Business
Pavel Durov opposed strict moderation — it could cost him his freedom, and his company PRO Members Public
Telegram founder and Russian tech icon Pavel Durov spent just 96 hours in a French jail. Released on house arrest, the case is far from over, and will have repercussions way beyond him and his platform. The saga looks set to go a long way towards shaping the future relationship
Russia’s billionaire Hairspray King PRO Members Public
Before 2022, the name Alexei Sagal meant little to anyone in Russia outside the domestic cosmetics industry and residents of his native Stavropol Territory in the south of the country. That has changed completely since Russia invaded Ukraine as Sagal swooped to take control of Heineken’s Russian businesses. That
Divorce, Kadyrov and corporate raiders: The blockbuster saga at Wildberries PRO Members Public
Online shopping has belatedly become a major industry across Russia over the last five years. After a slow start, online marketplaces are thriving and pick-up points can be found all over the country, even in the smallest remote villages. But market leader Wildberries hit the headlines last week for something
Yandex founder tells The Bell about his new business PRO Members Public
After months of negotiations, Yandex has completed its break-up — splitting into a Russian arm that will keep the name, and the vast majority of the company’s revenues, employees and services; and an international division, to be headed up by its founder, Russian tech tycoon Arkady Volozh. In his only
Wildberries set for new Putin-approved shareholders PRO Members Public
A very strange deal is in the works involving Russia’s largest online marketplace, Wildberries. The company, which sees around 2.5 trillion rubles’ ($27.5 billion) worth of business a year, is set to merge with the Russ group, Russia’s leader in outdoor advertising. The merger has Putin’
Hamster Kombat takes Telegram by storm, helping app’s crypto ambitions PRO Members Public
A Russian-developed mobile game linked to the world of cryptocurrency has proved a mega hit for Telegram, providing a big boost to the app’s founder, Pavel Durov, and his own blockchain project. Hamster Kombat, a simple game in which players pound their phone screens to generate virtual currency, has
War helps Russian jewelry market shine again PRO Members Public
Money from the war is pumping up the unlikeliest corners of the Russian economy. As soldiers’ families back home look to splash the cash from their loved ones’ bumper salaries, retail sales of jewelry are set to climb by at least 15-20% this year, according to figures collected by Kommersant.
‘Pirate’ Western cars go on sale PRO Members Public
Almost all international car brands have left Russia since the start of the war, and it has become impossible to continue making authentic and licensed foreign vehicles from Russian factories. However, a loophole has emerged that enables Russian companies to manufacture so-called “pirate” cars, branded as Western models without the
The Great Repatriation: Russian millionaires bring their cash back to the Motherland PRO Members Public
After trying to send their money overseas in the immediate aftermath of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, wealthy Russians are now bringing their millions back home, new data shows. The number of high net worth individuals jumped back above pre-war levels last year, after falling in 2022. Some 22,000
Medvedev threatens reprisals against Yandex bosses over GPT chatbot PRO Members Public
Former president Dmitry Medvedev, the most prominent hawk among senior Russian officials, criticized Yandex’s efforts to create an artificial neural network. Medvedev was unhappy with the efforts of the company, sometimes dubbed “Russia’s Google”, because its AI chatbot refused to answer questions about Ukraine. * Medvedev, now deputy chair
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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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