Geopolitics — not the oil price — is now driving the ruble PRO Members Public
What happened Russia has had a good macroeconomic week: not only did it appear that new U.S. sanctions have been postponed, but the Russian government’s economic policies appeared to be working perfectly. A big fall in oil prices — which a few years ago would have caused immediate problems
Conflicting signals from Putin and Medvedev over Russia’s Davos boycott PRO Members Public
What happened In response to the decision to ban Russian tycoons under U.S. sanctions from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Russia has threatened to boycott the event. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he would forbid officials and executives from state-owned companies from attending. But after Medvedev’s comments,
“We put on Super Mario costumes”: Highlights from an interview with a Russian on Forbes 30 Under 30 rating, Daria Rebenok PRO Members Public
This week Forbes published its annual 30 Under 30 rating, which included 600 successful young entrepreneurs from across the globe. Three Russians were on the list, including the founders of Grabr, Artyom Fedyaev and Daria Rebenok. Founder of The Bell, Liza Osetinskaya, interviewed Daria for our video project Russians are
An unprecedented crowdfunding campaign looks like a potent new form of protest PRO Members Public
What happened Last week, Russia witnessed one of its most amazing manifestations of civil society in recent years. A Moscow court fined opposition news outlet, The New Times, 22 million rubles ($400,000) for failing to report foreign funding. Paying would have meant bankruptcy. But when news of the fine
Will security concerns trump profit for the Kremlin in a debate over OneWeb? PRO Members Public
Hello! Our top story this week is the fascinating standoff over U.S.-led internet project OneWeb between state space agency Roscosmos and the security services, which tells us a lot about the interplay of money and the state. We also have stories on the decoupling of the ruble from
Russia’s second #metoo moment lays bare the fractures of ‘liberal’ society PRO Members Public
Meduza editorial staff, editor-in-chief Ivan Kolpakov seated on the right Disclaimer: Meduza is one of The Bell’s competitors. While some employees at the two outlets are friends, the author of this analysis is not directly acquainted with anyone referenced. What happened Russian society is muddling through its second sexual
New legislation set to regulate Russia’s burgeoning driverless car market PRO Members Public
Yandex CEO Arkady Volozh shows an autonomous Toyota Prius to Vladimir Putin, 2018 What happened Driverless cars are not just the realm of Waymo and Uber: Russia also has several serious self-driving car projects. And in a significant development this week, the government unveiled the first draft of new legislation
The egos of three Russian tycoons take a hit as they are barred from Davos PRO Members Public
Hello! Our top story this week is an explainer on why being excluded from Davos is a big personal blow for three Russian tycoons — despite their protestations to the contrary. And in more oligarch news, we look at the arrest in Monaco of colourful Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. You can
The saga of Russia’s art-collecting oligarch and his new corruption woes in Monaco PRO Members Public
Dmitry Rybolovlev (right) at a Monaco football game. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons Dmitry Rybolovlev is one of a select few Russian businessmen who have been able to successfully sell their primary businesses in Russia and start afresh abroad. This week, Rybolovlev was detained in Monaco and now faces criminal charges
Government wins temporary reprieve in acrimonious gas price fight with oil companies PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we dissect an increasingly bitter tussle between Russia’s oil companies and a government nervous that gas price rises will cause popular unrest. You can also read the highlights of our investigation into Synergy, the big international conference organiser that appears to have an unsavoury private education
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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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