Putin has ordered a ban on foreign exchange loans and transfers by Russian residents to outside of the country, the Kremlin said on Monday, in retaliation for economic sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West.
The Russian president also signed into law an order for exporting companies to sell 80% of their foreign exchange earnings made since 1 January on the market.
This included the Western decision to freeze Russia’s hard currency reserves in an unprecedented move that could have devastating consequences for the country’s financial stability.
Katya, a resident from Moscow said: “My Russian bank card doesn’t work anymore. Also I wanted to exchange the rubles I had in cash but the exchange rate is so horrible that there’s no point. I can use them for toilet paper now.”
