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rfmcdonaldThe multiply-authored article in The Telegraph "Russia hikes interest rates to 17pc to stop rouble collapse" came out yesterday, outlining the state of affairs in Russia as the ruble collapses and interest rates spike and capital is going everywhere and immiseration 1998-style beckons. My attention was caught by one passage.
"Liberal feminists" are wrecking the Russian economy?
I've noted in the past that Russian officialdom seems to be cleaving closely to conservative, even reactionary, ideologies on gender and sexual orientation and human rights. But this last, if true, is a not-bad example of trolling, in the sense at least of being absurdly provocative while making no sense. Can any dialogue where opinion like this features prominently mean anything good?
The currency's collapse will feed into double-digit inflation in short order. “This is extreme central banking, and the question is, what are they trying to achieve?” said Tim Ash, from Standard Bank.
“Moves like this create systemic risks, the risk of panic among the general population, and surely risks major deposit flight. It makes you think whether they forgot to read the manual which came with the bazooka. But this is a really high-risk strategy from the central bank."
The Institute of International Finance says Russia's reserves are not as large as they appear, given the levels of external debt and a chronic capital deficit of 2pc to 3pc of GDP a year. It says the danger line is around $330bn, suggesting that the central bank cannot safely bleed its funds for long to stem the outflow.
Mr Putin has so far defended the central bank against accusations from populists in the Duma that it has betrayed Russia by letting the rouble crash, and is run by “liberal feminists” in thrall to the International Monetary Fund.
He has promised "harsh" measures against traders betting against the rouble, warning that “we know who these speculators are” and how to deal with them. Yet the Kremlin appears out of its depth and is struggling to keep up with events.
"Liberal feminists" are wrecking the Russian economy?
I've noted in the past that Russian officialdom seems to be cleaving closely to conservative, even reactionary, ideologies on gender and sexual orientation and human rights. But this last, if true, is a not-bad example of trolling, in the sense at least of being absurdly provocative while making no sense. Can any dialogue where opinion like this features prominently mean anything good?
