Production problems hamper Russian vaccine roll-out Paid Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is about the difficulties plaguing Russia’s attempt to roll out a mass coronavirus vaccination programme. We also look at how Kremlin propaganda is spinning the U.S. presidential election, and why you should be skeptical about oddly-sourced stories alleging Putin is suffering from
Profiting from poverty Paid Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is the rapid spread of discount stores as economic woes make Russians progressively poorer. We also look at the likely endgame in the criminal case against U.S. investor Michael Calvey and revelations about the bizarre sourcing of the 2016 ‘Steele dossier’ that alleged
Biden and Russia Paid Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is an analysis of what Russia can expect if Joe Biden wins the U.S. presidential election next month. We also look at the likely next career move for 1990s privatization tsar Anatoly Chubais, and the launch of VTimes, a new, independent business media
Sensei and philosopher – meet Sergei Kiriyenko, the latest EU sanctions target Paid Members Public
The European Union introduced new sanctions against six Russian officials Thursday in response to the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. While most of the names on the list were familiar from previous sanction lists, Sergei Kiriyenko was a new appearance. The first deputy chief of the presidential administration (the
Is Belarus approaching a political denouement? Paid Members Public
A third month of civil disobedience in Belarus began this week as President Alexander Lukashenko met with an opposition leader, albeit in a KGB jail. Meanwhile Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the figurehead of the protest movement, issued a ‘people’s ultimatum’ on behalf of the Belarusian public. Many pointed out that events
‘Deal of the year’ ends in acrimony and insult Paid Members Public
The tie-up between Yandex – the so-called ‘Russian Google’ – and Tinkoff, one of the country’s biggest privately-owned banks, looked to be a match made in heaven. But this week it was all over – less than a month after the initial announcement. The bank said Friday that talks had broken down.
‘Deal of the year’ is off Paid Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is the tale of how Russia’s $5.5 billion ‘deal of year’ between Yandex and Tinkoff Bank fell apart. We also have an in-depth profile of Sergei Kiriyenko, the Kremlin éminence grise who has found himself on an EU sanctions for the first
Russia’s largest bank is using school canteens to collect children’s biometric data Paid Members Public
Hello! Our top story this week is Sberbank harvesting biometric data from hundreds of thousands of Russian schoolchildren. We also discuss Russia’s cautious approach to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and look at why Moscow is resisting a second lockdown, even as the country reports record numbers of
