THE BELL WEEKLY: Islamist links to antisemitic airport riot? PRO Members Public
Hello! This week The Bell looks at the possible links between the riot at Dagestan’s airport and a radical Islamist movement. We also highlight the latest twists in the saga of the sanctioned Alfa Group founders, and how Russia’s stats body is returning to its favourite pandemic-era habit:
Russia’s delicate balancing act on inflation PRO Members Public
Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. Our top story this time is a look at why state-owned companies have requested subsidized loans, and why this poses a major inflationary risk. We also look at U.S. sanctions targeting conglomerate Sistema
Central Bank tips economy towards recession to stem inflation PRO Members Public
The central bank has reacted aggressively to surging inflation, the falling ruble and the imminent increase in government spending. It hiked the base rate on Friday by two full percentage points, from 13% to 15%, and signalled there was little likelihood of rates coming back down again before spring or
Putin blames the West after anti-Israel riot shocks Moscow PRO Members Public
In Russia’s North Caucasus, the weekend brought a series of antisemitic protests, culminating in a mass riot in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim republic of Dagestan. Angry crowds of protestors stormed the city’s airport, breaking through to the runway in a bid to get to passengers
THE BELL WEEKLY: Putin blames the West after anti-Israel riot PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is Russia’s first antisemitic riot in decades. We also analyze the central bank’s aggressive interest rate hike and what it means for Russia’s economic outlook. Putin blames the West after anti-Israel riot shocks Moscow In Russia’s North Caucasus, the weekend
Does the price cap on Russian oil actually work? PRO Members Public
Hello! This is your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. We are focusing on the G7 price cap on Russian oil and looking at some of the arguments about whether it works — or not. Gauging the economic pain inflicted on Russia by the oil
Putin resurrects another Soviet tradition PRO Members Public
Last week, Vladimir Putin called for the return of sporting parades on Moscow’s Red Square. This long-forgotten Soviet ritual, beloved of the Stalin era, represents the latest staging point on Russia’s rose-tinted march into its Soviet past. * The first such sporting parades, which involved the so-called “Vsevobuchs” (men
Another US journalist arrested PRO Members Public
Last week, Russian police arrested journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir service. Kurmasheva, who holds Russian and American citizenship, is accused of failing to register as a “foreign agent.” This is the first criminal case in Russia under laws that require anybody who “purposefully”
Pro-Kremlin media’s talking points on the conflict in the Middle East PRO Members Public
After the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas militants, Russian propagandists have scrambled to push the focus away from events in Ukraine and onto the situation in the Middle East. The Kremlin’s loyalists on TV and in print quickly started talking up the West’s role in the
THE BELL WEEKLY: Russian propaganda on the Middle-East conflict PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we highlight the main Russian propaganda talking points on the Israel-Hamas conflict. We also cover how the arrest of a US-Russian reporter marks yet another escalation in Russia’s campaign against independent journalism, and why Putin wants to bring back sporting parades beloved by Josef Stalin. Pro-Kremlin