‘Deal of the year’ ends in acrimony and insult PRO Members Public
The tie-up between Yandex – the so-called ‘Russian Google’ – and Tinkoff, one of the country’s biggest privately-owned banks, looked to be a match made in heaven. But this week it was all over – less than a month after the initial announcement. The bank said Friday that talks had broken down.
‘Deal of the year’ is off PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is the tale of how Russia’s $5.5 billion ‘deal of year’ between Yandex and Tinkoff Bank fell apart. We also have an in-depth profile of Sergei Kiriyenko, the Kremlin éminence grise who has found himself on an EU sanctions for the first
Russia’s largest bank is using school canteens to collect children’s biometric data PRO Members Public
Hello! Our top story this week is Sberbank harvesting biometric data from hundreds of thousands of Russian schoolchildren. We also discuss Russia’s cautious approach to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and look at why Moscow is resisting a second lockdown, even as the country reports record numbers of
Russian online giants plot U.S. IPOs PRO Members Public
Russian online giants plot U.S. IPOs This unpredictable year could be set to end with something of a sensation for the Russian business world — not one, but two major Russian firms are planning U.S. IPOs in the coming months. After a series of juicy IPOs in the early
Sberbank vs. Yandex PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is about the big changes for Russia’s online services sector as internet giant Yandex and banking giant Sberbank go head-to-head. We also look at the beginnings of a coronavirus second wave, and the architecture of a radical new approach to economic policy that
What sanctions might Russia face? PRO Members Public
What sanctions might Russia face? The Navalny affair: what sanctions might Russia face? Joe Biden’s possible election to the White House has, for months, been the main sanctions risk for Russia. But now there are at least two more: the protests in Belarus, where Moscow is President Alexander Lukashenko’
Basic instinct diplomacy PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is on high-level damage control by the Kremlin after a crude online joke by a Russian official outraged the Serbian government. We also look at how Russia is supporting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as opposition protests enter their second month, and why ex-PM Medvedev
Serbia unfriends Zakharova in ‘Basic Instinct’ Facebook row PRO Members Public
There was a certain inevitability about a diplomatic scandal that erupted this week when a mocking Facebook post by Russia’s freewheeling Foreign Ministry spokeswoman caused outrage in Serbia — a close ally. President Vladimir Putin himself was forced to make a personal apology to smooth over the row and keep
Beyond PR: how Tatiana Bakalchuk really created the ‘Russian Amazon PRO Members Public
Mother of four and former English teacher Tatiana Bakalchuk has set-up a Russian version of Amazon. She triumphed where many could not: both Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, and Yandex, the ‘Russian Google’ failed to replicate the success of the U.S. online retail giant. All the reporting on Bakalchuk
Why Navalny’s poisoning didn’t lead to street protests PRO Members Public
There’s been little change in opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s condition this week. He remains in an induced coma on a ventilator after being taken ill in what almost everyone believes to be a case of poisoning. He is now being treated in a German hospital. Despite the dramatic
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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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