‘super-profits’ of top metals companies and an $11 billion
Vaccination failure and Delta variant push Russia toward catastrophic coronavirus third wave PRO Members Public
Official unwillingness to impose unpopular coronavirus restrictions ahead of September parliamentary elections, distrust of Russia’s vaccines and a new coronavirus variant combined last week to put Moscow at the epicenter of a new wave of the pandemic. What’s happening? The coronavirus situation in Moscow has lurched from worrying
Putin meets Biden amid a frenzy of Russian propaganda PRO Members Public
Nobody expected much from the Geneva summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his counterpart Joe Biden, and not much was delivered. None of the major disputes between Russia and the U.S. moved closer to a resolution, even though the talks apparently went well. But the summit was a
Russia proposes state control over access to porn websites PRO Members Public
The Russian agency responsible for regulating online content is proposing to limit access to pornography by making it available exclusively via state-run services. The authorities have long tried to combat pornography, but their efforts have met little success. * Newspaper Kommersant published an article Wednesday about watchdog Roskomnadzor’s plans to
Delta variant spike PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is about an unfolding coronavirus catastrophe in Moscow where daily cases are now at their highest level since the start of the pandemic. We also look at why Russian state television got so excited about the Putin-Biden summit in Geneva, and government proposals to
Russian YouTube stars hit with legal troubles PRO Members Public
After pressuring independent media and supporters of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, the Russian authorities appear to be turning their fire on social media influencers. In the space of a few days last week, Russia’s most popular YouTube star, Yuri Dud, was charged with promoting drug use, while blogger and
Russia’s Amazon? Yandex in talks to acquire major grocery store chain Azbuka Vkusa PRO Members Public
The ‘Russian Google’ might be turning into the ‘Russian Amazon’. Last week it emerged that IT giant Yandex was in talks to buy premium grocery store chain Azbuka Vkusa, which is a symbol of affluent Moscow living. It was The Bell that first reported Yandex’s flirtation with offline retail,
FSB poison squad reportedly targeted prominent poet PRO Members Public
Investigative outlet Bellingcat published a long article Wednesday about the previously unknown activities of a group of Russian intelligence officers who poisoned Navalny last year. This time, their target was not a politician but poet Dmitry Bykov, who is well-known for criticizing the authorities. The most surprising thing was not
Coming for YouTube PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is about the legal troubles facing two major YouTube bloggers — the widely popular Yuri Dud and formerly influential Yuri Khovansky. We also look at how IT giant Yandex is looking to break into the online grocery store business, and why Russian intelligence officers reportedly
The state is everywhere at St. Petersburg Forum PRO Members Public
The first St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) since the pandemic wasn’t the most exciting. But it was honest — almost all discussions revolved around the Russian state’s role in the economy, with an unprecedentedly small focus on international matters. Businesses also learned a bit more about proposed new
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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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