Seized Belarusian journalist paraded on TV PRO Members Public
Belarusian state TV channel ONT broadcast Thursday a 90-minute interview with Roman Protasevich, the journalist arrested when Minsk forced down a civilian plane last month. Viewers compared the spectacle to George Orwell’s ‘Ministry of Love’ from his dystopian novel 1984 in which a character under torture is forced to
From Russia with groceries PRO Members Public
Foreigners who come to Russia are amazed by two things: first, that even a tip or a charitable donation can be made by card with a couple of clicks, and second that in Moscow or St. Petersburg nobody sees anything odd in ordering a single loaf of bread or an
SPIEF: The state is everywhere PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top stories come from the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which returned last week after last year’s coronavirus hiatus. We look at the main talking points from the conference — the role of the state, plans for new taxes, Qatar’s missing delegates and President
A modest proposal to kick-start the economy — bring back the gulag PRO Members Public
The ongoing ‘Sovietization’ of the Russian economy is not just reflected in price caps on food. This week the government — which is struggling with a chronic labor shortage due to border closures — revealed it is looking to bring back Soviet-era gulag prison camps to provide the manpower for large-scale infrastructure
Ryanair scandal sends Lukashenko running back to Putin PRO Members Public
Russia continues to position itself as the only remaining friend of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, sacrificing significant tranches of Russian money and even its own citizens. The reason is obvious: only with Lukashenko in power can the Kremlin ensure Belarus remains economically dependent on Russia. The expected Western sanctions after
Abramovich and VTB step in to help ‘Russia’s Netflix’ resolve its problems with the government PRO Members Public
Russia’s leading IT companies — like their counterparts around the world — frequently face government pressure. However, they are generally not suspected of infringing user rights or monopolistic behavior like in the West. In Russia, the government’s big concern is ensuring that these companies remain under the control of Russian
Reviving the gulag PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is on moves to create a modern counterpart for the gulag prison system to accelerate infrastructure development and compensate for a fall-off in migration caused by coronavirus border restrictions. We also look at the negotiations that saw state-owned bank VTB and Roman Abramovich given
How Elon Musk accepted the Kremlin's invitation PRO Members Public
This week, Sergei Kiriyenko, Kremlin eminence grise and deputy head of the presidential administration, announced that Elon Musk would speak at a state-sponsored education forum. At first, it looked like a weird PR stunt. But, against all expectations, Musk actually gave a speech via a video link and spent 40
Retail acquisition frenzy boosts market consolidation PRO Members Public
Russia’s second biggest retail chain Magnit announced Tuesday it was buying the country’s fifth-biggest grocery chain, Diksi. Two days later, retailer Lenta acquired the country’s network of Billa stores, allowed their owners – German supermarket chain Rewe – to exit Russia. Magnit and fellow leading retailer X5, are now
The tale of Valery Pshenichny: the 3D submarine modelling scientist found dead in prison after a business dispute PRO Members Public
Businessman and scientist Valery Pshenichny died in mysterious circumstances in 2018 at a detention center where he was being held on charges of embezzling state funds linked to a defense contract. This week saw the start of a court hearing into his case. The Bell looked into his tragic story.
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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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