Russia continues to toy with Stalinist practice of putting convicts to work Paid Members Public
The Federal Prison Service (FSIN) is revisiting a 2017 idea to send prisoners to work for defense conglomerate Rostec, which manages most of Russia’s military factories. Convicts are unlikely to be used in the assembling of missiles and aircraft, but could be given other, less skilled roles, sources told
Evan Gershovich’s arrest is a warning to the West Paid Members Public
WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich was detained on suspicion of espionage last week — the first such case involving a foreign reporter since the Cold War. This was likely not only intended to top up Russia’s “exchange fund” for future prisoner swaps with the U.S., but to send a warning
The killing of Vladlen Tatarsky could spark a crackdown Paid Members Public
Vladlen Tatarsky, one of Russia’s best-known pro-war bloggers, was killed by an IED on Sunday evening while he delivered a speech in a bar in St. Petersburg. According to official reports, 30 people were injured in the blast. This assassination will have far greater repercussions than the murder of
THE BELL WEEKLY: Military blogger assassination Paid Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is the assassination of military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky and why it might trigger a fresh round of repression in Russia. We also look at the arrest of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich and a report that Russia is once again considering using convict labor in
Arresting foreigners and the Kremlin’s search for leverage Paid Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. Although it doesn’t fit our economics-focus, given recent developments, I believe it is most appropriate to start this week’s newsletter with the arrest of our friend and colleague, WSJ
Former president Medvedev, once a critic of Stalin, now uses his speeches to motivate factory directors Paid Members Public
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who devoted his presidency to promoting civil and economic freedoms, has reinvented himself as one of Russia’s main war hawks. This week, he invoked Stalin’s spirit to motivate directors of factories producing equipment for the military to work harder. Interestingly, just 13 years
Russian state propaganda hails Xi’s visit to Moscow Paid Members Public
Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Moscow, where he spent two days with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian state propaganda hailed Xi’s visit as a sign that Russia and China are uniting in opposition to American hegemony. However, the two parties didn’t sign any important new
“Leaked” audio of Russian elites slamming the Kremlin makes a splash on social media Paid Members Public
Unexpectedly, the hot news item over the weekend was the leak of what appears to be a half-hour telephone conversation between Iosif Prigozhin, a famous music producer and Putin’s confidante during the last presidential elections, and Farkhad Akhmedov, a businessman and former senator. The pair sharply criticized Russian authorities
