THE BELL WEEKLY: Ukraine’s counteroffensive and Russia's war economy PRO Members Public
Hello! This week, our main story is a raft of legislation predicated on a long-running war adopted by the Russian parliament. We also look at the Russia-Africa summit and explain what a ban on Dozhd says about the Kremlin’s tactics against independent media. Amid military escalation, Russia adopts laws
Russia is preparing for a long war PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. I am joined this time by analyst Alexander Kolyandr. We focus this week on how the Ukraine war is gradually becoming key to both Russia’s economy and its politics and
THE BELL WEEKLY: Why the nationalization of Danone and Carlsberg matters PRO Members Public
President Vladimir Putin has recently signed a decree nationalizing the Russian assets of French dairy producer Danone and the Baltika brewery, owned by Denmark's Carlsberg. One of them is now under the ownership of an old friend of Putin’s from 1990s St. Petersburg, while the other went
Kremlin asset seizures the new normal PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. In this newsletter we focus on the Kremlin’s decision to seize the Russian assets of two major foreign companies and what it means for the business climate and the other
Inflation gains momentum PRO Members Public
Russia’s Central Bank expects prices to rise. But just a month ago, Putin was hailing the country’s low inflation rates compared to the rest of the world. At the start of the summer, Putin boasted of how inflation in Russia was approaching record lows and was even less
Putin allows the nationalization of Russia’s largest Western-owned consumer companies PRO Members Public
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that transferred the shares of foreign shareholders to the “temporary control” of Rosimushchestvo, the agency responsible for state property. The decree affects the Baltika brewery, which is 100% owned by Denmark’s Carlsberg, and dairy firm Danone Rossiya, which is owned by France'
Coca-Cola quit Russia, but you can still find it on the country's shelves. How? PRO Members Public
Coca-Cola announced it was leaving the Russian market back in March 2022 as part of the global response to the invasion of Ukraine. Coca-Cola HBC, the Greek-owned company that bottled and sold Coke in Russia, switched to a new brand, Dobry Cola. Yet the U.S. soft drink giant remains
THE BELL WEEKLY: How Coca-Cola quit Russia, but stayed on the country's shelves PRO Members Public
Hello! This week, in our main story we explain how Coca-Cola remained the second most popular soda brand in Russia even after The Coca Cola Company has ceased operations in the country. We also look at the nationalization of the largest Western-owned consumer companies and witness the signs of inflation
Moscow doesn’t like the Ukraine grain deal, but won’t ditch it PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. In this newsletter we focus on disputes over the Black Sea grain deal and why it’s almost certain that Moscow will agree to another extension. We also compare NATO and
Is Russia dying out? Our interview with a demographer PRO Members Public
Following the U.S.S.R.'s dissolution, Russia's population decline became an acute economic problem. Putin turned the "demographic solution" into his most important PR triumph. Yet the demographic crisis has resurfaced due to the pandemic and Ukraine's invasion. We spoke with
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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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