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Central Bank cuts rates again PRO Members Public
Russia’s Central Bank has cut its base rate for the eighth time running — this time by a cautious 0.5 percentage points to 14.5%. This was in line with consensus expectations, although some economists anticipated a more decisive cut amid high oil prices and falling inflation. * In its
Runet gets a new boss: The Bell exclusive PRO Members Public
The Bell has managed to find out who is behind the latest wave of repression against the Russian internet — from restricting calls on messaging apps to blocking Telegram and waging war on VPNs. These crackdowns have already caused businesses to lose millions, as we previously wrote about, and have also
Russia boosts spending in expectation of oil windfall PRO Members Public
The government is gambling on future oil profits rather than waiting for them to actually materialize, the latest budget statistics published by the finance ministry indicate. * Russia’s budget deficit from January to March was 4.58 trillion rubles ($60 billion, or 1.9% of GDP). That’s almost twice
GDP keeps falling PRO Members Public
Russia’s economy contracted by 1.5% year-on-year in February, the second successive month when annualized GDP was in the red. In January, GDP was down 2.1%. Economic Development Ministry figures show over the first two months of the year, the economy is 1.8% smaller than it was
Record levels of pessimism among small businesses PRO Members Public
Russia’s entrepreneurs are more pessimistic than at any point in the last five years, according to a joint survey by the FOM polling group and the Higher School of Economics. The quarterly study, which has been running for five years, found 52% of individual entrepreneurs and small-business owners believe
Rate cut number seven PRO Members Public
Russia’s central bank on Friday cut its key rate by 50 basis points to 15%. “The economy is approaching a balanced growth trajectory. In February, price rises slowed as expected after a temporary surge in January. The Bank of Russia estimates that price inflation will continue at a stable
Moscow’s not calling PRO Members Public
Moscow is facing a communications collapse: mobile internet in the capital has been limping through serious outages all week, and whole districts in the city center are without connection. The authorities deny any involvement, but operators say that networks are being restricted on orders from above. Moscow has never experienced
No money for metal PRO Members Public
The government has twice over the last month rejected calls for financial support from big businesses. First, leading developer Samolet was denied help, and now the entire ferrous metals sector is also being turned away. * First Deputy PM Denis Manturov this week held a meeting on whether to support the
Russia prepares Telegram endgame PRO Members Public
Russia’s authorities have shifted from slowing Telegram to shutting it down completely. At the same time they have launched a criminal case against founder Pavel Durov on allegations of aiding terrorism. Two sources on the telecoms market told The Bell that Russia’s authorities are preparing to shut down
GDP data — what it reveals, what it conceals PRO Members Public
Russia’s economy grew by 1% in 2025, the Rosstat federal statistics agency reported this week. At the same time, it revised up its figures for previous years, increasing its estimate for growth in 2024 to 4.9% and 2023 to 4.1%. After those numbers, an annual expansion of
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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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