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Finance Minister Anton Siluanov keeps saying that even after income tax rates go up, Russia’s tax regime will remain “competitive and comfortable.” It is true that Russia’s headline rate of personal income tax rate was, and will remain, low compared with other countries. But

Hello! Welcome to your weekly guide to the Russian economy — written by Alexander Kolyandr and Alexandra Prokopenko and brought to you by The Bell. Our top story this week is analysis of big changes to the tax system. We also look at the possibility of sanctions on Russian insurer

Russia is planning to recognise the Taliban as the lawful government of Afghanistan and remove it from the list of “banned” organizations. This will put an end to the absurd situation where Taliban representatives are officially received in the Kremlin, while journalists can be jailed for mentioning them

A young woman who fled her relatives in Chechnya after facing abuse has garnered unexpected support from Russian Z-bloggers. Facing the possibility of being forcibly sent back to the conservative Muslim region and likely harsh repercussions, pro-military voices came out in her support, criticizing the Caucasus republic as “medieval.

Vladimir Putin’s inauguration — the official start of his new presidential term — is set for May 7. Talk is swirling that a possible government reshuffle could soon follow. It is not just ministries that are preparing for a leadership change, state-run companies are as well. One of

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.

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

The much-heralded launch of a state-funded patriotic adventure video game — set in 1612 and based on resistance to Polish forces waging war against Russia — has fallen flat. Critics said the game, The Time of Troubles, was boring and failed to compete with others on the market.

The Russian opposition saw its organizational structures demolished even before the war. As a result, there weren’t many options for what they could do during this contest. They adopted two main tactical approaches.

Thousands of people took to the streets to see Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny take his final journey on Friday at his funeral service and burial in Moscow. Despite fears of a widespread crackdown, the police refrained from mass arrests, even as the crowds chanted banned anti-war slogans.