Woe to Russian consumers who like Swiss watches with their Italian suits — or even furry Australian boots with their Chinese disposable fashion. The ruble has lost more than 40 percent of its value in the past year, including a drop of about 8 percent so far this week, and the slide shows no signs of slowing. But with Vladimir Putin offering ideas that are dubious at best, does Moscow even want to stop the rot?
Earlier this year, Russia’s central bank took heroic measures to prop up the ruble. It spent $40 billion of its foreign reserves between January and …read more
Source: Foreign Policy
