Politics
Why Russians trust Putin PRO Members Public
Alexei Levinson, the head of socio-cultural research at the Levada Center and one of the most respected sociologists in Russia, recently gave an interview to The Bell’s co-founder Elizaveta Osetinskaya about public opinion in Russia. Here are some of the key points he raised. * Despite the war, Putin remains
Valdai’s fall from relevance PRO Members Public
Last week, Vladimir Putin spoke at the 20th anniversary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, an annual platform that sets about painting a picture of the world and international relations as seen through the Kremlin’s eyes. In the second Valdai meeting since the invasion of Ukraine, Putin once again
Azerbaijan detains Troika financier who became Karabakh separatist leader PRO Members Public
One of the best-known Russian financiers of the 2000s was among the victims of the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh — the billionaire founder of Troika Dialog, Ruben Vardanyan. The former businessman, who sold his Russian assets in the early 2010s to invest in his native Armenia, was for a brief period the
The mystery of Ramzan Kadyrov’s flailing health PRO Members Public
Russia’s top domestic political story last month was the mystery swirling around Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov after it emerged that the 46-year-old feudal warlord, a key figure in the Putin system, has serious health problems. In mid-September, Chechen opposition Telegram channels even reported his death. In a bid to
A year on from Russia’s ‘partial mobilization’, a second wave seems inevitable PRO Members Public
Last week was the first anniversary of Russia’s mobilization drive, announced on Sep. 21, 2022. At the time, Putin told Russians in an early-morning address to the nation that the country was facing “the entire military machine of the collective west” in Ukraine. At least 300,000 mobilized Russians
How the Kremlin’s internet propaganda HQ operates PRO Members Public
The low-profile non-profit organization Dialog started life as a way for the Russian authorities to stay in contact and gather feedback from different parts of society. Since then, it’s evolved into one of the Russian internet’s most prolific pro-Kremlin propaganda mouthpieces. Journalists from The Bell, Meduza and IStories
Fresh Karabakh conflict dents Russia’s standing in the Caucasus PRO Members Public
Last week, Azerbaijan launched fresh military action to seize control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist republic in the Caucasus populated mainly by ethnic Armenians but which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Not only did this one-day “anti-terrorist operation,” as Baku called it, seemingly bring an end to any independent
Russia’s authorities are talking about blocking WhatsApp. What would this mean in reality? PRO Members Public
For the first time in 18 months of war, Russian authorities alarmedWhatsApp users with talk of blocking the popular messaging app. Along with YouTube, it is one of two international services that the Kremlin has long wished to switch off, but fears a public backlash too much to follow through.
EU bans Russian-registered cars while lifting sanctions on the oligarch who helped Putin’s friends seize the media PRO Members Public
The EU’s sanctions policy continues to throw up paradoxes. Following last week’s scandal around the confiscation of personal items that Russians bring into Europe, the EU confirmed a ban on driving Russian-registered vehicles into its member states. At the same time, the European Commission lifted sanctions on three
A rehearsal before Putin’s election in 2024 PRO Members Public
Last week, Russia held federal and regional elections in 49 of its 83 regions, as well as in Crimea and the four regions of occupied Ukraine. Russians chose mayors, regional leaders and deputies for regional parliaments and the upper chamber of the Federation Council. * This year’s elections are affected
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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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