Robert Amsterdam

Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin yesterday slammed the International Monetary Fund as being inadequately equipped to deal with the financial crisis. The crisis is leading to as much press volatility as price volatility, with Russian stocks climbing one day and falling the next, and meanwhile the value of the ruble continues to fall, prompting speculation that the drop in currency value is part of government strategy. Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, saw withdrawals of around a record $3 billion last month. Overall, the banking sector is seeing huge job losses. ‘The best bonus you can have in Moscow right now is to have a job at all,’ said one manager. The Duma admits that it will be years before the airline sector will see any form of competition, but will Russia’s plan to create a state airline giant in Russian Airlines succeed? Russian arms manufacturers are also struggling to keep afloat. Oleg Mitvol is protesting being sacked from the state environmental watchdog with a lawsuit.