A drastic change of power in Moldova gives Russia new opportunities PRO Members Public
Dramatic political events have engulfed Moldova this week. Russia, the U.S. and the European Union, for whom Moldova, one of Europe’s smallest and poorest countries, is traditionally an arena of confrontation, joined forces to remove oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who had been in control of the government. And in
Ivan Golunov is freed but this is not the first sign of a thaw: the insider account of the resonant release PRO Members Public
Meduza journalist Ivan Golunov was arrested last Friday and accused of drug dealing, but all charges were dropped Tuesday ahead of an unsanctioned protest in Moscow. It became clear that drugs had been planted on him by the police in apparent revenge for his investigative reporting. After the arrest, everyone
Ivan Golunov is freed but this is not the first sign of a thaw PRO Members Public
Hello! This week was dominated by the story of Ivan Golunov, an investigative journalist who police tried to frame as a drug dealer. We have the insider account of his release and the disagreements over a rally in his support. We also look at talks between Russian officials and Huawei
Huawei smartphones may switch from Android to Russia’s Aurora operating system PRO Members Public
China’s Huawei, which lost access to the latest update to the Android operating system as a result of the U.S. ban, may receive some help from Rostelecom and Russian businessman Grigory Berezkin, which together own the developer of the Russia’s mobile operating system, Aurora. Aurora was built
Journalists protest as top investigative reporter arrested on dubious drug charges PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is the arrest of leading investigative reporter Ivan Golunov on what appears to be fabricated allegations of drug dealing. We also have an analysis of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum where the issue of the criminal charges against investor Michael Calvey dominated the agenda,
The developers of Telegram want to launch a super secret internet PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we take a look at the new, ‘alternative internet’ project being developed by the founders of Telegram and we have the highlights of our interview with the former Russia head of Morgan Stanley (the foreign investment back recently shut down its last operations in Russia). We also
Scandal at Kommersant threatens the Kremlin’s light-touch censorship policy PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we take a look at the big conflict over censorship that has erupted at one of Russia’s leading newspapers and the fancy new residence that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is building for himself outside of St. Petersburg. We also have the highlights of
A local protest over church construction gets the Kremlin’s attention PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our main story is on why protests in Yekaterinburg over a new church have dominated the political agenda and even elicited a response from President Vladimir Putin. We also look at Gazprom’s oddly generous new dividend policy, give you some of the highlights of a recent
A fatal air crash ends the commercial hopes of Russia’s newest passenger aircraft PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we take a detailed looks at the horrific air disaster in Moscow that cost 41 lives and what it means for the future of the first commercial Russia aircraft has produced since the collapse of the Soviet Union. We also explain why U.S. investment bank Morgan
Is the sacking of Russia’s Belarusian envoy a step toward political integration? PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we focus on the recent sacking of Russia’s ambassador to neighboring Belarus and whether it means we are about to see the two countries move closer to a political union. We also look at the ethical dilemma revealed by the exposure of one of the country’
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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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