Russia’s big sanctions workaround PRO Members Public
Hello! This is your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. Our main story is an analysis of customs data that reveals how Russia is getting around Western sanctions by importing restricted goods via third countries. We also look at why, contrary to expectations, there’
Azerbaijan detains Troika financier who became Karabakh separatist leader PRO Members Public
One of the best-known Russian financiers of the 2000s was among the victims of the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh — the billionaire founder of Troika Dialog, Ruben Vardanyan. The former businessman, who sold his Russian assets in the early 2010s to invest in his native Armenia, was for a brief period the
Jailed billionaire demands $14 billion from Russian state companies PRO Members Public
Despite serving a 19-year jail term, Russian billionaire Ziyavudin Magomedov showed last week that he is willing and able to strike against state companies from a prison cell, lodging a case with London’s High Court demanding $14 billion in compensation for assets seized from him following his arrest in
The mystery of Ramzan Kadyrov’s flailing health PRO Members Public
Russia’s top domestic political story last month was the mystery swirling around Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov after it emerged that the 46-year-old feudal warlord, a key figure in the Putin system, has serious health problems. In mid-September, Chechen opposition Telegram channels even reported his death. In a bid to
THE BELL WEEKLY: Ramzan Kadyrov’s mystery illness PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at yet another round of rumors over the deteriorating health of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and assess his standing with the Kremlin following the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin. We also unpick what a record court case in London brought by a jailed Russian billionaire could
Russia’s wartime budget PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. Today's top story is an analysis of Russia’s 2024-2026 budget, which foresees a record level of military spending. We also look at a proposal to make the Russian
A year on from Russia’s ‘partial mobilization’, a second wave seems inevitable PRO Members Public
Last week was the first anniversary of Russia’s mobilization drive, announced on Sep. 21, 2022. At the time, Putin told Russians in an early-morning address to the nation that the country was facing “the entire military machine of the collective west” in Ukraine. At least 300,000 mobilized Russians
How the Kremlin’s internet propaganda HQ operates PRO Members Public
The low-profile non-profit organization Dialog started life as a way for the Russian authorities to stay in contact and gather feedback from different parts of society. Since then, it’s evolved into one of the Russian internet’s most prolific pro-Kremlin propaganda mouthpieces. Journalists from The Bell, Meduza and IStories
Fresh Karabakh conflict dents Russia’s standing in the Caucasus PRO Members Public
Last week, Azerbaijan launched fresh military action to seize control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist republic in the Caucasus populated mainly by ethnic Armenians but which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Not only did this one-day “anti-terrorist operation,” as Baku called it, seemingly bring an end to any independent
THE BELL WEEKLY: A blow to Russia in the Caucasus PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at how Azerbaijan’s use of military force to seize control of Nagorno-Karabakh has dealt yet another blow to Russia’s standing in the Caucasus. We also summarize a new investigation into Dialog, a major player in the Kremlin’s online propaganda machine, and assess
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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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