Russia, Explained
Pyotr Mironenko, co-founder of The Bell, and Denis Kasyanchuk, our economics editor, take a closer look at the week's top Russia stories, and explain why they matter. An in-depth look at how Russia works, what is bothering the elite, how public opinion is changing, and how to read between the lines of state propaganda.
Everybody Against Mr Nobody PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we cover how Oscar-winning documentary, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, went down inside Russia, and why it’s caused a stir among both the Kremlin’s backers and its critics. Russians fight over Mr Nobody Earlier this month, Russia won the Best Documentary Oscar for the first time
Moscow goes offline PRO Members Public
Hello! Over the last week Russia’s internet blackouts have reached a new extreme, this week we look at how Moscow is coping with being thrown back to the online dark ages, and why the authorities are cutting the connection right now. Russian capital hit by week-long internet blackouts The
Russia watches on as war engulfs Middle East PRO Members Public
Hello! The war in the Middle East has dominated Russian attention over the last nine days, even pushing its own invasion of Ukraine down the running order. This week we take a look at how the conflict is affecting Russia, and how Moscow is reacting to the fighting. Stranded tourists,
Can Telegram challenge the Putin regime? PRO Members Public
Hello! As Russia prepares to initiate a full block on Telegram, the country’s most important messenger and social media platform, The Bell goes inside the blitz campaign that sealed its fate, and why skirting the restrictions is far from a given. Telegram vs. the Kremlin: Round Two Telegram’s
The great Russian asset redistribution PRO Members Public
Hello! As the war hits the four-year mark, we look at how Russian officials have used the conflict to snatch up billions of dollars worth of assets for the state and friends of the Kremlin. State’s snapping up of assets leaves no business safe The war in Ukraine has
Russia nukes its main messenger PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we cover how Russians are responding to the state throttling Telegram, the country’s most important messenger and social media app. How collapsible is Putin's Russia? The Bell on In Moscow's Shadows podcast with Mark Galeotti Four years into the war with Ukraine,
Russia’s Shadow Fleet comes in from the dark PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we ask why is Russia increasingly bringing its fleet of sanctions-busting tankers in from the shadows, and is it an effective strategy to help ship its oil around the world. Russian flags for the shadow fleet Shadow fleet tankers have been rushing to re-register themselves under Russian
Why is Russia legalizing online casinos? PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we look at why Moscow is planning to legalize online gambling. Hint: there’s money to be made — both for the national budget and friends of the Kremlin. Winner-winner: Finance ministry and Putin’s cronies stand to gain from legalization of online casinos With Russia facing a
Russia revels in Ukraine energy crisis it caused PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we analyze how Russian propaganda channels and pro-war bloggers are celebrating the fact that massive Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid have left millions without heating, power and water in sub-zero temperatures — and why it reveals, yet again, that Moscow’s invasion is not going to
Russia’s wartime parliamentary elections PRO Members Public
Hello! This week we dig into the Kremlin’s campaign to get ex-soldiers elected to parliament later this year — a move that isn’t exactly popular across society. How Russia will exploit the war during this year’s parliamentary elections The Kremlin has officially launched the campaign for the 2026
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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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