Import substitution delusion PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at Russia’s plans to reduce its dependency on Western-made goods amid the war in Ukraine and international sanctions. But history suggests that significant success will be very difficult to achieve. New Deputy PM and Putin’s Daughter to Kickstart ‘Import Substitution’ Rumors were flying
Divisions at Yandex PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at how the war in Ukraine has roiled Yandex — the ‘Russian Google’ — amid different approaches to strategy and many top managers leaving the country. We also look at why the state decided gas giant Gazprom would be making no dividend payments this year, and why
How the war divided Arkady Volozh and the Yandex management PRO Members Public
Five months into the war, Yandex is split in two, with founder Arkday Volozh and the company’s leaders in Russia on opposite sides of the barricades. Part of the senior management stayed in Moscow and decided to save the ‘Russian Google’, the rest left, believing there is no future.
Moral dilemma PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is a look at the difficult choices faced by many of the political technocrats who have worked as economic managers for President Vladimir Putin over the last 20 years. While staying in government after the start of the invasion led to allegations of collaboration,
4 months of sanctions PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at the effect of sanctions on Russia as the war in Ukraine enters its fifth month. In the West, there are concerns about the effectiveness of sanctions: they have not prevented Moscow from raking in record foreign currency earnings from the sale of energy resources
Showcasing isolation PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at Russia’s lavish annual display for foreign investors – the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Never before has it been so odd. Westerners stayed away altogether: instead, the star attractions were the leader of Ukraine’s breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and a representative
Stock market reeling PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at millions of struggling private investors amid the wreckage of Russia’s financial markets. Not only have most lost money, but the chances of recouping losses fades with each week. Russia’s Central Bank last month froze a large batch of shares in foreign companies
Long recession PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is a dissection of April economic data released by the Russian authorities that – while better than many expected – still suggests a sustained recession. We also look at why the founder of IT giant Yandex – Russia’s Google – was sanctioned by the European Union, and
Economic cracks PRO Members Public
Hello! In the words of Central Bank governor Elvira Nabiullina, Russia’s economy is undergoing a “structural transformation.” But exactly what this means is unclear: events are moving fast and unpredictably. Our top story this week is the big economic surprise that – after an inflationary shock in March – Russia recorded
Rising oil dependency PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is on what recently released financial data reveals about Russia’s rapidly growing dependency on oil, as well as a collapse in VAT revenue and how China is coming to Moscow’s rescue. We also look at the new owner of McDonald’s in
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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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