The last nuclear contract is at risk of how Central Asia is turning away from Russia and the trillion losses of Russian investors This material (information) has been produced and widespread by a foreign agent The Bell or applies to the activities of a foreign agent The Bell. 18+ The United States is preparing to officially accuse Russia of the first violation of the fundamental nuclear agreement between the countries-START-3, which limits the strategic weapons race in history.

Russia named independent news outlet Meduza an “undesirable” organization Thursday, effectively banning its work in the country. Meduza has the biggest audience of any independent media source, attracting tens of millions of readers to its site every month (by comparison, The Bell’s Russian-language site has just over one million readers).

Mercenary company Wagner, which is fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine, still has no official legal status in Russia. However, that is proving no problem for its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, as he seeks support in Russia’s parliament. One of the most vocal (albeit not hugely influential) supporters of Wagner has turned out to be Sergei Mironov, leader of Kremlin-loyal party “A Just Russia – Patriots for Truth”. Mironov is currently urging the Duma to legalize mercenary companies.

Hello! This week our top story is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s long-standing foreign friends and how they are faring amid the Ukraine war. We also look at mercenary company Wagner’s new political ally , and the outlawing of Meduza , Russia’s top independent media outlet.

German newspaper Die Zeit last week published an interview with Matthias Warnig, head of the company that was due to take charge of the never-opened Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. Warnig, who worked for East Germany’s Stasi in the 1970s, got to know Vladimir Putin when the latter was a KGB agent. In the 2000s, that connection earned Warnig millions of dollars as he worked with major Russian state companies and played the role of Putin’s trusted contact in Europe.

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL OR IS RELATED TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL. 18+ In 2022, Russians began to buy less baby food and baby hygiene products. Among the reasons are the rise in prices for them, the decrease in incomes of the population and the reduction in the birth rate.

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL OR IS RELATED TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL. 18+ Domestic pharmaceutical companies could not replace foreign ones in clinical trials in Russia, learned . Kommersant The number of permits issued by the Ministry of Health last year decreased by 18.5% by 2021, to 740, of which 526 (+21%) fell to domestic pharmaceutical companies. Foreigners received only 214 permits against 493 in 2021.

The number of clinical trials of original drugs in Russia has decreased after the departure of foreign companies. The Russians, most likely, will have to be treated more and more with drugs of the last generation THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL OR IS RELATED TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL. 18+ Domestic pharmaceutical companies could not replace foreign ones in clinical trials in Russia, learned Kommersant .

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL OR IS RELATED TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL. 18+ Exports of goods from EU countries to Russia fell by 47% yoy between March and November last year. And exports from the EU to some CIS countries (to Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan) increased by 48% over the same time.

THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL OR IS RELATED TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL. 18+ The International Monetary Fund (IMF) continues to predict a slowdown in the global economy in 2023, but its new forecast is not as bleak as the October one. Russia has the biggest positive revision - now the IMF predicts its economy will grow by 0.3% in 2023 instead of falling by 2.3%.

The Bell continues to host an online video dedicated to the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022. THIS MATERIAL (INFORMATION) IS PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED BY A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL OR IS RELATED TO THE ACTIVITIES OF A FOREIGN AGENT OF THE BELL. 18+ This online is complete. Read about the main events of the day in the evening newsletter . Online continuation here .