THE BELL WEEKLY: Will Russia block Telegram, again? Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we look at Russian officials’ attempts to get more control over Telegram, the most popular messaging app in the country. We also provide a snapshot of a new The Bell investigation into one of the major Russian winners from the mass departure of foreign firms. Russian officials
Alexander Varshavsky: The car salesman who became the biggest winner of Russia’s corporate exodus Paid Members Public
The mass departure of international firms from Russia has provided a golden opportunity for previously mid-ranking Russian business owners to jump into the ranks of the corporate elite. Nobody has taken better advantage of the once-in-a-generation chance to snap up profitable companies at massive discounts than Alexander Varshavsky and Kamo
Russia feels the bite of secondary sanctions Paid Members Public
Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy — written by Alexander Kolyandr and Alexandra Prokopenko and brought to you by The Bell. This week our top story is how secondary sanctions imposed by the West are limiting Russia’s ability to do business. We also look at the
THE BELL WEEKLY: Russia’s worst terror attack in 20 years Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we look at the worst terror attack in Russia for two decades. We cover what happened at Crocus City Hall on Friday evening and how the authorities are responding. The shadow of the 1990s looms over concert hall massacre In the late 1990s and early 2000s, terrorist
Moscow attack: what we know so far Paid Members Public
Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy — written by Alexander Kolyandr and Alexandra Prokopenko and brought to you by The Bell. This week we look briefly at the breaking news of a major terrorist attack in Moscow, and then, in detail. at the economics behind the presidential
The opposition’s approach Paid Members Public
The Russian opposition saw its organizational structures demolished even before the war. As a result, there weren’t many options for what they could do during this contest. They adopted two main tactical approaches. * The first, backed by Alexei Navalny’s supporters, called for a significant election-day quasi-protest. Called “Noon
A background of shelling Paid Members Public
This was the first major Russian election since the invasion of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian military did all it could to overshadow polling with rocket attacks and artillery bombardments of Russian territory. Pro-Kyiv sabotage groups attempted armed raids across the border, and there was also an escalation in drone attacks.
‘Record’ victory cements Putin’s autocrat status Paid Members Public
Vladimir Putin was re-elected as Russian president. Officially it’s his fifth term in the Kremlin — although in practice it’s six if we include his stint pulling the strings as prime minister. The official results have Putin polling even higher than predicted, taking 87% of the vote. That figure
