The ongoing collapse of the value of the ruble due to financial warfare and capital flight organized by the City of London and Wall Street—it broke 100 on Oct. 3 for the first time since August, and closed the day at just over 99—is undoubtedly part of what is driving the debate in Russia over the role of the Central Bank. The Western financial media are rooting for another sharp interest rate increase. For example, Fortune headlined their article: “Russian ruble briefly returns to ‘laughing stock’ level that prompted emergency interest rate hikes last time.”
On Oct. 3, the Kremlin responded to the developments by trying to minimize their significance. “Excessive attention to the ruble-dollar exchange rate is possible from an emotional point of view, but rather is a remnant of the past after all,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing. “We have to get used to living in the ruble zone and not feel dependent on the dollar.”
