L'économie
How a billionaire Armenian separatist leader, now on trial in Azerbaijan, made his fortune in Russia PRO Members Public
Some 18 months after regaining control over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan has begun putting the former leaders of the breakaway pro-Armenian republic on trial. The most high-profile among them is Ruben Vardanyan, an investment banker who managed the finances of the Russian elite before giving it all up in an
‘Silent’ tech layoffs despite massive labour shortages PRO Members Public
As the year comes to an end, Russian companies are laying off IT staff. Back in 2022, the government and employers were bending over backwards to keep them in the country, offering exemption from military service, preferential mortgages and pay rises. But two-decade-high interest rates are taking a toll: despite
Ruble stabilizes after latest sanctions slump PRO Members Public
The ruble has recovered from a sudden devaluation last month, which was largely tied to liquidity problems in the wake of US sanctions against dozens of Russian banks — chiefly Gazprombank. The value of the currency against both the dollar and the yuan, on various measures, had reached its worst level
New U.S. sanctions push the ruble to its lowest since spring 2022 PRO Members Public
The United States has imposed the most wide-reaching range of banking sanctions on Russia since spring 2022 (read more here), hitting leading state institution Gazprombank, which had remained connected to SWIFT and conducted settlements in euros. The fallout of the potential disruption on Russia’s energy trade pushed the ruble
Russia’s authorities squeeze exiled critics’ income PRO Members Public
The authorities are looking to strip income for Russians who criticize the Ukraine invasion from abroad. For celebrities and artists, that means no more royalty payments, while for others it could mean halting any income they get from renting out property. * Many prominent Russian artists who left the country after
Can we trust Russian economic statistics? PRO Members Public
Since the start of the war, the Russian authorities have classified heaps of important statistical and economic data. For the third year in a row, Moscow is not publishing figures on imports, exports, foreign trade, gold and foreign exchange reserves, or oil production. But can the data that Moscow still
The Central Bank readies another rate hike PRO Members Public
There is little doubt that the central bank is gearing up to raise its key interest rate in its next meeting on Friday. Currently set at 19%, it’s expected to be hiked to 20-21% — matching or surpassing the emergency interest rate introduced days after Russia invaded Ukraine. This time
Putin’s new passion: boosting Russia’s flagging birth rate PRO Members Public
The bleak demographic prospects for Russia’s near future have prompted the authorities into fresh action, with new legislation set to come into force to try to boost the country’s low birth rate. Last week, a bill banning “childfree propaganda” passed the first of three readings in parliament. The
Calls for childless tax PRO Members Public
Quelques semaines après avoir présenté un projet de loi visant à interdire l'"idéologie sans enfant", plusieurs personnalités russes ont commencé à réclamer l'introduction d'une taxe sur les couples qui n'ont pas d'enfant. Il s'agit de la dernière proposition en date qui, selon ses partisans, permettra de résoudre les problèmes démographiques du pays liés à la guerre et s'inscrit dans le cadre d'un mouvement conservateur de plus en plus marqué.
Secret spending hits record level PRO Members Public
The Russian government on Monday sent its 2025-2027 budget to the State Duma, outlining plans that will see defense spending hit a post-Soviet record at 6.3% of GDP. We wrote about the plans for another ramp-up in Russia’s military spending in Friday’s newsletter. The publication of the
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The Bell a été fondé en 2017 par les journalistes Elizaveta Osetinskaya, Irina Malkova et Peter Mironenko en tant que média indépendant des autorités russes, après que ses fondateurs ont été limogés de leur poste de rédacteurs en chef du plus grand site d'information russe, RBC, en raison des pressions exercées par le Kremlin.
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