Russia’s government has pushed the country into an economic crisis by not tackling its financial problems fast enough, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Monday, as evidence mounted of trouble spreading through the economy.
As he spoke, President Vladimir Putin prepared to hold emergency talks with Western leaders to try to resolve the stand-off over Ukraine, the central bank bailed out its first victim of the collapsing currency and authorities announced a tax on grain exports to protect domestic stocks.
A Reuters poll of 11 economists predicted that Russia’s gross domestic product would fall 3.6 percent next year, after only 0.5 …read more
Source: Voice of America
