Newsletters
THE BELL WEEKLY: Russia’s ‘Special Demographic Operation’ Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we highlight how Moscow is going into overdrive to try to boost the country’s low birth rate through misguided legislative initiatives. We also cover attempts to pass a law to seize property and assets from people who have fled the country and the central bank preparing
THE BELL WEEKLY: The mounting costs of Russia’s army recruitment Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we look at Russia ramping up spending to lure soldiers for its war on Ukraine. We also highlight calls for a tax on couples who choose not to have children. Russia boosts army sign-up bonuses amid escalating frontline losses After the unpleasant experience with forcibly calling up
THE BELL WEEKLY: Navalny aides accused of legitimizing fraudsters Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we look at another scandal that has thrown yet more divisions into Russia’s fraught opposition. We also look at a round of tech layoffs that has spooked Russians working abroad and a Russian opposition figure killed while fighting for Ukraine. ‘Reputation whitewashing’ scandal rocks Russian opposition
THE BELL WEEKLY: Russia’s unprecedented secret spending Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we analyze Russia’s official spending plans for 2025 — the most classified budget proposal in history with record-high defense spending that neither the government nor business press are talking about. We also look at Vladimir Putin’s latest set of nuclear threats to the West. Secret spending
THE BELL WEEKLY: Battle for Russia’s Amazon turns deadly Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we look at the deal that led to a deadly shootout at Russia’s top online retailer. We also pick apart proposals on banning the teaching of evolution in Russian schools. Shootout at Wildberries: Who’s who in the battle for Russia’s Amazon The saga of
THE BELL WEEKLY: Attacks-for-hire scandal rocks Russian opposition Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we look at a major scandal among the Russian opposition after allies of the late Alexei Navlany alleged a close associate of former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky ordered violent attacks against them. We also look at another exodus of tech companies as a result of the latest US
THE BELL WEEKLY: How Russian society ignores Ukraine’s Kursk incursion Paid Members Public
Hello. This week we talk to a top sociologist about why Ukraine’s surprise counter-offensive into the Kursk region has not shocked Russian society. We also cover the scandal surrounding a film about Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, and how a Chinese carmaker became the largest foreign business in the
THE BELL WEEKLY: How Telegram’s hands-off approach backfired Paid Members Public
Hello! This week we again look at the case against Telegram founder Pavel Durov — how the site’s lax approach to content moderation put the service at the heart of the online gray economy, and landed Durov in a French jail. We also spoke to an expert on autocratic regimes
