Putin Claims Economy is ‘Stable,’ Ruble Tanks the Next Day

Russia’s ruble tanked yet again against the dollar on Friday, just a day after President Putin claimed the sanctions-hit country's economic situation was “stable.”

The Russian currency fell by as much as 101.46 rubles to the dollar in morning exchanges before paring down some losses, AFP reports.

The ruble crossed the psychological threshold of 100 to the dollar on the Moscow financial exchange on Tuesday, a level it briefly hit in August.

It rose again midweek but resumed its fall late on Thursday, just as Putin was speaking at the Valdai political conference in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

“We have overcome all the problems that emerged after the implementation of sanctions against us and we have started a new stage of development,” Putin said.

“The overall situation is stable,” he added.

Western nations imposed a raft of sanctions against Russia and many foreign companies have left in the wake of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.

The country also faces high inflation, labour shortages, falling oil prices and a brain drain.

The central bank says it expects economic growth to slow in the second half of the year.

Putin’s speech at the Valdai political conference was characterised by claims that look shaky under scrutiny – he gave the first significant update on Russia's investigation into the death of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his crew after their plane crashed over Russia in August.

Other Topics of Interest

Direct Line with Vladimir Putin: Open Questions

At his annual press conference, question and answer session and public phone-in, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again presented a positive picture of the situation in his country.

In short, Putin suggested those aboard the plane were drunk and high on cocaine and blew themselves up with hand grenades and the plane was definitely not shot down on his orders.

Putin has criticized investigators for not conducting alcohol and drug tests on Prigozhin and the nine other victims of the crash.

He also alleged that five kilograms of cocaine were found at the Wagner offices after the mercenary group's short-lived rebellion.

You can read more about what he said here.