PR man appointed Kursk governor PRO Members Public
Russia’s Kursk Region, partially occupied by Ukrainian forces, has got its second new governor in under a year. The Russian army has failed to recapture the region since Ukrainian troops stormed across the border in August, and it faces a social catastrophe which has forced residents into rare public
How did the Kremlin squander Syria PRO Members Public
After more than 20 years in power, Syrian president Bashir Assad saw his regime collapse in the space of two dramatic weeks. Russia, mired in its own war in Ukraine, did not come to the rescue, largely leaving him to face the country’s opposition forces alone. Nine years ago
THE BELL WEEKLY: How Russia lost Syria PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look into Russia’s retreat from Syria after the fall of Bashar Assad and his regime. We also tell the story of a PR man appointed new Kursk governor and how the ruble recovers after a recent slump. How did the Kremlin squander Syria After more
Russia has given up on foreign investment PRO 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 a look at the annual “Russia Calling!” forum, where horizons have dramatically narrowed as a result of the war in
THE BELL WEEKLY: Georgia rocked by pro-EU protests PRO Members Public
After a less-than-convincing victory in Georgia’s parliamentary elections for his Georgian Dream party, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili is rolling the dice, with the government in Tbilisi announcing a complete halt to talks on joining the EU. In effect, Georgian Dream has gone all-in on its confrontation with the West — and
Why did the Russian ruble plunge? PRO Members Public
Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy – written by Alexandra Prokopenko and Alexander Kolyandr and brought to you by The Bell. Our top story this week is about Russia’s currency crisis that saw the ruble slump 10% in two days. We also look at why Russia’
Writing off debts: Russia’s new army recruitment strategy PRO Members Public
Vladimir Putin has signed a new law to write off the loans of fresh recruits to the war. This latest preferential credit scheme is clearly intended to lure as many people as possible to the front line. * According to the newly-signed law, military personnel who sign up after Dec. 1,
New U.S. sanctions push the ruble to its lowest since spring 2022 PRO Members Public
The United States has imposed the most wide-reaching range of banking sanctions on Russia since spring 2022 (read more here), hitting leading state institution Gazprombank, which had remained connected to SWIFT and conducted settlements in euros. The fallout of the potential disruption on Russia’s energy trade pushed the ruble
Putin’s missile escalation PRO Members Public
The war in Ukraine ratched up dramatically this week, with tensions running at arguably their highest level in the near three-year conflict. Kyiv, with the support of its Western allies, used US-supplied ATACMS and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles against targets inside Russian territory for the first time. Russia responded with
THE BELL WEEKLY: How Putin fell in love with hypersonic missiles PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look into Russia’s hypersonic missile development program, after Russia fired one on Ukraine, the first time a device of its type has been used in combat. We also analyze the latest fall in the value of the ruble and how Russia plans to write off
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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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