What links Russia to Germany’s Wirecard scandal? PRO Members Public
One of the main figures in the collapse of German payment firm Wirecard, chief operating officer Jan Marsalek, is reportedly hiding somewhere near Moscow. The Bell looked at Wirecard’s connections with Russia, and why Marsalek visited the country over 60 times in a decade. * It’s perhaps no coincidence
Russian mercenaries arrested in Belarus PRO Members Public
The already stormy Belarusian presidential election campaign became even more dramatic Wednesday with the arrest of 32 alleged Russian mercenaries. The Belarusian authorities identified the men as employees of the notorious mercenary outfit Wagner, and it led to a diplomatic row between Minsk and Moscow. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is
Mercenaries in Minsk PRO Members Public
Hello! This week our top story is the detention of 32 Russian mercenaries in Belarus ahead of the country’s closely-fought presidential elections. We also have data from The Bell’s investigation into sexual harassment in the workplace, and a breakdown of Russia’s role in the activities of Wirecard,
Moscow sends new governor to protest-hit Khabarovsk PRO Members Public
Street demonstrations in the Far East city of Khabarovsk over the arrest of local governor Sergei Furgal show no sign of fading away. Moscow this week poured fuel on the fire when it appointed Mikhail Degtyarev, 39, as Furgal’s replacement. Like Furgal, Degtyarev is a member of the right
Russia set to copy Mexico’s oil price insurance policy PRO Members Public
During heated negotiations this spring between major oil producers, Mexico held out longest against a coordinated output cut. The reason? The country’s two-decade strategy of oil price hedging means it is largely immune to the effects of an oil price collapse. State-owned oil giant Rosneft has now recommended to
Why the U.K. ‘Russia report’ went unnoticed in Russia PRO Members Public
This was a week of Russia stories in the West. The U.K. parliament published Tuesday a report on Russian interference, then, the following day, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a draft bill for new Russian sanctions. The latter raised few eyebrows: there was no new rationale, or
Russia report skepticism PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we spotlight the Russia report published by the U.K. parliament, and share some thoughts on sources and expertise. We also examine the possibility of the Kremlin greenlighting a Mexico-style financial hedge to protect against oil price falls, and the appointment of a new governor to a
Journalists named in new #metoo accusations PRO Members Public
A new #metoo campaign on Twitter this week was led by female journalists working at independent media outlets who described sexual assault and harrassment they suffered at the hands of fellow journalists. State-owned media happily gave the story lots of coverage. * All the accused belong to progressive circles. They include
Navalny ramps up fight with independent journalists PRO Members Public
навальThe most discussed topic on Moscow social media this week was a spat between opposition leader Alexei Navalny and top investigative reporter Ivan Golunov. The disagreement is the latest battle in a long-running conflict between Navalny and a group of prominent journalists. Navalny alleges that many journalists have an inflated
Rolling protests in Far East after governor arrest PRO Members Public
Last week saw a series of high profile arrests, this week came the protests. Most significantly, there were big demonstrations over multiple days in the Far East city of Khabarovsk after the detention of local governor Sergei Furgal. There were smaller protests in Moscow. * Khabarovsk has seen daily protests this
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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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