Politics
1990s reform architect Chubais sets up research project on the future of Russia PRO Members Public
Anatoly Chubais, one of the key architects of the 1990s economic reforms, has opened a center for Russian Studies at Tel Aviv University. Chubais, who held senior positions in the Russian government and state-run companies until 2022, “organized a group of sponsors” for a new project that will explore possible
A new wave of repression on media outlets — and their readers PRO Members Public
As was widely expected, Russia’s security forces have started cracking down on the Kremlin’s perceived opponents and enemies with renewed vigor following the presidential election. In the span of just a few days, three journalists from well-known Russian and international media outlets — Forbes Russia, Reuters and the Associated
Russian schoolchildren forced to commemorate ‘genocide of the Soviet people’ PRO Members Public
In the latest installation of forced propaganda in Russian schools, students across the country were forced to kneel en masse in front of a five-pointed star — an army symbol — to mark the “genocide of the Soviet people.” It follows an intensification of war-time messaging in the Russian curriculum following the
Russia tries to downplay importance of US aid for Ukraine PRO Members Public
On state TV over the weekend, Russian propagandists tried to minimize the importance of the US House of Representatives approving $61 billion of military aid to Ukraine after months of delay. The key message on Russian airwaves was that most of this money would remain in the States, and would
Team Navalny film about 1990s oligarchs divides Russia’s opposition PRO Members Public
The 1990s were a turbulent period following the collapse of the Soviet Union — and 30 years later it remains the most controversial era in modern Russian history. The rapid democratization of society and the switch from a planned to a market economy was accompanied by poverty, rampant crime and the
AI-powered internet censorship PRO Members Public
Russia’s internet watchdog wants to use artificial intelligence to block access to restricted information on the Russian internet. AI should help the agency block unwanted content three times faster — within an hour of publication — and strike down content more accurately, the authorities say. * Russia’s Roskomnadzor communications regulator plans
Unprecedented flooding unlikely to shake trust in Putin PRO Members Public
The main topic in Russia over the last few weeks has been the catastrophic flooding in the Orenburg region in the southern Urals, along the border with Kazakhstan. In Orsk, rising river waters burst through a poorly constructed dam, completely flooding the city of some 200,000 people. A few
Airlines told to roll out the red carpet for Russian soldiers PRO Members Public
Only a few weeks have passed since Russian President Vladimir Putin said those fighting in Ukraine were his country’s “new elite”, but already the privileges and special status being afforded to Russian soldiers who have served in Ukraine are racking up. Russia’s aviation agency last week advised airlines
Soviet dissident pursued by Putin in the Soviet Union arrested PRO Members Public
A St. Petersburg court has detained Soviet dissident Alexander Skobov on charges of “justifying terrorism”. Skobov is a Soviet dissident who was twice committed to psychiatric hospitals for enforced treatment over his anti-communist stance. Vladimir Putin, then a young KGB officer, was involved in the cases against him in the
Russia hit by wave of xenophobia after biggest terror attack in 20 years PRO Members Public
Central Asian migrants are facing a new surge in xenophobia after the Crocus City Hall attack. Gunmen, identified by Russian prosecutors as Tajik citizens, opened fire on concert-goers before setting the building ablaze in the worst terror attack in the country since 2004. More than 140 people were killed, including
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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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