Russia puts hopes on an Erdogan victory in Turkey PRO Members Public
The Kremlin’s long-time partner Recep Erdogan did better than expected in the first round of Turkey’s presidential elections this weekend. However, he couldn’t secure a third term in office outright. Now he faces another, even more difficult run-off with opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the second round
Georgia emerges as an unlikely Kremlin ally PRO Members Public
The Georgian government’s long and slow drift toward improved relations with Russia has borne some fruit. Last week, President Vladimir Putin canceled visa requirements for Georgian citizens visiting Russia and lifted a flight ban between the two countries. The Georgian government likely achieved these results after refusing to impose
THE BELL WEEKLY: Moscow-Tbilisi detente PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is Moscow’s decision to restore visa-free access for citizens of Georgia and lift a flight ban between the two countries. We also take a look at the presidential elections in Turkey and their implications for Russia. And, finally, we sum up a new
Kremlin hopes for Erdogan victory as Turkey goes to the polls PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. This week we focus on the Turkish elections and what the outcome could mean for Turkish-Russian relations. We also look at how the Central Bank sees vulnerabilities of the financial sector.
The conflict between Wagner and the Defense Ministry heats up PRO Members Public
Over the last year, mercenary group Wagner and Russia’s Defense Ministry have regularly clashed. Last week, this spat reached new heights when Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin released several clips in which he aggressively accused the Russian defense minister and his chief of staff of failing to provide shells for
One more pro-war Russian propagandist is targeted in a car bomb attack PRO Members Public
This weekend saw another attempted assassination of a prominent supporter of Russia’s war. Writer and politician Zakhar Prilepin survived a car bomb but was seriously injured. His driver was killed at the scene. This is the third assassination attempt in the past nine months. Earlier, the daughter of pro-Kremlin
Billionaires compete to buy the ‘Russian Google’ PRO Members Public
Yandex, one of Russia’s biggest IT companies and a local equivalent of Google, is about to decide on its new owners. The corporation is currently going through a “divorce” from its founder, Arkady Volozh, who is retaining part of the company’s businesses to develop them abroad. As The
THE BELL WEEKLY: Yandex for sale PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is about Russian billionaires competing to buy a controlling stake in Yandex, Russia's homegrown version of Google. We also look at an assassination attempt on pro-war writer and politician Zakhar Prilepin and the latest spat between the Wagener mercenary group and Russia’
What's driving rising Russian crude prices? PRO Members Public
Hello! This is Alexandra Prokopenko with your weekly guide to the Russian economy — brought to you by The Bell. This week we look at why rising prices for Russian oil are a tactical victory for Russia in its economic war with the West — and at attacks on the Kremlin and
Russia opts for nationalization of foreign firms PRO Members Public
More than 14 months after launching the invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has begun to nationalize the assets of foreign companies. A presidential decree published Tuesday bestowing the new powers said they were in response to the nationalization of Russian assets abroad. The first targets were Finland’s Fortum and
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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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