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Central banks as weapons: how the West learned from the eurozone crisis
Targeting of Russia's basic financial infrastructure is already proving effective — but this is a weapon honed in Europe over the last decade of crisis, writes JAMES MEADWAY
Rouble exchange rates
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SCENES from Moscow and other Russian cities over the last 24 hours suggest the initial stages of a bank run, whilst the rouble fell almost 40 per cent in early trading as East Asian markets have opened. This was the intended result of the economic sanctions announced by European powers, Canada and the US, subsequently joined by Japan, over the weekend.
The sanctions are measures of an unusually severe degree, threatening potential economic devastation, but the major mechanism they use have been road-tested over the last decade of economic crisis and disorder.
The economic blow from central bank sanctions on Russia will remain exceptionally severe. Bank of Russia will likely find that capital controls and dramatic interest rate hikes are what it relies on to try and defend the rouble and thus its banking system.
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