The Flight From The Rouble

摘要

Russina leaders like to radiate confidence and talk down financial crises. But stories of laid-off workers, unpaid salaries and involuntary holidays are having more impact. The government blames America and insists on the rouble's stability, but sceptical Russian people and companies have rushed to change their roubles into dollars. Now, after spending $57 billion defending the rouble in two months, the Kremlin is worried. This week President Dmitry Medvedev conceded that the crisis was spreading to the real economy.rnWage arrears rose by a third last month. Growth of industrial production, running at 5.4% in the first half of the year, has almost stopped. The World Bank predicts that economic growth will fall by half in 2009, to 3%- Rising oil prices and cheap credit-the two main sources of money for the Russian economy-have gone sharply into reverse. In just five months the stock-market has lost two-thirds of its value.